Daily What?! What are these pre-1924 Saks & Company Planters Doing in Queens?

We came across these planters engraved with “Saks & Company” far, far away from the flagship store on 5th Avenue. In fact, they were in Queens on 36th Avenue and 33rd Street, between Long Island City and Astoria. Since the planters say Saks & Company and not “Saks Fifth Avenue” these make these planters pre-1924, when the company name was changed.

So what are they doing in Queens? They may have a similar story to the 34th Street Partnership planters that are in Red Hook. In that case, the partnership donated the planters to a property owner in Red Hook. As for the Saks & Company ones, looks like they’ve been moved across the street since the April 2012 Google Street view below, which shows them nicely lined up on the street. Now, they’re haphazardly placed next to a construction site, some also have graffiti tags on them.

Whatever its origins, its a fun incongruous case of reuse–and one that seems to have precedent.

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