James Preller's Blog

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I had one of those days today. Suffice it to say that it included a lost wallet and a visit to Motor Vehicles. And those were the highlights!

On my way home, I decided to treat myself to a pepperoni pizza from DeFazio’s. I needed it.

I parked about a block away in front of this sign:

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If that’s difficult to read on your phone, it says that Norman Rockwell frequently visited Troy and used this site as the setting for a painting, “The Street Was Never the Same.”

I ordered my pizza and, with ten minutes to kill, looked up the 1952  painting.

Then I stepped across the street, tried to get the perspective more or less correct, and snapped this photo:

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Pretty cool, right? Nice they’ve kept the colors. I imagine somebody with the city is on the ball, perhaps even supporting the building owner to keep those exact colors. 

Too bad they don’t still keep a 1903 Ford Model A parked on 4th Street. 

In my experience, that’s Troy. A city filled with unexpected treasures. A city with a past, a rich history. It’s why Scorcese picked Troy as the location for filming “The Age of Innocence.” It’s why they film “The Gilded Age” here, too. And the latest installment of “The Conjuring” franchise.

The city evokes something, another time, another world. And if you haven’t tried DeFazio’s, my goodness, you’re in for a treat. 

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ADDENDUM, October 29th:

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This is too cool. 

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In 2008, Troy’s Historic Little Italy Neighborhood conducted this recreation featuring neighbors. Just fabulous. Thank you, David H. Graham, for passing this along. I need to dig into the backstory on this one, but am a little jammed up — book due tomorrow, ack! Hopefully can follow up when things settle.

In addition, local artist John Connors shared his version of the building. Again, so cool to see. 

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