One of the challenges that comes in trying to work with archived photos is in the information that is provided. Where some photographers or archivists will take the time to leave valuable information about locations or subjects on the back of their prints, others leave nothing, making it challenging to track down the information after the fact. This “then” shot had what someone surely thought was the only word needed written across its back. “Gunter’s”.
A little bit of digging in The Record’s archives reveals that the older photo was taken nearly 40 years ago in the spring of 1979 by Bruce Porter to accompany a feature on The Grand Central Hotel by Nick Fonda. It was, in fact, a part of its own “then and now” shot of the establishment in 1979 and an older, undated postcard image, and served as a compliment to a history of the tavern and hotel told in Fonda’s familiar, whimsical tone. See full story in the Wednesday, Feb. 20 edition of The Record.
