There was a gas station at that location. Hopper used to frequent the Loew's Sheraton which was located across the street on what is now the St. Vincent's Triangle. The diner may have been an imagined building on an actual site. There are very few triangular lots of that type in the Village and the other buildings look very similar to what's there now.

Village Girl,

I wonder if "New York Movie" was a scene from the old Loew's (now the Equinox Health Club)? It was painted roughly around the same time as "Nighhawks". Now I, too, am becoming obsessed with this subject.

Tim

Yes, it was...The Loew's wasn't where Equinox is...the Greenwich Movie Theater was..which actually was shown in a movie but I forgot the name of it. The Loew's what where the St. Vincent's garden is now on the big lot. Go to www.gvba.org for the current newsletter...there's a photo of the Loew's It's not posted yet but it will be.

I was five years old when they tore that down. Too bad for me. I love the old style theaters; Village East and Cinema Village are two treasures. They are slowly renovating a few in Brooklyn, thankfully. I have never been a fan of the O'Toole building, I guess I never understood it's significance. To me, it is simply an ugly utilitarian homage to utilitarianism architecture of the 1970's. I can only imagine how grand a theater the Loew's must have been. Thank you for pointing this out and giving me a history lesson of the neighborhood that is home.

Tim

Considering that Edward Hopper lived for 85 years (1882-1967) and "Nighthawks" was finished in 1942 one can assume it was imagined or seen in the late 1930s-early 1940's. Certainly there must be a person who was alive and living in the West Village at that time who can verify the existence of such an establishment in question. I was not alive then but I do know plenty of people who were.

I am also in Ed's camp. I always thought it was Chicago. I dont know if it is because that is where the painting resides or the Dillinger like couple (man with fedora and woman with red dress).

Tim Schreier

New York, NY

One of the reasons that stretch of Seventh Avenue was a 'prime suspect' was because of all the angled corners - like the one depicted in the painting.

I write about it more, here.

Peter

inklake

I am a bit obsessed with this topic. I think a gas station stood on that corner. The view from the SE corner of the Greenwich/7th Ave intersection looking NEE does look like the view seen in the painting. The lot is pie shaped but I think the tiles left on the wall were left by the gas station not a diner.

yep a gas station was there, although it may have been opposite the corner in question. the gas station lot (triangular) is now occupied by the cigar shop and outside on the sidewalk there is a triangular marking indicating the presence of the former hess (i think) gas station that once stood.

the marking on the sidewalk notes that it's actually STILL private property (yes, that very, very small piece of the sidewalk is private) and that the old station's owner/estate still pays taxes on it.

Jen is the person who calls it "Nighthawks Diner" - twice. also that it "never existed" is not really the conclusion reached in the VNY piece.

youngpro - you clearly didn't read VanishingNY's articles, as Jeremiah was not searching for a "Nighthawks Diner" by name. He looked for a diner - any diner - in that area at a triangular intersection, mainly looking through old tax photos.

Second, you're citing wikipedia to contraction his findings? Really? That article is simply a statement (uncited) of the common wisdom, which said that the diner existed at a location that Jeremiah proved it did not.

also, you missed the wiki entry that stated the tiles do in fact belong to the diner that once stood.

The article you cite has no citations or links. I could just as easily go to Wikipedia right now and erase it.

and you would be warned and/or banned by the wiki geek 'editors'

no, i didnt, nor do i care to. it did exist, period, so it was moot.

For some reason I always assumed the diner wasn't in New York.

There is a diner near my apartment that used to be open 24 hours and where you would see an almost Nighthawks type scene if you passed it late at night or early in the morning. Sadly, it now closes early in the evening and just as sadly, the food was never that good.

great sleuth work! too bad it failed. the diner was not called 'Nighthawks'- that's only a reference to the people in the painting. so a search for that would come up blank.

and since you wanna use wiki as a refefence, the 'it never existed' thing also contradicts ANOTHER wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulry_Square

which states '...was formerly the site of a wedge-shaped diner that was the inspiration for Edward Hopper's famous painting Nighthawks. The diner's tiling can still be seen on the one remaining wall.'

Of course it never existed. Look at those fucking crazy big windows.

mmmm... clean streets.