By the turn of the last century, the blocks of Greenwich Street directly below Canal Street were greatly populated by coffee, tea, and spice merchants. Highly visible among them was Samuel Crooks who had founded Samuel Crooks & Company in 1890. His success was such that two years later he erected a warehouse and roasting plant at 464 Greenwich Street. He would add similarly-designed structures, each by a different architect, at 460 Greenwich Street in 1895, and 462 Greenwich Street in 1895. Then, in 1899 Crooks commissioned architect Franklin Baylies to design the final structure in the assemblage. Located at the southwest corner of Greenwich and Watts Streets, it would be slightly more imposing than its fraternal siblings. The Railroad Gazette projected the construction costs at $24,000, or about $875,000 in 2024.
Baylies had been responsible for 460 Greenwich Street, and like S. W. McLeod who designed 462 Greenwich, he closely followed Charles S. Clark's original designs for 464 Greenwich Street. He carried out the brick-and-stone motif in the lower five floors of 466 Greenwich Street, continuing the rough-cut keystones of the splayed lintels and extending the second floor intermediate cornice that ran along the row. A sixth floor made 466 Greenwich Street stand taller than its neighbors. A blend of Romanesque Revival and Renaissance Revival, its windows were fully arched, and the bracketed, terra cotta cornice was crowned with a brick parapet that added dignity to the design.
By 1906, Crooks had left and a new tenant, the New York Coffee Co., was operating from 466 Greenwich Street. It was joined by the wine and liquor importing firm Kerin & Dunn, run by Daniel J. and Thomas A. Kerin and William G. Dunn, around 1908. Kerin & Dunn would remain here until 1913 when the Record & Guide reported that the firm had leased five floors in 378 Washington Street.
The move was necessary since 466 Greenwich Street had been rented. In its July 1913 issue, Simmons' Spice Mill reported, "On May 1 the old and well-known coffee, tea and spice house of Samuel Wilde's Sons Co. removed from Dutch St., New York, where they have been located since 1829, to 466 Greenwich St., corner Watts St., New York, where they occupy the entire building of six stories."
Founded by James Wild (the "e" in the surname would come later) in 1814, Samuel Wilde's Sons Co. was considered to be one of the oldest (if not the oldest) coffee firms in New York City. It had early on surpassed its competitors with modern equipment. Coffee historian William H. Ukers explained in his 1922 All About Coffee, "The roasted coffee business in New York had grown to such proportions in 1833 and gave such promise, that James Wild considered it a good investment to bring over from England for his new coffee manufactory in New York a complete power machinery equipment for roasting and grinding coffee." In 1851, Samuel Wilde brought his sons Joseph and Samuel Jr. into the business, creating Samuel Wilde's Sons & Co.
American Federationist July 1917 (copyright expired)
World War I depleted the male workforce in America. Samuel Wilde's Sons devised an ingenious method of keeping up sales by recruiting everyday civilians to augment its sales department. An advertisement in the New York Herald on September 29, 1918 explained:
Our roasting plant can turn out 10,000 pounds roasted coffee per day. The nation's call to duty has greatly reduced our selling force, but we must maintain our daily output, therefore we will pay to any man $3.00 cash for every genuine order for 100 pounds of roasted coffee @ 23c per pound.$1.50 Cash for every genuine order for 50 pounds. The Party sold must be a new customer on our books.
The ad boasted of the firm's sterling reputation, adding, "We sell grocers, restaurants, hotels, clubs, caterers to large industrial plants or any one who can use 50 to 100 pounds of roasted coffee."
The elevated train ran up Greenwich Street in 1941. image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
Samuel Wilde's Sons & Co. remained in the building into the 1920s. It was replaced by The Robert L. Albert Co., commission merchants, which served as the selling agent for firms like the Irish-based bakery W. & E. Jacobs, makers of Jacob's Cream Crackers. An advertisement in October 1929 called them "the most famous biscuits in the world."
Subsequently, Le Beau Piping Corp., and then the importing business of Galvanoni & Nevy Brothers, Inc. occupied the building. The latter firm, which would be here for decades, dealt in products like olive oil, parmesan cheese, wine vinegar, and other Italian commodities.
Galvanoni & Nevy Brothers distributed this 1966 advertising postcard touting "Toschi Cherries in Cherry Brandy," calling them "distinctive, ideal gift items in attractive re-usable containers."
Galvanoni & Nevy Brothers would have to move on in the last years of the 20th century as the Tribeca neighborhood was transformed to smart shops, art galleries, and residences. A renovation to 466 Greenwich Street completed in 1996 resulted in one sprawling apartment per floor above the ground floor.
In October 1998, Robin Allen and Andrea Zeman opened Olio in the commercial space. Its slogan emblazoned on the show windows read "Furniture, Objects, Ideas." Here customers could shop for everything from custom-upholstered furniture to jewelry and toiletries. More recently Fabrics, a professional dry cleaning establishment, took over the space.
photographs by the author
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