4. Original 1940s Signage Has Been Placed at the New Essex Street Market

Photo by Fay Wong

The original Essex Street Market was made up of four separate buildings. Essex Building D actually stood on the site of the new market and a piece of that original building still survives in the form of a neon meat market sign. The sign which once hung in the original meat market during the 1940s now graces the side of the new market’s mezzanine level above the grand center staircase entrance. The neon was restored but the paint on the sign has been left as found.

The typeface of the old neon sign was used to engineer a custom typeface which is used on signage throughout the rest of the market and outside on its marquee. The distinctive lettering is an homage to the market’s history.