Club 338: Home of the ZodiacsA Lenny Zeltser projectContactRecordsMethod

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Club 338: Home of the Zodiacs

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.

By Lenny Zeltser.

Chapter 1, 2026

The 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

September 2026

The sign under the sign

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.

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

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 painted Club 338 board belonged to an earlier occupant.

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.

    The facade from below, with the painted board across the lower third

    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, in the same black and cream as the board

    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.

    The board above the teal storefront, the yellow grilles and the red door

    Photograph by the author, September 2026

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

Chapter 2, 1990 to 2026

Puppetworks

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

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.

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

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 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

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.”

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

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.

    The corner storefront under the PUPPETWORKS signs, in daylight

    Joe Shlabotnik, June 2013. Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

    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
  • 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.

    The storefront under the PUPPETWORKS sign, with puppets in both display windows

    Puppetworks, about 2000, restored. From the theater’s website, via the Internet Archive

    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
  • A newspaper listings column headed Activities for Kids. The first entry begins PUPPETWORKS and names a March 2 opening at 338 Sixth Ave.

    A listings column announcing a Puppetworks production opening March 2 at 338 Sixth Avenue

    The Phoenix, February 28, 1990

    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

  • Deed of November 5, 1997, Togo Trading Corp. to the current owner of record

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, Togo Trading Corp. to the current owner of record
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    Dated November 5, 1997, recorded December 24, 1997
    Where to find it
    The city register’s document search
    Identifier
    Reel 4089, pages 889 to 890. ACRIS document id FT_3710005879871
    Online
    The record on ACRIS

  • 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

Theories and leads

  • 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.

Chapter 3, 1982 to 1988

The Park Slope Salon

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

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.

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

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.”

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."

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.

    Interior photograph accompanying the illustrated feature on the Park Slope Salon

    The Phoenix, March 17, 1983

    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.

    “Slope Salon November Events”

    The Phoenix, October 28, 1982

    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.

    “We served free wine charged 1 dollar admission and opened only on Monday”

    Park Slope Salon Facebook page, March 24, 2019

    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
  • 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.

    A dark sign board with a white stripe and a striped awning, where the Club 338 board is now

    Tax photograph, 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives

    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.

    “CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS”

    Photograph by the author, September 2026

Records with no picture

  • Deed of August 11, 1988, 366 4th St. Corp. to Togo Trading Corp.

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, 366 4th St. Corp. to Togo Trading Corp.
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    Dated August 11, 1988, recorded August 19, 1988
    Where to find it
    The city register’s document search
    Identifier
    Reel 2263, pages 250 to 251. ACRIS document id FT_3100001390010
    Online
    The record on ACRIS

  • 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

Theories and leads

  • 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.

Chapter 4, 1975 to 1982

El Sombrero Rojo

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

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.

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

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

  • Deed of December 5, 1974, Thomas and Catherine McMahon to the 1974 buyers

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, Thomas and Catherine McMahon to the 1974 buyers
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    Dated December 5, 1974, recorded December 18, 1974
    Where to find it
    The city register’s document search
    Identifier
    Reel 753, pages 1354 to 1355. ACRIS document id BK_7430075301354
    Online
    The record on ACRIS

  • Deed of 1975, one of the 1974 buyers to the other

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, one of the 1974 buyers to the other
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    1975
    Where to find it
    Known from the city register’s index. The instrument itself has not been read.

  • Deed of May 7, 1979, the 1974 buyer to the 1979 buyer

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, the 1974 buyer to the 1979 buyer
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    Dated May 7, 1979, recorded May 11, 1979
    Where to find it
    The city register’s document search
    Identifier
    Reel 1071, pages 1974 to 1975. ACRIS document id BK_7930107101971
    Online
    The record on ACRIS

  • Deed of June 22, 1981, the 1979 buyer to his company, 366 4th St. Corp.

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, the 1979 buyer to his company, 366 4th St. Corp.
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    June 22, 1981, recorded June 25, 1981
    Where to find it
    The city register’s document search
    Identifier
    Reel 1246, pages 1521 to 1522. ACRIS document id BK_8130124601521
    Online
    The record on ACRIS

Theories and leads

  • 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.

Chapter 5, 1973 to 1975

Club 338 in the directories

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

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

1972

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

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.

    “*OCONNORS BAR&GRILL 7889168”

    Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1972. Brooklyn Public Library

    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
  • 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.

    “338*CLUB 338 ¤7889168”

    Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1973. Brooklyn Public Library

    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
  • A classified column. One advertisement reads Bar Maids full or part time. No Exp. Necessary. St. 8-9168. 338 6 Ave. Bklyn.

    “Bar Maids full or part time. No Exp. Necessary. St. 8-9168 338 6 Ave. Bklyn”

    New York Amsterdam News, July 21, 1973

    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.

    “BAR-MAID PART-Time. No Experience Necessary. ST 8-9168 Bklyn.”

    New York Amsterdam News, November 16, 1974

    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
  • 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.

    The legend for the hollow square, the dash and TZ

    Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974, the symbol legend. Brooklyn Public Library

    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.

    “338*CLUB 338”

    Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1974. Brooklyn Public Library

    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
  • 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.

    “338 O’Connor John”

    New York Telephone Company address directory, July 18, 1975. Center for Brooklyn History

    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
  • A cream microfilm reel box on a wooden table. Its printed label reads Brooklyn Address, Criss Cross, Directory, number 53, and 1975 July.

    “BROOKLYN ADDRESS (CRISS CROSS) DIRECTORY, #53, 1975 July”

    Microfilm reel box, Center for Brooklyn History, photographed September 2026

    Citation
    What it is
    The microfilm reel box for the July 1975 Brooklyn address directory
    Who made it
    Photographed by the author
    When
    Photographed September 2026
    Where to find it
    Center for Brooklyn History
    Identifier
    Reel 53, Brooklyn address (criss cross) directory, 1975 July

Theories and leads

  • 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.

Chapter 6, The Zodiacs

Who were 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?

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.)

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

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.

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

September 2026

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.

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

Do you know who the Zodiacs were?

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 at club338.zeltser.com/contact.

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.

The records

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

    “CLUB 338 / HOME OF THE · ZODIACS”

    Photograph by the author, September 2026

  • 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.

    “A new boys’ club was organized at the Bay Ridge branch on Monday evening. The name chosen is the Zodiac Athletic Club of Bay Ridge Y.”

    Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 14, 1926

    Citation
    What it is
    Report of a new boys’ club at the Bay Ridge YMCA, named the Zodiac Athletic Club
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Daily Eagle
    When
    May 14, 1926
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page A9
  • A short bowling column headed Brooklyn United League. It names a Zodiacs team and five rivals, the Termites, Just Pals, Eagles, Pirates and Diablos.

    “Town Hill leads the loop with Termites, Just Pals, Eagles, Pirates and Diablos following.”

    New York Amsterdam News, February 26, 1966

    Citation
    What it is
    Bowling results naming a Zodiacs team in a Brooklyn league
    Who made it
    New York Amsterdam News
    When
    February 26, 1966
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
  • 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.

    “plus Jazz Zodiacs, at Brooklyn Happenings, in front of Borough Hall, Friday June 15, 12-4 p.m.”

    The Phoenix, June 14, 1973

    Citation
    What it is
    Listing for Cecil Payne and the Jazz Zodiacs at Brooklyn Happenings
    Who made it
    The Phoenix
    When
    June 14, 1973
    Where to find it
    The Phoenix archive at DigiFind-It
    Identifier
    Page 16
    Online
    The issue at DigiFind-It
  • A paragraph of box-score prose. It reports that two home runs aided the Zodiacs to shade the Aces, 8 to 7.

    “aided the Zodiacs to shade the Aces, 8-7”

    New York Amsterdam News, May 25, 1974

    Citation
    What it is
    Softball results naming a Zodiacs team in a women’s league
    Who made it
    New York Amsterdam News
    When
    May 25, 1974
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page D21

Records with no picture

  • “Corsairs, Zodiacs Win Community Cage Tilts. In Public School 208 Community basketball center games, the Corsairs won over Wiania, 25-12, and Zodiacs topped St. Jerome, 34-24.”

    Brooklyn Eagle

    Citation
    What it is
    Community basketball results naming a Zodiacs team at Public School 208
    Who made it
    Brooklyn Eagle
    When
    December 10, 1947
    Where to find it
    Newspapers.com, by subscription
    Identifier
    Page 22

  • Twenty entities are named ZODIACS, none in Kings County before 2019. The other searches return each Zodiac corporation named here, and 338 Social Club, Inc.

    New York State Department of State

    Citation
    What it is
    New York State corporation and business entity database, name searches for ZODIACS, ZODIAC and CLUB 338
    Who made it
    New York State Department of State
    When
    Searched September 2026
    Where to find it
    The state’s corporation and business entity database

  • Interviews recorded at the reunion held at Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue, August 9, 2025

    Park Slope Old Timers

    Citation
    What it is
    Park Slope Old Timers oral history interviews, recorded at the 2025 reunion
    Who made it
    Park Slope Old Timers
    When
    Recorded August 9, 2025
    Where to find it
    The project’s own site
    Online
    The audio stories

Theories and leads

  • 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.
  • 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.

Chapter 7, 1958 to 1972

O’Connors Bar & Grill

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

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.

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.

    license 2RL-13150, John O’Connor, 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn

    License notice, 1958

    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.

    “O’Connor John 338 6Av”

    Brooklyn telephone directory, January 1967

    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
  • A classified column headed Brooklyn. One entry offers a building at 6 Av and 4 St as 3 fam and bar, with parking.

    “3 fam & bar”

    Daily News, March 25, 1966

    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.

    “Park Slope-6 Av & 4 St. 3 fam & store”

    Daily News, October 30, 1967

    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.

    “*OCONNORS BAR&GRILL 7889168”

    Cole’s Brooklyn directory, 1971. Brooklyn Public Library

    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

Records with no picture

  • Deed of October 26, 1964, James S. Lavern to Thomas and Catherine McMahon

    Office of the City Register, City of New York

    Citation
    What it is
    Deed for 338 Sixth Avenue, also known as 366 Fourth Street, to Thomas and Catherine McMahon
    Who made it
    Office of the City Register, City of New York
    When
    Dated October 26, 1964, recorded October 27, 1964
    Where to find it
    Office of the City Register, Kings County. Conveyances from before 1966 are not served as images.
    Identifier
    Liber 9314 of Conveyances, page 468

  • Foreclosure notice advertising a sale for July 31, 1964

    World-Telegram and Sun

    Citation
    What it is
    Foreclosure notice advertising a sale for July 31, 1964
    Who made it
    World-Telegram and Sun
    When
    July 24, 1964
    Where to find it
    Fulton History
    Identifier
    Page B2
    Online
    The page at Fulton History

Chapter 8, 1947 to 1958

Fitzgerald’s, and O’Reilly before it

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

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.

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.

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.

    2RL-11594, Patrick Joseph Fitzgerald and George Michael Nagle, trading as Fitzgerald’s, 338 6th Ave., Brooklyn

    License notice, 1953

    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

Theories and leads

  • 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.

Chapter 9, 1930 to 1950

Three households upstairs

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

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.

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

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

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.

    House number 366, lines 44 to 61, three households

    Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, ED 24-1225, sheet 16B. National Archives

    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
  • 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.

    The corner building around 1940, the ground floor a grocery

    Tax photograph, c.1940. NYC Municipal Archives

    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.

    GROCERIES, RoulstonS and VEGETABLES across the fascia, with the price cards in the windows

    Tax photograph, c.1940, the storefront at full size. NYC Municipal Archives

    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
  • 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, issued July 7, 1944

    Certificate of Occupancy 110744, July 7, 1944. NYC Department of Buildings

    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

  • 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

Chapter 10, 1891 to 1931

The grocers

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

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.”

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

“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.

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

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 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

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.

The records

  • A newspaper front page. The headline reads BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53, over a line about two well dressed armed robbers.

    “BANDITS HOLD UP GROCERY, GET $53. Two Well Dressed Armed Robbers Make Escape from Brooklyn Chain Store”

    The Evening Telegram, August 21, 1922

    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.

    “two armed bandits to-day ransacked the Thomas Roulston store”

    Brooklyn Standard Union, August 21, 1922

    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
  • 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.

    A help-wanted line for a boy of about 16 for a grocery at 338 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn

    Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 13, 1904

    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 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.

    “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.”

    Brooklyn Standard Union, March 8, 1928

    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.

    “holdup of a Roulston store at 338 Sixth avenue, Oct. 26, $75”

    Brooklyn Standard Union, January 5, 1931

    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

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

  • Three spellings of the grocer’s surname at 338 6th av., in the 1903 directory

    George Upington

    Citation
    What it is
    Upington’s General Directory of Brooklyn, New York City, for the year 1903
    Who made it
    George Upington
    When
    1903
    Where to find it
    Internet Archive
    Identifier
    Leaves n91, n94 and n96
    Online
    The directory at the Internet Archive

  • “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

Theories and leads

  • 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.

Method

Lenny Zeltser lives in Park Slope and researched this corner out of curiosity about the neighborhood. He noticed the sign under the sign, and kept going in pursuit of the Zodiacs. He is grateful to the librarians, archivists, neighbors and readers who have helped, and to everyone who has written in.

Where the facts come from

Every fact in the story comes from a public record: deeds, directories, license notices, census sheets, newspapers and city photographs. Two commenters on neighborhood posts passed on memories, one a husband's and one a neighbor's. The story marks those as memories where it uses them.

Reading the records

A directory printed a telephone number so callers could find it. A census taker wrote down a household because the law required a count. None of these documents was made to tell this story. Where two of them disagree, as the two 1922 front pages do, both versions are on the page.

A directory's date is when its publisher compiled the listings.

Facts, memories and open questions

A fact from a record names the document behind it, with a link. A memory says who gave it and when. An open question is asked as a question. Where nothing turned up, the story says “no record found in this research”. That's a smaller claim than “none exists”.

Theories and leads

People who saw the sign online have suggested who the Zodiacs were, and other leads appeared in the records. Each chapter's “Theories and leads” tab lists them. Each entry has two parts: the suggestion, and what the records show. The second part is one of three verdicts. “Still possible” means nothing was found for it or against it. “Nothing ties it to this address” means the group or event was real, but no record connects it to this corner. “Ruled out by” names the record that contradicts it. Suggestions are welcome through the form.

Why so few pictures exist

The corner lies just outside the Park Slope Historic District, drawn in July 1973 along Seventh Avenue, one block east. The surveys that photographed the district passed it by.

A printed map headed Park Slope Historic District, Brooklyn. A heavy line encloses blocks east of Seventh Avenue, and the map reads DESIGNATED JULY 1973.
Park Slope Historic District designation report, July 1973. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The records

Open the records page. Every citation says what the document is, who made it, when, and where to find it. A link appears where one exists, and the shelf or reel where it doesn't.

Write in

If something here is wrong, or if you remember this corner, write in.