Was I dreaming? Nikon Booth in Rockefeller Center

[Plasmat]

When I was a teenager, oh, in 1968 or 1969 or so, I remember there was a huge Nikon Center in Rockefeller Center in New York City, where you could see and try all the latest Nikon equipment.

In the middle of the the place was sort of an enclosed glass booth where a Japanese man sat, surrounded by tools and equipment. He also had a little collection of super rare lenses and bodies behind the glass.

You could give him your camera or lens and he would check it, collimate your lens or clean out the dust.

I remember one day I took my newly aquired used Nikon FTN to him to look at. The meter was dead.

I didn't expect him to fix it, but he looked at it, took out his tiny screwdrivers, and at what seemed like the speed of lightning, took the prism apart, fixed it, put it back to together, then did the same to the body and shutter.

Total time, about 10 minutes. Perfectly repaired, no charge.

I was thrilled.

Now the whole thing seems like a dream. Nikon House is no longer in Rockefeller Center, the Japanese repairman lives only in my memory, and nobody will fix your Nikon for free.

But that episode made me a die-hard Nikon fan for life.

Does anybody else remember this?

 

[rogue_designer]

No - but then, I am neither old enough, or have been to NYC enough to reasonably expect to.

Great story tho - almost sounds like an urban legend compared to customer and repair service these days.

 

[Plasmat]

But a true story, nonetheless.

And always free, if you took it to the little man in the booth.

 

[amateriat]

Oh, I remember Nikon House quite vividly...had more than one camera tweaked there (really miss that), interesting exhibits from time to time, and I took in a seminar or two. Plus, you could fondle almost all of Nikon's line to your heart's content unrushed and sans sales pitches (hell of a savvy marketing tool...it worked on me, given the silly money I spent on stuff like an 85 f/1.4 AIS after trying one out there). It was half the reason for coming anywhere near Rock Center, which otherwise has always been a bit too tourist-y for me.


- Barrett

 

[kbg32]

You weren't dreaming. Nikon House was great. They let try anything. They had two or three showcase stations and did free checkups and fixes. Nikon House was the last storefront on the right as you entered the plaza from Fifth Avenue.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Ohhh the good old days.

Kiu

 

[edlake]

I used to go to Nikon House on a regular basis, just to play with the "toys" which I couldn't afford. Once I brought in my SP and one of the counter people offered to buy it from me, but he didn't want any of my lenses (I had 2 at the time) since he wanted to mount wide angles on it (I didn't have any of those at the time). I declined and still have it. I was really sorry to see it go. Nikon house, not the camera!

Cheers 😀

 

[Trius]

I've never owned a Nikon, but I do recall (the existence of) Nikon house, it was somewhat legendary, at least to me. Yeah, it's a corny cliché, but I will say it anyway...

Those were the days.

 

[sigma4ever]

Oh I wish I could have gone there. Man, why couldn't I have been born fifty years ago. Living today, what you have described is almost unbelievable. I actually only believe it because the claim has been supported by more than one.