Third and Pike is a fairly bleak, busy downtown intersection. Buses charge past. Commuters swarm by. During the summer, tourists march in throngs from the market to the retail core. Then at night, the crack dealers come out, including some of the Pike Street All-Stars our John Metcalfe profiled two years ago. Matters weren’t helped when the old newsstand that occupies the southeast corner was torched by teens in 2006, four years after owner Benjamin Gant bought the small metal kiosk. Named for its original owner, the Frank Turco Memorial Newsstand was, frankly, an eyesore. But now Gant has replaced it with a new red-roofed steel and glass structure that we quite like. Designed by local firm Zero Plus, the glass and steel shed is open and inviting. Though not yet adorned with the graphics Gant expects to apply before his official Labor Day opening, the light, airy structure invites a conversation with the street–as does its friendly owner. Our conversation, and more photos after the jump…The old kiosk, pictured above, went from brown to blue and even different hues during its long history, as Gant told the L.A. Times last year. Our Rick Anderson also chatted with Gant around that time. The one-legged Turco’s original newsstand opened in 1919 and was rebuilt in 1972, after his death. (Also see Gabriel Campanario’s nice sketch in The Seattle Times.)The new design is about twice as large the old, and Gant points out the old footprint within the new–a patch of clean, unweathered pavement about three feet by nine. Sitting on his cooler outside the shed, cheerfully selling cold drinks and newspapers to passers-by, he says of the new structure, “It took a looong time! [Architect Josh Brevoort] was huge. He worked on contingency for over a year.”Labor groups including the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers donated materials for the Turco memorial, which honors the late news vendor and union organizer (1877-1966) who occupied it for nearly half a century. Two weekends ago, Gant explains, contractor “Rafn installed it for free.”Thanks to architect Brevoort of Zero Plus, “It has no right angles,” says Gant. The southward facing end of the kiosk has a swoopy boat-tail streamliner aspect. It will soon bear graphics, ads, and more information about Turco and Seattle labor history. The north end faces Pike, with a wide glass door swung open to encourage patronage. Free papers, Seattle Weekly included, can be grabbed from racks outside. Gant is already selling candy, bottled water, and soda. Since the old kiosk was wired for power, he expects to add coffee (never mind the Starbucks across Third). “We’re not going to have lattes, but a working-class cup of joe,” he laughs. “We’ve got some pretty grand ideas.”Perhaps among them, along with banner ads on the exterior, will be an LED news ticker or computer screen. But those will come after the soft opening leading up to Labor Day (Mon., Sept. 7). During the present time, Gant is adding papers, testing which products sell to pedestrians, and striking up conversations with anyone who stops by. After less than two weeks in the new kiosk, he notes, far more people are noticing his newsstand. During our chat, several customers interrupt to get a cold drink for a dollar. Gant says the owners of the new Kress-IGA grocery across Third estimate that 22,000 people pass by each day. It’s a great location, one that clearly deserved–and got–better design.Is business up already? “Oh, Jesus Christ yes!” he exclaims. In the old place, with its small windows, battered exterior, and cramped appearance, “I couldn’t make any money in there. I’d never run a little newsstand like this [before 2002]. I’m kinda learning as I go.”