This project was located in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, in what was once NYC’s most fashionable shopping area.
With the encroachment of retail storefronts, the residential aspect of the area was in decline.
Elegant mansions built a decade or two earlier were being razed as stores expanded their footprint in the city.
They were typically four or five stories and often had another story added.
The facades were completely renovated, often including cast iron as a decorative element.
This particular rowhouse located at #35 was spared, for a while.
As of 1868, it was operating as S. Goldberg’s artists materials shop offering canvas, paint, brushes and the like.
However, in 1879 both #35 and #37 were torn down and replaced with a $30,000 five-story retail storefront constructed of brick with a galvanized iron cornice.
The area soon pivoted from frippery to furniture. D. S. Hess & Co. marked the beginning of the furniture district. His concern was soon joined by others.
The Hess building was designed by brothers David and John Jardine, who also designed the B. Altman Department Store.
The first and second floors had showrooms with huge 10’ x 12’ glass storefront windows displaying furniture and household decorations.
D. S. Hess moved to larger accommodations in 1884 before selling their original building for $200,000.
One of the more colorful incidents that played out behind the expansive windows of this storefront happened in a bookstore.
The founding member of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and self-proclaimed arbiter of public decency Anthony Comstock visited to purchase a certain book.
After paying for an English translation of French author Guy de Maupassant’s Mme. Tellier’s Girls, Comstock confiscated the printing plates and all 400 copies of the book.
Although rebuked in the press by the bookseller, he had no legal recourse.
Over the decades, the storefront housed many types of enterprises as did the floors above it, which once included two different sewing factories and various glass and china manufacturers.
In 1982, the upper floors were converted to spacious condos with one per level.
Thus at least part of the building became residential again.
The historic wooden storefront remained just that. But with a facelift regained a new lease on life.
