Underground and alternative
Business owner aims
to create the ‘funkiest
place in town’
BY CAITLIN SEYFRIED
Where in Astoria can you find a grotto
with a secret passageway leading to a por-
tal room and an aspen grove? Only in the
magical Hidden Underground Experience.
Below the city streets at Marine and
10th, artist and shop owner Sondra Carr
has crafted these landscapes with sculp-
tures, lighting and imagination. Carr owns
Weird Sisters Freak Boutique, a shop with
one-of-a-kind clothing, housewares and
art.
“Freak Boutique is really in your face,
because people need to know what it is
they’re getting into,” Carr said. “People
either walk in and love it and they’re look-
ing at everything, or they walk in and they
immediately turn around and walk out.
And I like that, it’s totally fine. They need
to go and find the thing that matches their
hearts. But for the people who like it, they
love what we’re doing.”
Carr’s aspirations go beyond a retail
space. Her long list of current and ongoing
Photos by Caitlin Seyfried
See Page 5
ABOVE: Sondra Carr owns Weird Sisters Freak Boutique. BELOW LEFT: Harper Carr sits at the store’s front desk. He sings and performs for
visitors. BELOW RIGHT: A cat models some of the clothes available to buy.
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