I’ve been reading Old Bowery Days, a history of Lower Manhattan written in 1930 by one Frank Harlow. I was really intrigued by the description of A. C. Benedict & Co, a jewelry store, which was founded in 1818 and was still there in 1930. In the first year of business, the store sold a watch; in 1930 the great-grandson of the original purchaser was bringing the same watch to the same store to be cleaned.
So here’s my question: Are there still places like that in New York? Harlow said the jewelry store in question was about to be closed, but are there other places like that still in existence?, or has redevelopment finally caught up with the Bowery and obliterated most historic buildings, as it has done in L.A.?
Some other specific business mentioned in the book:
[ul]
[li]Copperthwaite Furniture at Chatham Sq. (is Chatham Sq. still there)?[/li][li]Simpson Pawn at 90 Park Row[/li][li]Callahan Hats at 140 Bowery [/li][li]Stehr’s Pipes, Westchester Hotel Bldg on Broome St.[/li][/ul]
There are old business that still are functioning, but most have at one time or another moved. Commercial buildings are not necessarily meant to last forever, and really successfull businesses tended to outgrow their orginal quarters.
Still in the orignal site
I think the Strand Book Store (not sure about that)
McSoreley’s Ale House
Fraunces Tavern (comes and goes)
There are probably hundreds of buildings in the Cast Iron district that date to the Civil War era and earlier. They still have dozens and dozens of business there, but they are not particularly large. There are older buidings scattered all over the city, but I am not sure how you could track a really old business if it changed hands or name. Lots of historic buidings have been totally remuddled so that they have false fronts and modern interiors, but still are brick and cast iron structures.
And of course there are companies like Brooks Brothers who are still around but have moved constantly as the neighborhood changes. In Manhattan, that has generally meant that the rich people moved uptown (north) where more land was available - I am pretty sure that the subway yards at 207th Street in Manhattan were built on what was still farmland in the early 1900s. The businesses followed the people with money. In the same fashion, the Theatre District migrated from the Wall Street area, to 14th streen then 34th street, and to 42nd street. In fact, most theatres are a little bit north of 42nd street today.
If you’re looking for olde New York firms that are still in business (albeit, not at their original locations) you might consider Brooks Brothers (1815) (as YPOD mentioned), Tiffany’s (1837), the New York Post (1801) (founded by Alexander Hamilton) and Caswell-Massey (1752) (a drug store that still offers the same brand of cologne they mixed for George Washington!). There are non-retail firms like banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions that go way back too.
Along the lines of the OP’s watch story, I’ve heard that Tiffany’s has a standing policy to fix/restore/service any item they’ve designed or manufactured – regardless of how old. The example I can vouch for is an old, beat up athletic trophy that a friend took in; they restored it to like-new condition. Whether they did it free of charge, or at a discount, I’m not sure.
Seventy years is a long time.