STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sure, its official name is the "120 Bay Cafe" and it's part of restauranteur Eddie Gomez's growing family of borough establishments.

But for a huge swath of Staten Island, it was, is and always will be the Cargo Cafe. (Or, depending on whom you ask, just Cargo.)

It's famous for lots of things: Local music, from live bands to karaoke to DJs. Open mics rocked by the early talents of poet Marguerite Maria Rivas and comic Nanci Richards. There were '80s "proms" that I wasn't cool enough to score an invite to. They even hosted an annual Thanksgiving feast for people who needed it.

Best of all: Smiling Sal Vulcano (lately of truTV's "Impractical Jokers") and Kevin Devlin (of trivia party and sexy facial hair before it became uber-trendy fame) used to tend bar there!

But even with all that good stuff on the books, Cargo remains truly legendary for one thing: It's colorfully eccentric exteriors -- often the handiwork of Staten Island's very own "Citizen" Scott LoBaido.

The various paint jobs -- from patriotic flag-scapes to post-apocalyptic birds to Elsa Lanchester getting her "Bride of Frankenstein" scream on -- provided a community canvas of sorts and I think they deserve to be commemorated; hence the gallery above.

Two big missing links: A clear view of the "King Kong" mural (you know, without an SUV running through it) and the huge, mutant insects from a few years back.

Do you have a favorite Cargo mural from over the years? Let us know about it. Do you have any nostalgic memories of this enduring North Shore watering hole, restaurant and all-around cool people gathering place?

Feel free to sound off about it all right here.

Do you have photos of Cargo Cafe looks from over the years? Share them in the comments section or email them to bailey@siadvance.com so we can make the gallery above as comprehensive as possible.