When I saw these pictures from Ruby’s bar I was reminded of a thought put forth by sociologist Ray Oldenburg. In his book The Good Great Place, he talks about the idea of “third places,” which he describes as being “nothing more than informal public gathering places. The phrase ‘third places’ derives from considering our homes to be the ‘first’ places in our lives, and our work places the ‘second.’ I love the idea of a ‘third place.’ I don’t think I have one at the moment, and that kind of makes me a little bit sad. Photoblog - Coney Island fixtures to close