The actual Pingpank Barber Shop at 413 Bleeker St. In Manhattan, 1932. Photo by Carl Von Vechten

In Radio Girl, Jack Maloney owns a Bakelite comb stamped with the words “Pingpank Barber Shop.” While Jack and the comb are fictional, the barbershop was genuine. The above photo was taken by renowned photographer (and author) Carl Von Vechten. As part of the Federal Art Project, photographer Berenice Abbott took this photo of the shop’s exterior in 1938.

The Pingpank Barber Shop in 1938, by Berenice Abbott

Read all about it. See more of Berenice Abbott’s photographs of New York in the 1930s.