Nighthawks

For those of you who have checked out pictures of the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, it may or may not be apparent that the place looks a lot like the dive portrayed in Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." It might be just because a print of "Nighthawks" hangs in my living room, but once the sun goes down on Third Street, working the coffee bar at the Scholar has too many consonances with this image to be coincidence.

For one, the silver coffee machines. Not exactly like the giant copper-and-brass eagle that sits astride our espresso machine, but the shape is the same. Secondly, the customers: ensconced in their seats, making their drinks last longer than they probably should, just to stay inside and enjoy the light for a while. Just like our regulars. Thirdly, the windows: the Scholar's storefront is completely glass, the view blocked only by a few concert posters and bus schedules. Perhaps most uncannily, The street, with its abandoned-but-still-respectable buildings is a dead ringer for Third Street in Midtown. You'll have to come here and see it sometime.