A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from October 18, 2016
“Which building does Dracula visit in New York?”/“The Vampire State Building.”

New York City’s Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world when it opened in May 1931. It wasn’t long before the “Vampire State Building” jokes began. A joke was cited in a November 24, 1931 newspaper:
 
Q.—Why do all the sirens go to New York?
A.—Because the Vampire State Building is there.

 
The following joke appeared in a syndicated newspaper entertainment column in June 1965:
 
“The new ‘monster jokes’ are catching on: ‘What’s the monster’s favorite tourist spot?’...‘The Vampire State Building.’”
 
A children’s joke page in December 1972 included the vampire joke in this form:
 
Q. What was the first thing Count Dracula wanted to see when he went to New York?
A. Vampire State Building.

 
   
Wikipedia: Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet (381 m), and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 feet (443 m) high. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years, from its completion in early 1931 until the topping out of the original World Trade Center’s North Tower in late 1970. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was again the tallest building in New York, until One World Trade Center reached a greater height in April 2012. The Empire State Building is currently the fifth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States and the 29th-tallest in the world. It is also the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas. When measured by pinnacle height, it is the fourth-tallest building in the United States.
         
24 November 1931, Hamilton (OH) Evening Journal, “Questions and Answers Department,” pg. 11, col. 1:
Q.—Why do all the sirens go to New York?
A.—Because the Vampire State Building is there.
 
11 June 1964, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Farmers Market” by Dick Kidson, pt. 1, pg. 4, col. 1:
ALBERT WONG at the Chinese Kitchen asks what is 100 stories high and eats blood? Answer: The Vampire State Building.
 
12 June 1965, Detroit (MI) Free Press, “Good Show, Groucho” by Earl Wilson, pg. 11-A, col. 3:
TODAY’S BEST LAUGH: The new “monster jokes” are catching on: “What’s the monster’s favorite tourist spot?”...“The Vampire State Building.”
 
3 December 1972, Pittsburgh (PA) Press, “Mini Jokes,” The Mini Page, pg. 3, col. 1:
Q. What was the first thing Count Dracula wanted to see when he went to New York?
A. Vampire State Building.
—Craig Ebitz (West View)
 
16 December 1972, Cumberland (MD) Times-News, “Mini Jokes,” The Mini Page, pg. 3, col. 1:
Q. What is the main tourist attraction in Transylvania?
A. The Vampire Stte Building.
(Tammy Sue Broadwater, Laurel, Md.)
 
Google Books
December 1973, Boys’ Life “Think and Grin,” pg. 82, col. 4:
Jekyll: What was the first thing Count Dracula wanted to see when he visited New York City?
Hyde: The Vampire State Building! — Dennis Messmore, Sibley, III.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The vampire state building
Author: Byron Preiss; Kenneth Smith
Publisher: New York : Bantam Skylark, 1992, ©1984.
Edition/Format:   Print book : Fiction : EnglishView all editions and formats
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
A young boy finds life in the White House, where his father is always busy, very lonely, and so finds a family of bats and other friends to share adventures with.
     
21 December 1998, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “The Kids’ Reading Room; Pint-Sized Punch Lines,” pg. 8:
Where do vampires live? In the Vampire State Building (Alex Fullman, 8, Encino, Heschel Day School)
 
Google Books
The Great Monster Joke Book
By Amanda Li
New York, NY: Puffin Books
2006
Pg. ?:
Where does Dracula go when he’s in New York?
the Vampire State Building.
 
Twitter
QH
‏@youbejackin
Which is the tallest building in Transylvannia? The Vampire State Building.
8:59 AM - 7 Jul 2009
 
Twitter
This Guy
‏@imperiumrex9
What’s Dracula’s favorite building? The Vampire State Building.
11:07 AM - 18 Sep 2009
 
Twitter
SpookyScene
‏@SpookyScene
Where do vampires live? In the Vampire State Building.
5:03 AM - 23 Sep 2009
 
Twitter
Vampirica
‏@Elpida_
Which building does Dracula visit in New York? The Vampire State Building.
4:45 PM - 21 Oct 2009
 
Google Books
Gigglers: Disgusting Jokes
By Toby Reynolds
Illustrated by Andrew Pinder
London: Scholastic UK
2015
Pg. ?:
Q. Where is Dracula’s office in America?
A. The Vampire State Building!

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityBuildings/Housing/Parks • Tuesday, October 18, 2016 • Permalink


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