The marine motif isn't original to Rite Aid, the tenant as of 2010; that's evident even from a distance.
Numerous passersby, including a neighbor of more than 50 years' standing, couldn't name the first tenant of the building, but a longtime New Yorker who also follows my posts on Flickr identified this as a former Childs Restaurant. (Thanks, Harvey!) The fish with seashell, and the intertwined seahorses, were common to many locations of the seafood chain, which debuted in 1889; I haven't been able to determine the opening and closing dates of this particular restaurant.
A former Childs Restaurant, now a Rite Aid Pharmacy
45-02 43rd Ave. (at 45th St.), Sunnyside, Queens
