The Caffe Aurora, Poughkeepsie. If I had to pick a favorite old sign in the Hudson Valley, this might be it. According to their web site: "Paolo Strippoli opened Caffe Aurora's doors for business at 201 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY on December 3, 1941. Paolo apprenticed and learned his trade in Bari, Italy. He immigrated to New York in 1935 and worked several years at Caffe Puglia in Yonkers, NY until he had saved enough money to start his own pasticceria (pastry shop). Choosing a name for his business presented a problem. Friends advised him not to choose a name that had a strong Italian flavor, because the United States was at war with Italy at the time. So he chose 'Aurora' which means 'the dawn.' ... In August of 1962 they moved the bakery to its present location 145 Mill Street in the city's Northern section once called 'Little Italy' ... Eleanor Roosevelt's limousine would pull up to the curb at Caffe Aurora and her chauffeur would get out and come in for a box of Petit Fours to take home to Hyde Park."