Rarely in the world are the signs that times are changing literally signs. But this one in front of Cafe Habana, at Prince and Elizabeth in Nolita, is an exception. Maybe it is the sign o' the times! Let's peel back the layers and annotate away.

1. First, there's this municipal street sign on which some artist, years ago, erected these signs called "Museum of the Streets" (we think) which was sort of an underground art tour. The signs were, quite possibly, an homage to Abbie Hoffman's museum of the streets.

2. As that sign faded and decayed, various stickers got put on the plywood. Signs for things like Socialight, a social networking tool, and nearby boutiques. The kind of boutiques who would print stickers and post them on signs. That kind.

3. And finally, all that has gone before it is erased by this piece of innocuous white paper on which an apartment in the "most desired location in all of Manhattan" is advertised.

3a. Where once an artist could live in an illegal loft for no more than $250 a month, at the top, merely decades ago, this apartment "on the smaller side" is going for $2,395. Not only that but "John and Manya, "the renters, know that this is such a deal that they remind, "First check takes it off the market."

3b. But perhaps the most telling of this historical document is the fact that the landlords have chosen to vary their font. Oh no, they had to use Bank Gothic, a sans serif font popular among the Science Fiction set and used popularly in the Matrix.

And so you have it. Nolita's past, present and android future. Only $2,395 but with great light.