That’s not all, folks!
Blockbuster may be gone for good in the Big Apple — but the ghost of the video-store chain lives on inside a Hudson Square office cubicle.
Cory Bruce, 36, “runs” the homemade spot, which features more than 400 VHS tapes and 200 DVDs, from a vacant cubicle at the Viacom building on Hudson and Charlton Streets.
“It kinda makes you feel like you’re in 1995 again,” said the Comedy Central video editor, who works a few cubes down. “The retro nostalgia aspect of it really fun.”
The movie gallery is tricked out with a light-up Blockbuster sign, eight TV screens, four VHS players, one DVD player and a stock-pile of candy. Bruce has even managed to wrangle 10 Blockbuster video casings at thrift shops.
The throwback knock-off started as a joke between Bruce and a co-worker last February.
“He made fun of me for bringing in all these old Elvis VHS [tapes], so I made a mini Blockbuster, thinking it would make him chuckle,” Bruce recalled.
But instead, his friend “one-upped” him by adding a Blockbuster sign. “We just kept one-upping each other until it took a life of its own,” Bruce explained.
More recently, Bruce’s retro love has expanded into a “blast from the past nook,” including Tower Records, KB Toys and Circuit City shrines in the area around the Blockbuster cubicle.
Bruce’s favorite flick on offer at his Blockbuster tribute is “DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp,” but he also has a soft spot for more DIY recordings.
“I found a collection of every single ‘I Love Lucy’ episode that someone taped and dated,” said Bruce. “The commercials are my favorite part.”
Co-workers and friends can rent for free, but Bruce said he does ask for one thing: “Please be kind and rewind.”
