Club 338: Home of the Zodiacs

A Lenny Zeltser projectContactRecordsMethodPrint
Low angle of the brick facade. A black board in a yellow frame runs across the lower third, with cream letters on it.

A puppet theater at 338 Sixth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, took down its sign in 2026. Underneath, in hand-painted letters, was an older one: CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE ZODIACS. The building’s story goes back to 1891: a poetry salon, a restaurant, bars, grocery stores. But who the Zodiacs were remains a mystery.

2026Chapter 1 of 10The sign under the sign
Low angle of the brick facade. A black board in a yellow frame runs across the lower third, with cream letters on it.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
The storefront straight on. The painted board sits above a teal front, yellow window grilles and a red door.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
A black painted board above a teal storefront, with hand-cut cream letters reading PUPPET WORKS. Yellow accordion grilles cover the window below it.
The theater’s own sign on the Fourth Street side: black board, cream letters, yellow frame, like the Club 338 board. Photograph by the author, September 2026
The storefront straight on. The painted board sits above a teal front, yellow window grilles and a red door.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
The Puppetworks sign on Fourth Street, and the storefront on Sixth Avenue
The corner storefront in daylight. A black PUPPETWORKS sign is over the Sixth Avenue front, and a second is around the corner. Below them are yellow window grilles and a red door.
Joe Shlabotnik, June 2013. Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Sixth Avenue front under the PUPPETWORKS sign. Both display windows are full of puppets, and a line of children is going in at the door.
Puppetworks, about 2000, restored. From the theater’s website, via the Internet Archive
A newspaper listings column headed Activities for Kids. The first entry begins PUPPETWORKS and names a March 2 opening at 338 Sixth Ave.
Boxed: the new tenant, and the corner it moved intoThe Phoenix, February 28, 1990
A city tax photograph of the corner building. Over the storefront is a dark sign board with a white stripe, and a striped awning below it. A plate below reads 338 6 Avenue.
Tax photograph, 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives
Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
Boxed: the sign board over the storefront in the 1980s photograph. Beside it, the Club 338 board in the same position today.
A grainy newspaper photograph of two people seated in a storefront with a violin. A printed caption below names the Park Slope salon.
The Phoenix, March 17, 1983
A newspaper listing headed Slope Salon November Events, naming a storefront at the corner of 6th Ave. and 4th St.
The Phoenix, October 28, 1982
Boxed: the corner address in the salon’s notice in the Park Slope weekly

A corporation, no photograph

El Sombrero Rojo Inc.

Formed January 1975, at the home of the owners of 338 Sixth Avenue

Corporation name and filing date, from the New York State incorporation papers
A classified column. One advertisement reads Bar Maids full or part time. No Exp. Necessary. St. 8-9168. 338 6 Ave. Bklyn.
New York Amsterdam News, July 21, 1973
A classified column. One advertisement reads BAR-MAID PART-Time. No Experience Necessary. ST 8-9168 Bklyn. A second barmaid advertisement sits below it on another number.
New York Amsterdam News, November 16, 1974
Boxed: the July 1973 ad with the full address, and the last of nine barmaid ads, from November 1974
Three lines of small print from the head of a directory page. A hollow square means a new listing to the directory. A dash means a new listing to that street, and TZ means trading zone.
Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974, the symbol legend. Brooklyn Public Library
Rows from the same street directory a year on. One row reads 338, star, CLUB 338, and the row under it reads JOHN OCONNOR.
Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974. Brooklyn Public Library
Boxed: the mark for a new listing, and the club in the 1974 volume
Rows from a telephone company address directory. The only entry at 338 is O’Connor John, and the rows under it are at 340 and 342.
New York Telephone Company address directory, July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 7-18-75, BKLYN-591, New York Telephone Company 1975.
New York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History
Boxed: the one listing still at 338 in July 1975, and the date printed on the page
Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
A license notice. It says number 2RL-13150 has been issued to sell liquor at retail at 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn. It is signed JOHN O’CONNOR.
License notice, 1958
A crop from a Brooklyn telephone directory page, headed BROOKLYN, showing a column of O’Connor entries. The print is coarse.
Brooklyn telephone directory, January 1967
Boxed: the address inside the notice
A classified column headed Brooklyn. One entry offers a building at 6 Av and 4 St as 3 fam and bar, with parking.
Daily News, March 25, 1966
A classified column of Brooklyn listings. One entry reads Park Slope, 6 Av and 4 St, 3 fam and store.
Daily News, October 30, 1967
Boxed: the entry for this corner in each advertisement
Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
Boxed: the bar, still listed in 1971Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1971. Brooklyn Public Library
A license notice for number 2RL-11594 at 338 6th Ave. It names Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, trading as Fitzgerald’s.
Boxed: the name the bar traded underLicense notice, 1953
A strip of a handwritten 1940 census sheet. Line 44 carries the house number 366 and the head of household Colella, Donato. Two more households follow.
Ringed: the house number, 366Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, ED 24-1225, sheet 16B. National Archives
A tax photograph of the corner building around 1940. The ground floor is a grocery with Roulstons lettered across both fronts and goods stacked in the windows.
Tax photograph, c.1940. NYC Municipal Archives
A close view of the grocery on the corner around 1940. Panels reading GROCERIES and VEGETABLES flank the Roulstons fascia. Price cards fill the windows, and cans stand on crates at the kerb.
Tax photograph, c.1940, the storefront at full size. NYC Municipal Archives
Boxed: the store on the corner, and the street sign at full size
A typed certificate giving the address as 338 6th avenue, southwest corner 4th street, block 985 lot 43. The permit number NB 622/1891 is typed under it.
Certificate of Occupancy 110744, July 7, 1944. NYC Department of Buildings
A dense classified column from 1904. One short line advertises for a boy of about 16 to work in a grocery store at 338 Sixth av.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 13, 1904
Boxed: the 1891 construction permit number on the 1944 certificate, and the grocery’s help-wanted line
A newspaper front page. The headline reads BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53, over a line about two well dressed armed robbers.
The Evening Telegram, August 21, 1922
A newspaper front page. The headline reads Roulston Store Bandits Get $53. Under the story a second headline reads Brooklyn Saloons Raided, One Dry Agent Assaulted.
Brooklyn Standard Union, August 21, 1922
Boxed: the headline, and the line naming the manager and the clerks
A newspaper column. The headline reads Lone Bandit Gets $100 In Grocery Store Holdup. Two paragraphs below it describe a holdup at the Thomas Roulston grocery store at 338 Sixth avenue.
Brooklyn Standard Union, March 8, 1928
A short newspaper paragraph listing holdups. One line reads holdup of a Roulston store at 338 Sixth avenue, Oct. 26, $75.
Brooklyn Standard Union, January 5, 1931
Boxed: the address in the 1928 report, and the Roulston line in 1931
Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
Rows from the same street directory a year later. The row now reads 338, star, CLUB 338, with a hollow square and the same number, 7889168.
Boxed: the bar, and the number it answered onCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1972. Brooklyn Public Library
Boxed: the same number, under a new nameCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1973. Brooklyn Public Library
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 3-1-73, BKLYN-597, New York Telephone Company.
New York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated March 1, 1973. Center for Brooklyn History
A city tax photograph of the corner building. Over the storefront is a dark sign board with a white stripe, and a striped awning below it. A plate below reads 338 6 Avenue.
Boxed: the sign board over the storefront, where the Club 338 board is todayTax photograph, 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives
Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
A black painted board above a teal storefront, with hand-cut cream letters reading PUPPET WORKS. Yellow accordion grilles cover the window below it.
The theater’s own sign on the Fourth Street side: black board, cream letters, yellow frame, like the Club 338 board. Photograph by the author, September 2026
A grainy newspaper photograph of two people seated in a storefront with a violin. A printed caption below names the Park Slope salon.
The Phoenix, March 17, 1983
A newspaper listing headed Slope Salon November Events, naming a storefront at the corner of 6th Ave. and 4th St.
Boxed: the corner address in the salon’s notice in the Park Slope weeklyThe Phoenix, October 28, 1982
A Facebook post by the Park Slope Salon page, dated March 24, 2019, on how the salon began. Under it, Risa Johnson replies: That is true.
Park Slope Salon Facebook page, March 24, 2019
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 3-1-73, BKLYN-597, New York Telephone Company.
Boxed: the date printed on the pageNew York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated March 1, 1973. Center for Brooklyn History
Rows from the same street directory a year on. One row reads 338, star, CLUB 338, and the row under it reads JOHN OCONNOR.
Boxed: the club, still listed in 1974Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974. Brooklyn Public Library
Three lines of small print from the head of a directory page. A hollow square means a new listing to the directory. A dash means a new listing to that street, and TZ means trading zone.
Boxed: the mark the directory used for a new listingCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974, the symbol legend. Brooklyn Public Library
Rows from a telephone company address directory. The only entry at 338 is O’Connor John, and the rows under it are at 340 and 342.
Boxed: the one listing still at 338 in July 1975New York Telephone Company address directory, July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 7-18-75, BKLYN-591, New York Telephone Company 1975.
Boxed: the date printed on the pageNew York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History
A cream microfilm reel box on a wooden table. Its printed label reads Brooklyn Address, Criss Cross, Directory, number 53, and 1975 July.
Microfilm reel box, Center for Brooklyn History, photographed September 2026
A classified column. One advertisement reads BAR-MAID PART-Time. No Experience Necessary. ST 8-9168 Bklyn. A second barmaid advertisement sits below it on another number.
Boxed: the last of the nine advertisementsNew York Amsterdam News, November 16, 1974
A paragraph from a 1926 newspaper report. It says a new boys’ club was organized at the Bay Ridge branch. The name chosen is the Zodiac Athletic Club.
Boxed: the name the club choseBrooklyn Daily Eagle, May 14, 1926
A short bowling column headed Brooklyn United League. It names a Zodiacs team and five rivals, the Termites, Just Pals, Eagles, Pirates and Diablos.
Boxed: the Zodiacs in the league’s columnNew York Amsterdam News, February 26, 1966
A paragraph of box-score prose. It reports that two home runs aided the Zodiacs to shade the Aces, 8 to 7.
Boxed: the Zodiacs in the resultNew York Amsterdam News, May 25, 1974
A newspaper listing that bills Cecil Payne on baritone sax, with a singer and the Jazz Zodiacs. The place is Brooklyn Happenings, in front of Borough Hall.
The Phoenix, June 14, 1973
A license notice. It says number 2RL-13150 has been issued to sell liquor at retail at 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn. It is signed JOHN O’CONNOR.
Boxed: the address inside the noticeLicense notice, 1958
A crop from a Brooklyn telephone directory page, headed BROOKLYN, showing a column of O’Connor entries. The print is coarse.
Brooklyn telephone directory, January 1967
A classified column headed Brooklyn. One entry offers a building at 6 Av and 4 St as 3 fam and bar, with parking.
Boxed: the entry for this cornerDaily News, March 25, 1966
A classified column of Brooklyn listings. One entry reads Park Slope, 6 Av and 4 St, 3 fam and store.
Boxed: the entry for this cornerDaily News, October 30, 1967
A close view of the grocery on the corner around 1940. Panels reading GROCERIES and VEGETABLES flank the Roulstons fascia. Price cards fill the windows, and cans stand on crates at the kerb.
Boxed: the street sign at the cornerTax photograph, c.1940, the storefront at full size. NYC Municipal Archives
A typed certificate giving the address as 338 6th avenue, southwest corner 4th street, block 985 lot 43. The permit number NB 622/1891 is typed under it.
Boxed: the 1891 construction permit number on the 1944 certificateCertificate of Occupancy 110744, July 7, 1944. NYC Department of Buildings
A newspaper front page. The headline reads BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53, over a line about two well dressed armed robbers.
Boxed: the headline and the line under itThe Evening Telegram, August 21, 1922
A newspaper front page. The headline reads Roulston Store Bandits Get $53. Under the story a second headline reads Brooklyn Saloons Raided, One Dry Agent Assaulted.
Boxed: the line naming the manager and the clerksBrooklyn Standard Union, August 21, 1922
A dense classified column from 1904. One short line advertises for a boy of about 16 to work in a grocery store at 338 Sixth av.
Boxed: the grocery’s help-wanted lineBrooklyn Daily Eagle, October 13, 1904
A newspaper column. The headline reads Lone Bandit Gets $100 In Grocery Store Holdup. Two paragraphs below it describe a holdup at the Thomas Roulston grocery store at 338 Sixth avenue.
Boxed: the address inside the reportBrooklyn Standard Union, March 8, 1928
A short newspaper paragraph listing holdups. One line reads holdup of a Roulston store at 338 Sixth avenue, Oct. 26, $75.
Boxed: the Roulston holdup at this cornerBrooklyn Standard Union, January 5, 1931

Chapter 1, 2026

Low angle of the brick facade. A black board in a yellow frame runs across the lower third, with cream letters on it.
Photograph by the author, September 2026

September 2026

The sign under the sign

Open a larger view

The story

In spring 2026 the Puppetworks marionette theater announced that “our building has been sold to a developer.” Puppetworks had called the building home since 1990. Its show that summer, Pinocchio, ran through August 9. In September the theater moved out of 338 Sixth Avenue. When Puppetworks took down its sign above the entrance, it exposed the painted Club 338 board.

No deed recording that sale had been filed with the city register by the end of August 2026.

The records

  • Low angle of the brick facade. A black board in a yellow frame runs across the lower third, with cream letters on it.

Records with no picture

  • “after Forty Years in Park Slope, our building has been sold to a developer”

    Puppetworks

    Citation
    What it is
    Puppetworks homepage, with the banner on the building’s sale
    Who made it
    Puppetworks
    When
    Captured by the Internet Archive on May 18, 2026
    Where to find it
    The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine
    Online
    The archived homepage

All records for chapter 1, The sign under the sign

A black painted board above a teal storefront, with hand-cut cream letters reading PUPPET WORKS. Yellow accordion grilles cover the window below it.
The theater’s own sign on the Fourth Street side: black board, cream letters, yellow frame, like the Club 338 board. Photograph by the author, September 2026
The storefront straight on. The painted board sits above a teal front, yellow window grilles and a red door.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
The Puppetworks sign on Fourth Street, and the storefront on Sixth Avenue

September 2026

Open a larger view, 1 of 2Open a larger view, 2 of 2

The story

Black paint, cream letters, a yellow frame: CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS. The Puppetworks sign had been screwed onto it. In September 2026 a Puppetworks sign remained around the corner on Fourth Street. It has black paint, cream letters and a yellow frame similar to the Club 338 board.

The records

  • A black painted board above a teal storefront, with hand-cut cream letters reading PUPPET WORKS. Yellow accordion grilles cover the window below it.
  • The storefront straight on. The painted board sits above a teal front, yellow window grilles and a red door.

All records for chapter 1, The sign under the sign

The painted Club 338 board belonged to an earlier occupant.

Chapter 2, 1990 to 2026

The corner storefront in daylight. A black PUPPETWORKS sign is over the Sixth Avenue front, and a second is around the corner. Below them are yellow window grilles and a red door.
Joe Shlabotnik, June 2013. Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

June 2013

Puppetworks

Open a larger view

The story

In a June 2013 photograph, a Puppetworks sign is over the Sixth Avenue front. A second one is around the corner on Fourth Street. The Club 338 board was found under the Puppetworks sign in 2026.

The records

  • The corner storefront in daylight. A black PUPPETWORKS sign is over the Sixth Avenue front, and a second is around the corner. Below them are yellow window grilles and a red door.
    Citation
    What it is
    “Puppetworks”, a photograph of the corner storefront under the theater’s signs
    Who made it
    Joe Shlabotnik, on Flickr
    When
    June 18, 2013
    Where to find it
    Flickr, under a Creative Commons license, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
    Online
    The photograph on Flickr
    The license

All records for chapter 2, Puppetworks

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A venue page gave in 2026 the theater's move to this corner as 2000.Nothing ties it to this address. The February 1990 listing advertises the first performance here for March 2.
  • A guidebook said in 1987 the puppet company opened a Park Slope storefront theater that year.Ruled out by the February 1990 listing. Printed listings put that theater on Third Avenue until then.
  • A published interview put in 2024 the theater's opening at this corner in 1991.Ruled out by the February 1990 listing. That notice advertises the first performance here for March 2, 1990.

Around 2000, Puppetworks' display windows were full of puppets.

The Sixth Avenue front under the PUPPETWORKS sign. Both display windows are full of puppets, and a line of children is going in at the door.
Puppetworks, about 2000, restored. From the theater’s website, via the Internet Archive

About 2000

Open a larger view

The story

In a photograph from the theater’s own website, about 2000, both display windows are full of puppets. A line of children is going in, under the Puppetworks sign.

The records

  • The Sixth Avenue front under the PUPPETWORKS sign. Both display windows are full of puppets, and a line of children is going in at the door.
    Citation
    What it is
    Photograph of the storefront, from the theater’s website
    Who made it
    Puppetworks
    When
    About 2000. Captured by the Internet Archive on August 26, 2000
    Where to find it
    The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Restored from the 406-pixel original in the Internet Archive. Colors and fine detail differ from the original.
    Online
    The archived photograph
    The unrestored original

All records for chapter 2, Puppetworks

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A venue page gave in 2026 the theater's move to this corner as 2000.Nothing ties it to this address. The February 1990 listing advertises the first performance here for March 2.
  • A guidebook said in 1987 the puppet company opened a Park Slope storefront theater that year.Ruled out by the February 1990 listing. Printed listings put that theater on Third Avenue until then.
  • A published interview put in 2024 the theater's opening at this corner in 1991.Ruled out by the February 1990 listing. That notice advertises the first performance here for March 2, 1990.

The theater's first show at the corner was in March 1990.

A newspaper listings column headed Activities for Kids. The first entry begins PUPPETWORKS and names a March 2 opening at 338 Sixth Ave.
Boxed: the new tenant, and the corner it moved intoThe Phoenix, February 28, 1990

February 1990

Open a larger view

The story

Puppetworks gave its first advertised performance at 338 Sixth Avenue on March 2, 1990. The production was The Tortoise and the Hare.

The theater’s founder Nicolas Coppola recalled in 2024 what was in the space before Puppetworks. “Local people have told me that, way back when, it had been an Irish bar. We had the evidence of that because we had the bar back and all the elements.”

The records

  • A newspaper listings column headed Activities for Kids. The first entry begins PUPPETWORKS and names a March 2 opening at 338 Sixth Ave.
    Citation
    What it is
    Listings column announcing a Puppetworks production opening March 2 at 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    The Phoenix, the Park Slope weekly
    When
    February 28, 1990
    Where to find it
    The Phoenix archive at DigiFind-It
    Identifier
    Page 16
    Online
    The issue at DigiFind-It

Records with no picture

  • An interview with the founder of Puppetworks, 2024

    Kelley Macdonald

    Citation
    What it is
    Interview with Nicolas Coppola of Puppetworks
    Who made it
    Kelley Macdonald
    When
    2024
    Where to find it
    Published on Substack
    Online
    The interview

  • A 2014 newspaper profile of the owner who bought the building in 1988

    Liz Goodman, Monterey News

    Citation
    What it is
    Who’s Who in Monterey, a profile of the owner who bought the building in 1988
    Who made it
    Liz Goodman, Monterey News
    When
    January 2014
    Where to find it
    Internet Archive
    Identifier
    Pages 10 to 12
    Online
    The issue at the Internet Archive

All records for chapter 2, Puppetworks

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A venue page gave in 2026 the theater's move to this corner as 2000.Nothing ties it to this address. The February 1990 listing advertises the first performance here for March 2.
  • A guidebook said in 1987 the puppet company opened a Park Slope storefront theater that year.Ruled out by the February 1990 listing. Printed listings put that theater on Third Avenue until then.
  • A published interview put in 2024 the theater's opening at this corner in 1991.Ruled out by the February 1990 listing. That notice advertises the first performance here for March 2, 1990.

A 2014 newspaper profile of the building's owner at the time says he "evicted the bar" before recruiting Puppetworks.

Chapter 3, 1982 to 1988

A city tax photograph of the corner building. Over the storefront is a dark sign board with a white stripe, and a striped awning below it. A plate below reads 338 6 Avenue.
Tax photograph, 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives
Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026
Boxed: the sign board over the storefront in the 1980s photograph. Beside it, the Club 338 board in the same position today.

1980s

The Park Slope Salon

Open a larger view, 1 of 2Open a larger view, 2 of 2

The story

The Park Slope Salon held poetry and music nights in the storefront from 1982. A 2014 newspaper profile of the owner who bought the building in 1988 says he “discovered that El Sombrero Rojo had long been without a lease, and evicted the bar.” The salon’s hosts had described the restaurant as closed in 1983, five years before he bought the building. The only photograph of the front from those years is a city tax photograph from the 1980s. It shows a dark sign board with a white stripe over the storefront, and a striped awning below.

That sign board hangs where the Club 338 board is today, and may have concealed it.

The records

  • A city tax photograph of the corner building. Over the storefront is a dark sign board with a white stripe, and a striped awning below it. A plate below reads 338 6 Avenue.
    Citation
    What it is
    Tax photograph of block 985, lot 43, the storefront under a dark, two-tone sign board
    Who made it
    City of New York
    When
    1980s. The frame carries no date of its own.
    Where to find it
    New York City Municipal Archives
    Identifier
    Record REC0041_3_00985_0043
    Online
    The Municipal Archives portal
  • Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.

Records with no picture

  • A 2014 newspaper profile of the owner who bought the building in 1988

    Liz Goodman, Monterey News

    Citation
    What it is
    Who’s Who in Monterey, a profile of the owner who bought the building in 1988
    Who made it
    Liz Goodman, Monterey News
    When
    January 2014
    Where to find it
    Internet Archive
    Identifier
    Pages 10 to 12
    Online
    The issue at the Internet Archive

All records for chapter 3, The Park Slope Salon

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A commenter on Instagram relayed in September 2026 her husband's memory of a men's bar here.Still possible. The account describes a bar visit here around 1986. No record names that bar.
  • The building's owner said in 2014 the tenant he evicted was a bar.Still possible. The 2014 profile describes the owner who bought this building in 1988. The records list a bar here to 1972 and a restaurant from 1975. Nothing is listed for 1984 to 1988.
  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2026 the man who ran the bar still lives nearby.Still possible. The 1974 deed gives its buyers a home address nearby. It names nobody as the bar's operator.
  • The salon's own page, run by its former hosts, said in the 2020s the salon ran here until 1989.Still possible. A 2019 post by the same hosts says about five years, and listings stop in 1983. The 1982 listing puts the salon at this corner that November.
  • A commenter under a photograph of the storefront recalled in 2020 a disco called the Ritz here.Nothing ties it to this address. The Park Slope weekly from 1975 to 1990 names no Brooklyn venue of that name.

Before the 1988 sale, the storefront had been home to a poetry salon.

A grainy newspaper photograph of two people seated in a storefront with a violin. A printed caption below names the Park Slope salon.
The Phoenix, March 17, 1983
A newspaper listing headed Slope Salon November Events, naming a storefront at the corner of 6th Ave. and 4th St.
The Phoenix, October 28, 1982
Boxed: the corner address in the salon’s notice in the Park Slope weekly

1982 and 1983

Open a larger view, 1 of 2Open a larger view, 2 of 2

The story

In October 1982 a poetry and music salon opened in the storefront. Its hosts, Ed Rollin and Risa Honest, advertised it in the Park Slope weekly for two years.

The hosts kept the closed restaurant’s bar and its décor. Risa Honest added “her red fifties lamps to the red and purple lights over the old bar”.

In a March 2019 post on the Park Slope Salon’s Facebook page, Ed Rollin recalled how it began. “So I ended up buying 75 folding chairs created a lighting system bought a PA and the Park Slope Salon was born. It lasted for about 5 years. We served free wine charged 1 dollar admission and opened only on Monday.” It ended, he wrote, when “the owner sold the building”. Risa replied under the post: “That is true.”

The records

  • A grainy newspaper photograph of two people seated in a storefront with a violin. A printed caption below names the Park Slope salon.
    Citation
    What it is
    Interior photograph with the illustrated feature on the Park Slope Salon
    Who made it
    The Phoenix
    When
    March 17, 1983
    Where to find it
    The Phoenix archive at DigiFind-It
    Identifier
    Pages 7 and 8
    Online
    The issue at DigiFind-It
  • A newspaper listing headed Slope Salon November Events, naming a storefront at the corner of 6th Ave. and 4th St.
    Citation
    What it is
    Listing, Slope Salon November Events, at the corner of 6th Ave. and 4th St.
    Who made it
    The Phoenix
    When
    October 28, 1982
    Where to find it
    The Phoenix archive at DigiFind-It
    Identifier
    Page 16
    Online
    The issue at DigiFind-It
  • A Facebook post by the Park Slope Salon page, dated March 24, 2019, on how the salon began. Under it, Risa Johnson replies: That is true.
    Citation
    What it is
    Post on the Park Slope Salon’s Facebook page, recalling how the salon began
    Who made it
    Park Slope Salon (Ed Rollin)
    When
    March 24, 2019
    Where to find it
    Facebook
    Online
    The salon’s page

All records for chapter 3, The Park Slope Salon

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A commenter on Instagram relayed in September 2026 her husband's memory of a men's bar here.Still possible. The account describes a bar visit here around 1986. No record names that bar.
  • The building's owner said in 2014 the tenant he evicted was a bar.Still possible. The 2014 profile describes the owner who bought this building in 1988. The records list a bar here to 1972 and a restaurant from 1975. Nothing is listed for 1984 to 1988.
  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2026 the man who ran the bar still lives nearby.Still possible. The 1974 deed gives its buyers a home address nearby. It names nobody as the bar's operator.
  • The salon's own page, run by its former hosts, said in the 2020s the salon ran here until 1989.Still possible. A 2019 post by the same hosts says about five years, and listings stop in 1983. The 1982 listing puts the salon at this corner that November.
  • A commenter under a photograph of the storefront recalled in 2020 a disco called the Ritz here.Nothing ties it to this address. The Park Slope weekly from 1975 to 1990 names no Brooklyn venue of that name.

In March 1983 the Park Slope weekly described the salon's home as "a former restaurant-El Sombrero Rojo" where the hosts "salvaged as much of its original decor as they could."

Chapter 4, 1975 to 1982

A corporation, no photograph

El Sombrero Rojo Inc.

Formed January 1975, at the home of the owners of 338 Sixth Avenue

Corporation name and filing date, from the New York State incorporation papers

January 1975

El Sombrero Rojo

The story

338 Sixth Avenue changed hands in December 1974. A month later a corporation called El Sombrero Rojo was formed. Its incorporation papers give the address of the new owners’ own home, a few blocks away. So the restaurant most likely belonged to the owners of 338 Sixth Avenue. Few records of the restaurant have been found. From 1975 to 1981 the telephone directories list only John O’Connor at 338, on the line for the apartment upstairs. The state dissolved the corporation in December 1982.

In 2023 or 2024, a commenter on a neighborhood Facebook post recalled their grandfather’s bar here, calling it the “Red Sombrero.”

In a 2026 comment on a neighborhood post, a commenter recalled a video arcade in the storefront around 1979.

The records

No photograph of the restaurant has been found in this research.

Records with no picture

  • El Sombrero Rojo Inc., a corporation filed in January 1975

    New York State Department of State

    Citation
    What it is
    Certificate of incorporation, El Sombrero Rojo Inc.
    Who made it
    New York State Department of State
    When
    Filed January 1975, dissolved by proclamation in December 1982
    Where to find it
    The state’s corporation and business entity database

All records for chapter 4, El Sombrero Rojo

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A member of a Facebook group said in May 2020 her relatives owned the restaurant that followed the club.Still possible. The 1975 filing names no officer, and the 1974 buyers and the new company share one home address.
  • A Reddit commenter who moved nearby in 1978 said in September 2026 a video arcade followed the club.Still possible. A 1981 article on local game rooms names only Seventh Avenue. A 1980 alteration filing could be an arcade fit-out.

Before El Sombrero Rojo, the telephone directories listed Club 338 at this address.

Chapter 5, 1973 to 1975

Rows from a telephone company address directory. The only entry at 338 is O’Connor John, and the rows under it are at 340 and 342.
New York Telephone Company address directory, July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 7-18-75, BKLYN-591, New York Telephone Company 1975.
New York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History
Boxed: the one listing still at 338 in July 1975, and the date printed on the page

July 18, 1975

Club 338 in the directories

Open a larger view, 1 of 2Open a larger view, 2 of 2

The story

The phone company’s directory dated July 18, 1975 has one entry at 338: John O’Connor. The club’s line, 788-9168, is gone.

The records

  • Rows from a telephone company address directory. The only entry at 338 is O’Connor John, and the rows under it are at 340 and 342.
    Citation
    What it is
    Brooklyn address directory, July 1975, the entries at 338 with no club among them
    Who made it
    New York Telephone Company
    When
    Edition dated July 18, 1975
    Where to find it
    Consulted on microfilm at the Center for Brooklyn History
    Identifier
    Page footer 7-18-75 BKLYN-591

All records for chapter 5, Club 338 in the directories

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2015 a relative ran this bar and later another one nearby.Still possible. A February 1965 notice lists both bars on one page. The 1958 license names this bar's licensee. No record names the same family at both bars.
  • Could Club 338 be the Brooklyn party club numbered 338 in the 1949 and 1950 honor rolls?Ruled out by the honor rolls themselves. They number party clubs inside sections, and that section met on Fulton Street.
  • Could the club be 338 Social Club, Inc., filed in January 1974?Ruled out by the state register. That company's address is 338 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan.
  • Could the club be O'Connor's Bar, Inc., filed in Kings County in 1964?Ruled out by the 1965 license notices. That company's license was at 39 Fifth Avenue.

A year earlier, Cole's directory still listed Club 338.

Three lines of small print from the head of a directory page. A hollow square means a new listing to the directory. A dash means a new listing to that street, and TZ means trading zone.
Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974, the symbol legend. Brooklyn Public Library
Rows from the same street directory a year on. One row reads 338, star, CLUB 338, and the row under it reads JOHN OCONNOR.
Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974. Brooklyn Public Library
Boxed: the mark for a new listing, and the club in the 1974 volume

1974

Open a larger view, 1 of 2Open a larger view, 2 of 2

The story

Cole’s listed Club 338 in its 1974 volume, with John O’Connor’s own line under it. It is the last year in which Cole’s listed Club 338.

At the head of its pages Cole’s printed a legend, which indicates that a hollow square means a new listing. Cole’s put that square beside Club 338 in its 1973 volume.

The records

  • Three lines of small print from the head of a directory page. A hollow square means a new listing to the directory. A dash means a new listing to that street, and TZ means trading zone.
    Citation
    What it is
    The symbol legend printed at the head of Cole’s directory pages
    Who made it
    Cole Publications
    When
    1974 volume
    Where to find it
    Consulted at Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library. There is no online copy. A librarian photographed the page.
    Identifier
    The head of the 6TH AV address section
  • Rows from the same street directory a year on. One row reads 338, star, CLUB 338, and the row under it reads JOHN OCONNOR.
    Citation
    What it is
    Cole’s Brooklyn criss-cross directory, 1974 volume, the entries around 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Cole Publications
    When
    1974 volume
    Where to find it
    Consulted at Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library. There is no online copy. A librarian photographed the page.
    Identifier
    The 6TH AV address section

All records for chapter 5, Club 338 in the directories

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2015 a relative ran this bar and later another one nearby.Still possible. A February 1965 notice lists both bars on one page. The 1958 license names this bar's licensee. No record names the same family at both bars.
  • Could Club 338 be the Brooklyn party club numbered 338 in the 1949 and 1950 honor rolls?Ruled out by the honor rolls themselves. They number party clubs inside sections, and that section met on Fulton Street.
  • Could the club be 338 Social Club, Inc., filed in January 1974?Ruled out by the state register. That company's address is 338 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan.
  • Could the club be O'Connor's Bar, Inc., filed in Kings County in 1964?Ruled out by the 1965 license notices. That company's license was at 39 Fifth Avenue.

In the same years, the club advertised for barmaids.

A classified column. One advertisement reads Bar Maids full or part time. No Exp. Necessary. St. 8-9168. 338 6 Ave. Bklyn.
New York Amsterdam News, July 21, 1973
A classified column. One advertisement reads BAR-MAID PART-Time. No Experience Necessary. ST 8-9168 Bklyn. A second barmaid advertisement sits below it on another number.
New York Amsterdam News, November 16, 1974
Boxed: the July 1973 ad with the full address, and the last of nine barmaid ads, from November 1974

1973 and 1974

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The story

Between July 1973 and November 1974 the Amsterdam News ran nine help-wanted advertisements for barmaids. They gave the phone number Club 338 used at the time, 788-9168. One of them includes the club’s full address. The last of these ads ran on November 16, 1974.

“338 6 Ave. Bklyn”

The records

  • A classified column. One advertisement reads Bar Maids full or part time. No Exp. Necessary. St. 8-9168. 338 6 Ave. Bklyn.
    Citation
    What it is
    Classified advertisement for barmaids, giving the telephone number and the address
    Who made it
    New York Amsterdam News
    When
    July 21, 1973
    Where to find it
    Newspapers.com, by subscription
    Identifier
    Page 35, image 1133918152
    Online
    The page at Newspapers.com
  • A classified column. One advertisement reads BAR-MAID PART-Time. No Experience Necessary. ST 8-9168 Bklyn. A second barmaid advertisement sits below it on another number.
    Citation
    What it is
    Classified advertisement for a part-time barmaid on the club’s telephone number
    Who made it
    New York Amsterdam News
    When
    November 16, 1974
    Where to find it
    Newspapers.com, by subscription
    Identifier
    Page 30

All records for chapter 5, Club 338 in the directories

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2015 a relative ran this bar and later another one nearby.Still possible. A February 1965 notice lists both bars on one page. The 1958 license names this bar's licensee. No record names the same family at both bars.
  • Could Club 338 be the Brooklyn party club numbered 338 in the 1949 and 1950 honor rolls?Ruled out by the honor rolls themselves. They number party clubs inside sections, and that section met on Fulton Street.
  • Could the club be 338 Social Club, Inc., filed in January 1974?Ruled out by the state register. That company's address is 338 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan.
  • Could the club be O'Connor's Bar, Inc., filed in Kings County in 1964?Ruled out by the 1965 license notices. That company's license was at 39 Fifth Avenue.

The earliest listing found for the club is from March 1973.

Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
Rows from the same street directory a year later. The row now reads 338, star, CLUB 338, with a hollow square and the same number, 7889168.
Boxed: the bar, and the number it answered onCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1972. Brooklyn Public Library
Boxed: the same number, under a new nameCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1973. Brooklyn Public Library
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 3-1-73, BKLYN-597, New York Telephone Company.
New York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated March 1, 1973. Center for Brooklyn History

March 1, 1973

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The story

In the New York Telephone Company’s address directory dated March 1, 1973, the number 788-9168 belongs to “Club 338.” Cole’s listed the club in its 1973 directory too, with the hollow square it used to indicate a new listing.

The two directories came from different publishers, the phone company and Cole’s. Both list Club 338 at 338 Sixth Avenue on 788-9168, in 1973 and again in 1974.

The records

  • Rows from the same street directory a year later. The row now reads 338, star, CLUB 338, with a hollow square and the same number, 7889168.
    Citation
    What it is
    Cole’s Brooklyn criss-cross directory, 1973 volume, the entries around 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Cole Publications
    When
    1973 volume
    Where to find it
    Consulted at Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library. There is no online copy. A librarian photographed the page.
    Identifier
    The 6TH AV address section

All records for chapter 5, Club 338 in the directories

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2015 a relative ran this bar and later another one nearby.Still possible. A February 1965 notice lists both bars on one page. The 1958 license names this bar's licensee. No record names the same family at both bars.
  • Could Club 338 be the Brooklyn party club numbered 338 in the 1949 and 1950 honor rolls?Ruled out by the honor rolls themselves. They number party clubs inside sections, and that section met on Fulton Street.
  • Could the club be 338 Social Club, Inc., filed in January 1974?Ruled out by the state register. That company's address is 338 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan.
  • Could the club be O'Connor's Bar, Inc., filed in Kings County in 1964?Ruled out by the 1965 license notices. That company's license was at 39 Fifth Avenue.

A year earlier, the same number belonged to a bar.

Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
Rows from the same street directory a year later. The row now reads 338, star, CLUB 338, with a hollow square and the same number, 7889168.
Boxed: the bar, and the number it answered onCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1972. Brooklyn Public Library
Boxed: the same number, under a new nameCole’s Brooklyn directory, 1973. Brooklyn Public Library
The footer of a telephone company address directory page, printed 3-1-73, BKLYN-597, New York Telephone Company.
New York Telephone Company address directory, page footer dated March 1, 1973. Center for Brooklyn History

1972

Open a larger view

The story

Since 1958 the directories had listed O’Connors Bar & Grill at 338 Sixth Avenue. John O’Connor held its liquor license and lived upstairs, on a telephone line of his own. In January 1972 the bar’s number was 788-9168.

So the bar’s number, 788-9168, passed to Club 338. The Club 338 listing appeared in the directories between January 1972 and March 1973, and was gone by July 1975. Club 338 was in business at least from 1973 into 1974, the years of its listings and its barmaid ads.

The records

  • Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
    Citation
    What it is
    Cole’s Brooklyn criss-cross directory, 1972 volume, the entries around 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Cole Publications
    When
    1972 volume
    Where to find it
    Consulted at Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library. There is no online copy. A librarian photographed the page.
    Identifier
    The 6TH AV address section
  • A license notice. It says number 2RL-13150 has been issued to sell liquor at retail at 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn. It is signed JOHN O’CONNOR.
    Citation
    What it is
    Notice of application for license 2RL-13150, John O’Connor, 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn
    Who made it
    The Williamsburg News
    When
    April 11, 1958
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page 3
    Online
    The page at Fulton History

All records for chapter 5, Club 338 in the directories

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A member of a Facebook group said in 2015 a relative ran this bar and later another one nearby.Still possible. A February 1965 notice lists both bars on one page. The 1958 license names this bar's licensee. No record names the same family at both bars.
  • Could Club 338 be the Brooklyn party club numbered 338 in the 1949 and 1950 honor rolls?Ruled out by the honor rolls themselves. They number party clubs inside sections, and that section met on Fulton Street.
  • Could the club be 338 Social Club, Inc., filed in January 1974?Ruled out by the state register. That company's address is 338 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan.
  • Could the club be O'Connor's Bar, Inc., filed in Kings County in 1964?Ruled out by the 1965 license notices. That company's license was at 39 Fifth Avenue.

The CLUB 338 board mentions the Zodiacs. Yet, no record found so far explains who the Zodiacs were.

Chapter 6, The Zodiacs

Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026

About 1973

Who were the Zodiacs?

Open a larger view

The story

The board mentions the Zodiacs’ affiliation with Club 338. The directories list the club in 1973 and 1974, but don’t mention the Zodiacs.

No record found in this research so far links a group called the Zodiacs to the 338 Sixth Avenue address. The name “Zodiacs” turns up all over New York in those years. People have suggested a band, a gang, a fraternity and a secret society. None of these ideas has been confirmed. (The Theories and leads tab lists each suggestion with its finding.)

The records

  • Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.

All records for chapter 6, Who were the Zodiacs?

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A commenter on Instagram suggested in September 2026 a Puerto Rican hometown club's Zodiacs softball team.Still possible. A 2023 obituary describes that club and that team. It never mentions Brooklyn.
  • A Reddit commenter, relaying a neighbor, recalled in September 2026 a social club here that stayed open late.Still possible. The 1973 directory prints Club 338 here, and the remark describes social clubs in general.
  • Could the club be the Zodiac Civic and Cultural Development Corp., filed in Kings County in 1965?Still possible. The state register gives no address and no officer for it.
  • A member of a Facebook group asked in 2012 about the Zodiacs, a 1970s softball team his own team played.Still possible. The post names a school field in Sunset Park. It gives no sponsor, league or exact year.
  • A commenter on a neighborhood Reddit thread asked in September 2026 whether the Zodiacs were a secret society.Nothing ties it to this address. The 1973 directory carries the club with no description. Corporate filings and license notices name no order or rite.
  • Two commenters on a neighborhood Reddit thread suggested in September 2026 the twelve-member Zodiac dinner club in Manhattan.Nothing ties it to this address. That club is a private Manhattan dinner society. No record places it in Brooklyn.
More leads checked (21)
  • Two commenters, on Reddit and on Instagram, asked in September 2026 whether a Zodiac motorcycle club met here.Nothing ties it to this address. The state register carries one such club, filed in Brooklyn in 1979. No source gives it a clubhouse.
  • A commenter on a neighborhood Reddit thread guessed in September 2026 an Italian or Puerto Rican social club.Nothing ties it to this address. No record names a single member of this club.
  • Commenters on Reddit and Instagram joked in September 2026 about a tie to organized crime.Nothing ties it to this address. No record found so far mentions organized crime at this address.
  • A member of a Facebook group suggested in 2026 a hippie gang.Nothing ties it to this address. No newspaper, directory or license record names such a group here.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the jazz band a Brooklyn saxophonist led from 1970 to 1977?Nothing ties it to this address. A 1973 listing records that band at Borough Hall, downtown, not at this corner.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the women's softball team a Harlem paper covered from 1972?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1974 result names the team and no sponsor. Every ground in that league is in Harlem or central Brooklyn.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the bowling team a Brooklyn league reported in 1966?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1966 column names the team, and the league reports give no sponsor and no headquarters.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the school basketball team a Brooklyn paper reported in 1947?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1947 scoreboard gives five surnames, no address and no sponsor.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the softball team a Harlem league fielded in 1975 and 1976?Nothing ties it to this address. Every venue in that league is in Harlem.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the club that held two Brooklyn ballroom dances in 1963 and 1964?Nothing ties it to this address. Neither notice names an officer or a meeting place.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the women's club a Harlem paper photographed in 1950?Nothing ties it to this address. The paper names no headquarters, and every venue is in Harlem.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the Zodiac Social Club that ran a fundraiser in 1976?Nothing ties it to this address. The notice gives a Manhattan post-office box and no meeting place.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the junior basketball team a fraternal order fielded in 1939?Nothing ties it to this address. The two reports print no roster, no manager and no address.
  • Do three names from the 1926 Bay Ridge club tie it to a Scout troop near this corner?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1926 report runs nine years after the Scout report. Nothing shows the troop kept that home.
  • Could the Brooklyn baseball team in a 1966 short story be the Zodiacs?Nothing ties it to this address. The story is fiction, and its characters are invented.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the boys' club a Bay Ridge YMCA named in 1926?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1926 report records that club at the Bay Ridge YMCA, decades before the board.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the girls' softball team a Bay Ridge paper reported in 1975?Nothing ties it to this address. In the league reports, that team is from 57th Street.
  • Could the club be one of five other Zodiac corporations on the state register?Nothing ties it to this address. None of them has an address at this corner in the state register.
  • Could groups called the Zodiacs elsewhere be the group on the board?Nothing ties it to this address. They are in Jersey City, the Bronx, Buffalo and on Church Avenue in Brooklyn.
  • Do Zodiac-named parties advertised in 1971 and 1972 point to the club?Ruled out by both notices. One dance was hosted by another club, and the other was on Church Avenue.
  • Could social clubs neighbors recall on nearby streets be this one?Ruled out by the recollections themselves. Each gives a different address, on 20th, 21st, 22nd or 23rd Street.

After photographs of the sign appeared on neighborhood pages in 2026, two commenters shared memories of the storefront.

Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026

September 2026

Open a larger view

The story

In a September 2026 comment on a neighborhood Instagram post, a commenter wrote about her husband, an ironworker. He remembered visiting a bar in this storefront about forty years earlier. He said it was a bar for men, where everybody drank Budweiser and shots of Fleischmann’s rye.

The records

  • Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.

All records for chapter 6, Who were the Zodiacs?

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A commenter on Instagram suggested in September 2026 a Puerto Rican hometown club's Zodiacs softball team.Still possible. A 2023 obituary describes that club and that team. It never mentions Brooklyn.
  • A Reddit commenter, relaying a neighbor, recalled in September 2026 a social club here that stayed open late.Still possible. The 1973 directory prints Club 338 here, and the remark describes social clubs in general.
  • Could the club be the Zodiac Civic and Cultural Development Corp., filed in Kings County in 1965?Still possible. The state register gives no address and no officer for it.
  • A member of a Facebook group asked in 2012 about the Zodiacs, a 1970s softball team his own team played.Still possible. The post names a school field in Sunset Park. It gives no sponsor, league or exact year.
  • A commenter on a neighborhood Reddit thread asked in September 2026 whether the Zodiacs were a secret society.Nothing ties it to this address. The 1973 directory carries the club with no description. Corporate filings and license notices name no order or rite.
  • Two commenters on a neighborhood Reddit thread suggested in September 2026 the twelve-member Zodiac dinner club in Manhattan.Nothing ties it to this address. That club is a private Manhattan dinner society. No record places it in Brooklyn.
More leads checked (21)
  • Two commenters, on Reddit and on Instagram, asked in September 2026 whether a Zodiac motorcycle club met here.Nothing ties it to this address. The state register carries one such club, filed in Brooklyn in 1979. No source gives it a clubhouse.
  • A commenter on a neighborhood Reddit thread guessed in September 2026 an Italian or Puerto Rican social club.Nothing ties it to this address. No record names a single member of this club.
  • Commenters on Reddit and Instagram joked in September 2026 about a tie to organized crime.Nothing ties it to this address. No record found so far mentions organized crime at this address.
  • A member of a Facebook group suggested in 2026 a hippie gang.Nothing ties it to this address. No newspaper, directory or license record names such a group here.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the jazz band a Brooklyn saxophonist led from 1970 to 1977?Nothing ties it to this address. A 1973 listing records that band at Borough Hall, downtown, not at this corner.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the women's softball team a Harlem paper covered from 1972?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1974 result names the team and no sponsor. Every ground in that league is in Harlem or central Brooklyn.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the bowling team a Brooklyn league reported in 1966?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1966 column names the team, and the league reports give no sponsor and no headquarters.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the school basketball team a Brooklyn paper reported in 1947?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1947 scoreboard gives five surnames, no address and no sponsor.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the softball team a Harlem league fielded in 1975 and 1976?Nothing ties it to this address. Every venue in that league is in Harlem.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the club that held two Brooklyn ballroom dances in 1963 and 1964?Nothing ties it to this address. Neither notice names an officer or a meeting place.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the women's club a Harlem paper photographed in 1950?Nothing ties it to this address. The paper names no headquarters, and every venue is in Harlem.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the Zodiac Social Club that ran a fundraiser in 1976?Nothing ties it to this address. The notice gives a Manhattan post-office box and no meeting place.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the junior basketball team a fraternal order fielded in 1939?Nothing ties it to this address. The two reports print no roster, no manager and no address.
  • Do three names from the 1926 Bay Ridge club tie it to a Scout troop near this corner?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1926 report runs nine years after the Scout report. Nothing shows the troop kept that home.
  • Could the Brooklyn baseball team in a 1966 short story be the Zodiacs?Nothing ties it to this address. The story is fiction, and its characters are invented.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the boys' club a Bay Ridge YMCA named in 1926?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1926 report records that club at the Bay Ridge YMCA, decades before the board.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the girls' softball team a Bay Ridge paper reported in 1975?Nothing ties it to this address. In the league reports, that team is from 57th Street.
  • Could the club be one of five other Zodiac corporations on the state register?Nothing ties it to this address. None of them has an address at this corner in the state register.
  • Could groups called the Zodiacs elsewhere be the group on the board?Nothing ties it to this address. They are in Jersey City, the Bronx, Buffalo and on Church Avenue in Brooklyn.
  • Do Zodiac-named parties advertised in 1971 and 1972 point to the club?Ruled out by both notices. One dance was hosted by another club, and the other was on Church Avenue.
  • Could social clubs neighbors recall on nearby streets be this one?Ruled out by the recollections themselves. Each gives a different address, on 20th, 21st, 22nd or 23rd Street.

A second commenter passed on a neighbor's memory of the same storefront.

Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026

September 2026

Open a larger view

The story

In a separate 2026 comment, a commenter relayed a seventy-year-old neighbor’s memory of a social club in the storefront. He recalled that there were many such clubs in the area. People drank in them after the bars closed at four in the morning.

The records

  • Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.

All records for chapter 6, Who were the Zodiacs?

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A commenter on Instagram suggested in September 2026 a Puerto Rican hometown club's Zodiacs softball team.Still possible. A 2023 obituary describes that club and that team. It never mentions Brooklyn.
  • A Reddit commenter, relaying a neighbor, recalled in September 2026 a social club here that stayed open late.Still possible. The 1973 directory prints Club 338 here, and the remark describes social clubs in general.
  • Could the club be the Zodiac Civic and Cultural Development Corp., filed in Kings County in 1965?Still possible. The state register gives no address and no officer for it.
  • A member of a Facebook group asked in 2012 about the Zodiacs, a 1970s softball team his own team played.Still possible. The post names a school field in Sunset Park. It gives no sponsor, league or exact year.
  • A commenter on a neighborhood Reddit thread asked in September 2026 whether the Zodiacs were a secret society.Nothing ties it to this address. The 1973 directory carries the club with no description. Corporate filings and license notices name no order or rite.
  • Two commenters on a neighborhood Reddit thread suggested in September 2026 the twelve-member Zodiac dinner club in Manhattan.Nothing ties it to this address. That club is a private Manhattan dinner society. No record places it in Brooklyn.
More leads checked (21)
  • Two commenters, on Reddit and on Instagram, asked in September 2026 whether a Zodiac motorcycle club met here.Nothing ties it to this address. The state register carries one such club, filed in Brooklyn in 1979. No source gives it a clubhouse.
  • A commenter on a neighborhood Reddit thread guessed in September 2026 an Italian or Puerto Rican social club.Nothing ties it to this address. No record names a single member of this club.
  • Commenters on Reddit and Instagram joked in September 2026 about a tie to organized crime.Nothing ties it to this address. No record found so far mentions organized crime at this address.
  • A member of a Facebook group suggested in 2026 a hippie gang.Nothing ties it to this address. No newspaper, directory or license record names such a group here.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the jazz band a Brooklyn saxophonist led from 1970 to 1977?Nothing ties it to this address. A 1973 listing records that band at Borough Hall, downtown, not at this corner.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the women's softball team a Harlem paper covered from 1972?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1974 result names the team and no sponsor. Every ground in that league is in Harlem or central Brooklyn.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the bowling team a Brooklyn league reported in 1966?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1966 column names the team, and the league reports give no sponsor and no headquarters.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the school basketball team a Brooklyn paper reported in 1947?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1947 scoreboard gives five surnames, no address and no sponsor.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the softball team a Harlem league fielded in 1975 and 1976?Nothing ties it to this address. Every venue in that league is in Harlem.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the club that held two Brooklyn ballroom dances in 1963 and 1964?Nothing ties it to this address. Neither notice names an officer or a meeting place.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the women's club a Harlem paper photographed in 1950?Nothing ties it to this address. The paper names no headquarters, and every venue is in Harlem.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the Zodiac Social Club that ran a fundraiser in 1976?Nothing ties it to this address. The notice gives a Manhattan post-office box and no meeting place.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the junior basketball team a fraternal order fielded in 1939?Nothing ties it to this address. The two reports print no roster, no manager and no address.
  • Do three names from the 1926 Bay Ridge club tie it to a Scout troop near this corner?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1926 report runs nine years after the Scout report. Nothing shows the troop kept that home.
  • Could the Brooklyn baseball team in a 1966 short story be the Zodiacs?Nothing ties it to this address. The story is fiction, and its characters are invented.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the boys' club a Bay Ridge YMCA named in 1926?Nothing ties it to this address. The 1926 report records that club at the Bay Ridge YMCA, decades before the board.
  • Could the Zodiacs be the girls' softball team a Bay Ridge paper reported in 1975?Nothing ties it to this address. In the league reports, that team is from 57th Street.
  • Could the club be one of five other Zodiac corporations on the state register?Nothing ties it to this address. None of them has an address at this corner in the state register.
  • Could groups called the Zodiacs elsewhere be the group on the board?Nothing ties it to this address. They are in Jersey City, the Bronx, Buffalo and on Church Avenue in Brooklyn.
  • Do Zodiac-named parties advertised in 1971 and 1972 point to the club?Ruled out by both notices. One dance was hosted by another club, and the other was on Church Avenue.
  • Could social clubs neighbors recall on nearby streets be this one?Ruled out by the recollections themselves. Each gives a different address, on 20th, 21st, 22nd or 23rd Street.

Someone who knew Club 338 may still know who the Zodiacs were.

Close view of the painted board from below. Cream letters read CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS.
Photograph by the author, September 2026

Do you know who the Zodiacs were?

Open a larger view

The people who might remember still gather here. In 2025 the Park Slope Old Timers held their reunion at Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue. The sign came off a year later. If you were there, or you knew the corner in the 1970s, write in.

Write in

Before Club 338 appeared in the directories, the same telephone number belonged to O'Connors Bar & Grill. Upstairs, on a separate line, John O'Connor kept his own listing through both.

Chapter 7, 1958 to 1972

Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
Boxed: the bar, still listed in 1971Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1971. Brooklyn Public Library

1971

O’Connors Bar & Grill

Open a larger view

The story

Cole’s 1971 volume lists O’Connors Bar & Grill at 338, on 788-9168.

The bar fittings remained in the room through the salon years and into the theater’s. Lights still hung over the old bar counter in 1983. When Puppetworks’ founder arrived in 1990, the counter and its back bar were still in place.

The records

  • Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
    Citation
    What it is
    Cole’s Brooklyn criss-cross directory, 1971 volume, the entries around 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Cole Publications
    When
    1971 volume
    Where to find it
    Consulted at Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library. There is no online copy. A librarian photographed the page.
    Identifier
    The 6TH AV address section
  • A grainy newspaper photograph of two people seated in a storefront with a violin. A printed caption below names the Park Slope salon.
    Citation
    What it is
    Interior photograph with the illustrated feature on the Park Slope Salon
    Who made it
    The Phoenix
    When
    March 17, 1983
    Where to find it
    The Phoenix archive at DigiFind-It
    Identifier
    Pages 7 and 8
    Online
    The issue at DigiFind-It

Records with no picture

  • An interview with the founder of Puppetworks, 2024

    Kelley Macdonald

    Citation
    What it is
    Interview with Nicolas Coppola of Puppetworks
    Who made it
    Kelley Macdonald
    When
    2024
    Where to find it
    Published on Substack
    Online
    The interview

All records for chapter 7, O’Connors Bar & Grill

In 1966 and 1967 the owners advertised the building for sale.

A classified column headed Brooklyn. One entry offers a building at 6 Av and 4 St as 3 fam and bar, with parking.
Daily News, March 25, 1966
A classified column of Brooklyn listings. One entry reads Park Slope, 6 Av and 4 St, 3 fam and store.
Daily News, October 30, 1967
Boxed: the entry for this corner in each advertisement

1966 and 1967

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The story

The owners advertised the building twice. In March 1966 it was a “3 fam & bar”, and in October 1967 a “3 fam & store”. Both advertisements give the same telephone number, once as GE 6-0003 and once as 436-0003. That was the owners’ home number. In nineteen months their wording for the storefront went from “bar” to “store”. The 1971 directory still lists O’Connors Bar & Grill here, though.

The records

  • A classified column headed Brooklyn. One entry offers a building at 6 Av and 4 St as 3 fam and bar, with parking.
    Citation
    What it is
    Advertisement offering the building for sale as 3 fam & bar
    Who made it
    Daily News
    When
    March 25, 1966
    Where to find it
    Newspapers.com, by subscription
    Identifier
    Page 114
  • A classified column of Brooklyn listings. One entry reads Park Slope, 6 Av and 4 St, 3 fam and store.
    Citation
    What it is
    Advertisement offering the building for sale as 3 fam & store
    Who made it
    Daily News
    When
    October 30, 1967
    Where to find it
    Newspapers.com, by subscription
    Identifier
    Page 75
  • Rows from a street directory. One row reads, star, OCONNORS BAR and GRILL, with the number 7889168. The row above reads 338 JOHN OCONNOR, HY90944.
    Citation
    What it is
    Cole’s Brooklyn criss-cross directory, 1971 volume, the entries around 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Cole Publications
    When
    1971 volume
    Where to find it
    Consulted at Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library. There is no online copy. A librarian photographed the page.
    Identifier
    The 6TH AV address section

All records for chapter 7, O’Connors Bar & Grill

The bar had been O'Connors since 1958.

A license notice. It says number 2RL-13150 has been issued to sell liquor at retail at 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn. It is signed JOHN O’CONNOR.
License notice, 1958
A crop from a Brooklyn telephone directory page, headed BROOKLYN, showing a column of O’Connor entries. The print is coarse.
Brooklyn telephone directory, January 1967
Boxed: the address inside the notice

1958

Open a larger view, 1 of 2Open a larger view, 2 of 2

The story

John O’Connor’s liquor license notice appeared in 1958. The directories listed the bar under his name for fourteen years. He lived upstairs: the same directories include a personal listing for him at 338, on its own number.

The records

  • A license notice. It says number 2RL-13150 has been issued to sell liquor at retail at 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn. It is signed JOHN O’CONNOR.
    Citation
    What it is
    Notice of application for license 2RL-13150, John O’Connor, 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn
    Who made it
    The Williamsburg News
    When
    April 11, 1958
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page 3
    Online
    The page at Fulton History
  • A crop from a Brooklyn telephone directory page, headed BROOKLYN, showing a column of O’Connor entries. The print is coarse.
    Citation
    What it is
    Brooklyn telephone directory, the entry O’Connor John 338 6Av
    Who made it
    New York Telephone Company
    When
    1967 volume, canvassed January 26, 1967
    Where to find it
    Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection, scanned by the Internet Archive
    Identifier
    Call number NM 917.4723 B872, leaf n505
    Online
    The directory at the Internet Archive

All records for chapter 7, O’Connors Bar & Grill

Before O'Connors, the liquor license notices for this address included two other names. The corner had been a bar since just after the Second World War.

Chapter 8, 1947 to 1958

A license notice for number 2RL-11594 at 338 6th Ave. It names Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, trading as Fitzgerald’s.
Boxed: the name the bar traded underLicense notice, 1953

1953

Fitzgerald’s, and O’Reilly before it

Open a larger view

The story

The first liquor license found for 338 Sixth Avenue dates from 1947. George A. O’Reilly held the license in 1947 and 1952. Patrick Fitzgerald and George Nagle took it over as “Fitzgerald’s” by 1953. Their license notices were still appearing in 1957.

The records

  • A license notice for number 2RL-11594 at 338 6th Ave. It names Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, trading as Fitzgerald’s.
    Citation
    What it is
    Notice of application for license 2RL-11594, Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, trading as Fitzgerald’s
    Who made it
    The Williamsburg News
    When
    January 9, 1953
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page 6
    Online
    The page at Fulton History

Records with no picture

  • License 2RL-11594, Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, doing business as Fitzgerald’s, 338 Sixth Avenue

    Brooklyn Daily

    Citation
    What it is
    Notice of license 2RL-11594, Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, doing business as Fitzgerald’s
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Daily
    When
    March 8, 1957
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page 18
    Online
    The page at Fulton History

  • License 2RL6585, George A. O’Reilly, 338 Sixth Avenue

    Brooklyn Heights Press

    Citation
    What it is
    Notice of liquor license 2RL6585, George A. O’Reilly, 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Heights Press
    When
    March 20, 1952
    Where to find it
    Brooklyn Heights Press
    Identifier
    Page 5

  • Restaurant liquor license RL3101, George A. O’Reilly, 338 Sixth Avenue

    Laisvė

    Citation
    What it is
    Notice of restaurant liquor license RL3101, George A. O’Reilly, 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Laisvė
    When
    March 10, 1947
    Where to find it
    Laisvė, a Brooklyn daily newspaper
    Identifier
    Page 4

All records for chapter 8, Fitzgerald’s, and O’Reilly before it

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • Could a liquor notice at 338 Sixth Avenue in the late 1940s be this bar?Ruled out by the notice itself. It says County of New York, so the address is in Manhattan.

In 1944 the city issued the building a certificate of occupancy. A store on the ground floor, and one family on each of the three floors above. One of the families upstairs is in both the 1940 and the 1950 census.

Chapter 9, 1930 to 1950

A strip of a handwritten 1940 census sheet. Line 44 carries the house number 366 and the head of household Colella, Donato. Two more households follow.
Ringed: the house number, 366Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, ED 24-1225, sheet 16B. National Archives

1930 and 1940

Three households upstairs

Open a larger view

The story

In 1930 the owner of 338 Sixth Avenue, recorded in the census, was Italian-born. Anthony Rosa ran an express business, a hauling and delivery service. His stable stood a few blocks away on Carroll Street. His tenant upstairs, Donato Colella, owned 338 Sixth Avenue by 1940. A 1925 marriage license, found in four Brooklyn papers, is the likely link: Colella had married Philomena Rosa.

The 1940 sheet lists the address as 366 Fourth Street, the building’s side-street number, with three households above the store.

The records

  • A strip of a handwritten 1940 census sheet. Line 44 carries the house number 366 and the head of household Colella, Donato. Two more households follow.
    Citation
    What it is
    Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Brooklyn, enumeration district 24-1225
    Who made it
    United States Bureau of the Census
    When
    Enumerated April 1940
    Where to find it
    National Archives and Records Administration
    Identifier
    Microfilm T627, roll 2578, sheet 16B, lines 44 to 61
    Online
    The sheet at the National Archives
    The enumeration district description

Records with no picture

  • Marriage license of 1925, found in four Brooklyn papers

    Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Brooklyn Daily Times, among four Brooklyn papers

    Citation
    What it is
    Marriage license notice of 1925, printed in four Brooklyn papers
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Brooklyn Daily Times, among four Brooklyn papers
    When
    December 11, 1925
    Where to find it
    The marriage license columns of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the Brooklyn Daily Times, December 11, 1925

All records for chapter 9, Three households upstairs

Downstairs, the corner store belonged to a grocery chain.

A tax photograph of the corner building around 1940. The ground floor is a grocery with Roulstons lettered across both fronts and goods stacked in the windows.
Tax photograph, c.1940. NYC Municipal Archives
A close view of the grocery on the corner around 1940. Panels reading GROCERIES and VEGETABLES flank the Roulstons fascia. Price cards fill the windows, and cans stand on crates at the kerb.
Tax photograph, c.1940, the storefront at full size. NYC Municipal Archives
Boxed: the store on the corner, and the street sign at full size

About 1940

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The story

The store on the corner was a Roulston’s, a branch of the Thomas Roulston grocery chain. In a city tax photograph from about 1940, the Roulston name is lettered across both fronts. The windows are stacked with cans, and a pushcart stands at the curb. At full size the hand-lettered price cards and the street sign are legible.

The records

  • A tax photograph of the corner building around 1940. The ground floor is a grocery with Roulstons lettered across both fronts and goods stacked in the windows.
    Citation
    What it is
    Tax photograph of block 985, lot 43, the Roulston grocery on the corner
    Who made it
    City of New York
    When
    Circa 1940
    Where to find it
    New York City Municipal Archives
    Identifier
    Record group REC0040, block 985, lot 43
    Online
    The Municipal Archives portal
  • A close view of the grocery on the corner around 1940. Panels reading GROCERIES and VEGETABLES flank the Roulstons fascia. Price cards fill the windows, and cans stand on crates at the kerb.
    Citation
    What it is
    Tax photograph of block 985, lot 43, the storefront at full size
    Who made it
    City of New York
    When
    Circa 1940
    Where to find it
    New York City Municipal Archives
    Identifier
    Record group REC0040, block 985, lot 43
    Online
    The Municipal Archives portal

All records for chapter 9, Three households upstairs

The grocery beneath those households had been robbed three times before 1931.

Chapter 10, 1891 to 1931

A newspaper column. The headline reads Lone Bandit Gets $100 In Grocery Store Holdup. Two paragraphs below it describe a holdup at the Thomas Roulston grocery store at 338 Sixth avenue.
Brooklyn Standard Union, March 8, 1928
A short newspaper paragraph listing holdups. One line reads holdup of a Roulston store at 338 Sixth avenue, Oct. 26, $75.
Brooklyn Standard Union, January 5, 1931
Boxed: the address in the 1928 report, and the Roulston line in 1931

1930 and 1928

The grocers

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The story

In January 1931 a confession report listed a holdup at 338 Sixth Avenue on October 26, 1930.

Earlier, the Brooklyn Standard Union reported a holdup on March 8, 1928:

“A tall, dark, well-dressed man entered the Thomas Roulston grocery store at 338 Sixth avenue soon after the manager, Philip Leary, and two clerks had opened it at 7:30 A. M. to-day, aimed a gun, looted the cash register of $100 and escaped afoot.”

The records

  • A newspaper column. The headline reads Lone Bandit Gets $100 In Grocery Store Holdup. Two paragraphs below it describe a holdup at the Thomas Roulston grocery store at 338 Sixth avenue.
    Citation
    What it is
    Lone Bandit Gets $100 In Grocery Store Holdup, a report of the holdup at the Roulston store
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Standard Union
    When
    March 8, 1928
    Where to find it
    Fulton History, Brooklyn Standard Union, 1928
    Identifier
    Page 1
  • A short newspaper paragraph listing holdups. One line reads holdup of a Roulston store at 338 Sixth avenue, Oct. 26, $75.
    Citation
    What it is
    Confession report listing a holdup of the Roulston store at 338 Sixth avenue
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Standard Union
    When
    January 5, 1931
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    The Brooklyn Standard Union for 1931
    Online
    The 1931 volume at Fulton History

All records for chapter 10, The grocers

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A man arrested in Park Slope said in 1905 he had clerked for a grocer at this address.Nothing ties it to this address. Two accounts of the same day give his workplace and his home as different streets.

Six years earlier, in 1922, the store was held up.

A newspaper front page. The headline reads BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53, over a line about two well dressed armed robbers.
The Evening Telegram, August 21, 1922
A newspaper front page. The headline reads Roulston Store Bandits Get $53. Under the story a second headline reads Brooklyn Saloons Raided, One Dry Agent Assaulted.
Brooklyn Standard Union, August 21, 1922
Boxed: the headline, and the line naming the manager and the clerks

August 21, 1922

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The story

“Two Well Dressed Armed Robbers Make Escape from Brooklyn Chain Store”

The 1922 holdup was front-page news in at least two papers that day: two well-dressed men, fifty-three dollars. The Evening Telegram referred to John Thompson as the branch manager. In the Brooklyn Standard Union, he’s a clerk, and the manager is Thomas Erl.

The records

  • A newspaper front page. The headline reads BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53, over a line about two well dressed armed robbers.
    Citation
    What it is
    BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53
    Who made it
    The Evening Telegram, New York
    When
    August 21, 1922
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Front page
    Online
    The page at Fulton History
    The Brooklyn Standard Union of the same day
  • A newspaper front page. The headline reads Roulston Store Bandits Get $53. Under the story a second headline reads Brooklyn Saloons Raided, One Dry Agent Assaulted.
    Citation
    What it is
    Front-page report of the holdup at the Roulston store, naming a different manager
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Standard Union
    When
    August 21, 1922
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Front page. Fulton History scan 1922-5353
    Online
    The page at Fulton History

All records for chapter 10, The grocers

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A man arrested in Park Slope said in 1905 he had clerked for a grocer at this address.Nothing ties it to this address. Two accounts of the same day give his workplace and his home as different streets.

Before it was a Roulston branch, the corner store was an independent grocer's.

A typed certificate giving the address as 338 6th avenue, southwest corner 4th street, block 985 lot 43. The permit number NB 622/1891 is typed under it.
Certificate of Occupancy 110744, July 7, 1944. NYC Department of Buildings
A dense classified column from 1904. One short line advertises for a boy of about 16 to work in a grocery store at 338 Sixth av.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 13, 1904
Boxed: the 1891 construction permit number on the 1944 certificate, and the grocery’s help-wanted line

1891

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The story

By the 1920s the corner store was a branch of the Thomas Roulston chain. Before that, a grocer named Bolnau ran it from at least 1897. The surname is also spelled Boenau, Boneau and Bornau in the directories.

The houses from 338 to 356 Sixth Avenue went up in 1891. That date comes from a 2023 neighborhood guide by the Historic Districts Council, and the city’s own records agree. The 1944 certificate of occupancy has the original construction permit number on it: NB 622/1891, new-building permit 622 of 1891.

The records

  • A dense classified column from 1904. One short line advertises for a boy of about 16 to work in a grocery store at 338 Sixth av.
    Citation
    What it is
    Classified advertisement for a boy of about 16 for the grocery at 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Daily Eagle
    When
    October 13, 1904
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page 18
    Online
    The page at Fulton History
  • A typed certificate giving the address as 338 6th avenue, southwest corner 4th street, block 985 lot 43. The permit number NB 622/1891 is typed under it.
    Citation
    What it is
    Certificate of Occupancy 110744, a store and three families
    Who made it
    Department of Housing and Buildings, City of New York
    When
    Issued July 7, 1944
    Where to find it
    New York City Department of Buildings, in the Buildings Information System
    Identifier
    Certificate 110744, BIN 3021213, block 985, lot 43
    Online
    The property profile
    The building at HPD Online

Records with no picture

  • New building permit NB 622/1891, cited on the 1944 certificate of occupancy

    Department of Buildings, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    New building permit NB 622/1891, cited on the 1944 certificate of occupancy
    Who made it
    Department of Buildings, City of New York
    When
    1891, as cited on the certificate issued in 1944
    Where to find it
    Read from Certificate of Occupancy 110744. No separate permit document has been found.
    Identifier
    NB 622/1891

  • “Bolnau, Chas. Jr., grocer, 338 6th av”

    Brooklyn city directory

    Citation
    What it is
    Brooklyn city directory for 1897, the entry for the grocer at 338 Sixth Avenue
    Who made it
    Brooklyn city directory
    When
    1897
    Where to find it
    Fulton History, the Brooklyn city directory file for 1896 to 1898
    Identifier
    Page 129
    Online
    The directory at Fulton History

  • A 2023 guide that dates the group of houses at 338 to 356 Sixth Avenue to 1891

    Historic Districts Council

    Citation
    What it is
    Center Slope, a Six to Celebrate guide
    Who made it
    Historic Districts Council
    When
    2023
    Where to find it
    Historic Districts Council
    Online
    The guide

All records for chapter 10, The grocers

Theories and leads

Suggested connections

  • A man arrested in Park Slope said in 1905 he had clerked for a grocer at this address.Nothing ties it to this address. Two accounts of the same day give his workplace and his home as different streets.
The storefront straight on. The painted board sits above a teal front, yellow window grilles and a red door.
Photograph by the author, September 2026

September 2026

Still unexplained

Open a larger view

Club 338 is documented. The Zodiacs are not, yet.

If you remember the corner, or you knew the club, write in. Everything found so far about them is in the chapter on the Zodiacs.

Method

Every fact above comes from a public record: deeds, directories, license notices, census sheets, newspapers, city photographs. Lenny Zeltser, who lives in Park Slope, did the research. The records are listed on their own page, with where each was found. The method page says how the work was done. Corrections and memories are welcome through the form.