I’ve been watching the John Adams HBO series starring Paul Giamatti and feeling a little patriotic so today my friend Mike and I walked around looking for a plaque commemorating the execution site of an American Revolutionary War Hero, Nathan Hale, and eventually we found it on the side of a Banana Republic.

According to a NY Historical Society plaque on the West side of Third Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, Nathan Hale, the American Revolutionary war hero, was hanged by the British, “probably within a hundred yards of here.”

The hanging site of Nathan Hale is significant because it is where he uttered his famous last words (there are many conflicting accounts of these words, but all accounts give the same general sentiment which boil down to what follows),

“I only regret that I have but one life to give my country.” More on American Hero’s Last Words and Execution on The U.E.S.

Carnegie Hill is changing fast.  I go to the West Coast for one week and Petak’s closes! Katie texted me while I was in Las Vegas and I was shocked.  I walked by the empty store the other night and passed a man carrying a Petak’s bag- I looked at the sign on the store window, then at him and he returned a knowing, sad look.  Soon the plastic Petak’s bag won’t be a UES accessory like the Fairway bag continues to be on the West side.

LISTS FOR CARNEGIE HILL (confined to my limited walking area)

CLOSED/MOVING

• Petak’s = Closed (I lament the loss of their chicken noodle soup, chicken nuggets, and skinny potato pancakes they had only during holidays, among other things.)
• Bolton’s = Closed (always wondered who shopped there except my grandmother when she used to visit from the nursing home in Philly when I was little.  Bolton’s was in that spot for at least 30 years?)
• Didi’s Children’s Boutique = Closed  (out of all the baby stores I did think this one was kind of cool because of all the wooden German import toys.  Could find unique gifts.)

More on Petak’s Closed WTF!

I saw this antique, supposedly German mannequin head for sale on eBay several months ago (the listing is long gone.)  It doesn’t look like any other antique mannequin head I’ve seen. Not that I was looking for one- they just pop up now and then in the categories I like to search.

Images: Top row via eBay. Bottom row, Left via ParkAvenuePeerage, Right, via KenemBijoux.

After a minute of staring at the serene head trying to figure out who it reminded me of, it came to me- it could only be Jessica Joffe- the stunning journalist/model/style expert, who I believe is also German, at least in part.

I’m not saying they look exactly alike- just that there are some uniquely similar qualities about the two- which is a little spooky since unlike in the Seinfeld episode where that weird guy meets Elaine on the subway and then models a mannequin after her, this particular mannequin head came into existence at least half a century before Joffe.

Physically similar features are the red hair curled at the ends, the “dainty” red lips, the straight, slim nose, the uniformly linear eyebrows (although exaggeratedly arched on the mannequin,) and light-colored eyes.

Antique mannequin heads are cool because they record ideals of beauty and style from other time periods.  This one is from around the 1920’s – 1940’s.  Joffe, who modeled in several Banana Republic campaigns, is beautiful in my opinion, but neither in today’s weird-looking model way, or the button-nose jail bait way (to name two of many of today’s visible types.)

Images: Left via Pravda, right via Woohoo
(Actually I find the girl on the left adorable, but I want to see her on an episode of Star Trek.)

Looking at this mannequin head makes me see something of old Hollywood in Joffe- definitely in the hair- and something about her facial expression and oft-seen fancy dress evokes a doomed German aristocrat at the start of WW2 like in Luchino Visconti’s The Damned.

Photo via Cinemorgue.

Photo via Flickr: HillyBlue

Here, at the corner of the mouth, you can almost see Joffe’s smirk.

A LOT of Hermès boxes.

A LOT of Manolo Blahnik boxes.

Several Chanel boxes.

Bergdorf Goodman box.

And I ended up with a nice set of Hermès boxes for storage.

These boxes were found in the garbage on 1/21/2009 on East 88th Street.

I’ve obviously been watching a lot of TV this week.  On the third episode of MTV’s reality show, The City, Whitney and Erin catch up while strolling on the Jackie O’Nassis Reservoir jogging path – suddenly they stop to check out the amazing view- the same view I highlighted last week in the Sunset Gathering post.  Katie and I regularly catch up while walking her puppy around the bridal path which also circles the reservoir.

Here’s a post on Curbed that reveals where Whitney’s new apartment is.

Larry Fink, Russian Ball, Colony Club, New York City, 1977, via MoMA

Blair’s maid, Darota via WoodyCakes

On tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl, Blair throws a little party for members of the exclusive women’s social group, The Colony Club, in an attempt to gain entrance.  Her guests turn out to be a bunch of stodgy, petty, argyle-clad bitches who insist that Serena’s family and Chuck Bass are not to be associated with because of tabloid mentions, skimpy outfits, and nouveau-richeness.  In a display of strong character, Blair eventually totally disses them by ending the party and proclaiming the greatness of Serena and her mother, and her close association with Chuck Bass.

Which reminds me that I once picked up a copy of “The History of the Colony Club” at the Strand- I knew it would come in handy at some point- More on The Colony Club as seen on Gossip Girl

There’s a tin my family has been using to keep sewing pins in for 20 years.  It originally held black currant pastilles – one of my favorite tastes as a kid.  Seeing the tin the other day I became determined to find the pastilles once again.  I googled the brand Allenbury’s, which seems to have changed to Grether’s.

Googling “Grether’s Black Currant Pastilles New York” yielded some fancy pharmacies such as Thompson Chemists, New London Pharmacy, and my local, Zitomer!  Also a website, www.pastillesforless.com.  (Really?)

I can’t remember going into Zitomer for at least fifteen years but lately keep noticing the giant “Zittles” sign in the second floor window- sounds like a Yiddish nickname but also makes me think of zits.

So I went to Zitomer- turns out the candy counter is right there if you enter through the 76th Street entrance, whose awning also bears the name “Z-Spot.”

Just a note of caution- when I asked the lady behind the counter for Grether’s Black Currant Pastilles she handed me the sugar-free kind without noticing- luckily I was paying attention- I damn sure was for $9 and some change for a 110g tin. (The 110g tin is no cheaper on the Pastilles for Less site which claims to be “Your DISCOUNT site for Grether’s Pastilles!”

The 110g tin contains 44 pastilles, or 22 servings.  It’s been three days and I have one pastille left.  Yikes, this could become an expensive habit.

New  tin, old tin:

In other fancy pharmacy news, Boghen Pharmacy on Park Ave and 88th (One of the few Park Avenue store fronts) has tasty meds!

Below “Tasty Meds” it reads “We flavor kids medicines!”

At 4:15pm on this unseasonably warm winter day, noticing it was getting dark out, I rushed over to the 90th Street entrance to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, the best spot to watch the sunset.  To my surprise, hords of tourists were gathered there photographing themselves in front of the view which is so remarkable I really shouldn’t have been surprised.

More on Sunset Gathering

The U.E.S. Journal has acquired two original engineers’ photographs of subway construction under The Upper East Side in 1914.  Visit the “old photos” section of P.U.E.S. to see more…

Under 60th and Lex, 1914.