a couple weeks ago [flickr]

Out of town for the past week, I returned to find a surprise gift unwrapped on the corner of John and Broadway while I was away. After what seemed like years of promising to go out of business, Rado actually did close its doors sometime this autumn. With all the talk of Broadway’s slow slide into oblivion, one might have expected the storefront to sit empty and creepy [ed: creepier?] looking for at least a few months (in the style of the abandoned Mongolian barbecue).

Instead, there’s a brand new American Apparel store standing shiny and ready to outfit Capitol Hill denizens and their pets with well-fitting brand-free cotton garments. Sure, we could have always taken a field trip up to the bigger store that opened this spring to much fanfare [mb] on the city’s other favorite beleaguered avenue, but any excuse to avoid the #49 is a good one.

Does this new store, along with other indicators like the six plus month survival of 406 Broadway tenant [mb], a sign that Broadway’s long struggle to “reclaim it’s hipness” [p-i] is not a complete failure? And is it a complete coincidence that it’s located right next to one of those gold fire hydrants [mb]?

update: a sign on the door reads “coming soon”, so this post was a bit of premature celebration. developing.