on fillmore place: henry miller

May 29, 2012| Leave a comment

The first time I walked down Fillmore Place I felt as if I was on a movie set. The narrow street of mostly Italianate buildings seemed like the idyllic NYC street scene. Except for the graffiti, you wouldn’t have to do much set decoration in order for it to look like late 1800’s Brooklyn. Author Henry Miller who lived nearby described the street in his book Tropic of Capricorn:

It was the most enchanting street I have ever seen in all my life. It was the ideal street for a boy, a lover, a maniac, a drunkard, a crook, a lecher, a thug, an astronomer, a musician, a poet, a tailor, a shoemaker, a politician. In fact this is just the sort of street it was, containing just such representative of the human race, each one a world unto himself and all living together harmoniously and inharmoniously.”

It would please me if an astronomer owns this mid-60’s Chevy Nova SS but I’ll settle for a candlestick maker.

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