In the mid-1840s, as sumptuous Greek Revival and Italianate-style mansions crept up Fifth Avenue, a block to the west much humbler residences were being erected. In 1847, a three-story house at 350 Sixth Avenue (renumbered 684 in 1925) was completed. Although they were separated by just a block, the proletarian inhabitants of the house--like the building itself--were a world away from Fifth Avenue's high society.
It seems that the house always had a store at street level. The working-class residents in 1850 were almost all in the construction business. They included Michael Dowling, a mason; carpenter William Custis; and John Alexander, a plasterer. The one tenant not involved in building was Philip Kenney, a bootmaker. It is possible he also occupied the store.
Around 1853, 33-year-old Michael Ronan installed his tailor shop in the store and lived with his family upstairs. They shared the space that year with Denis Broderick, a stonecutter.
In February 1861, the Ronans welcomed a baby boy, Augustus M. Sadly, the toddler died on July 24, 1863. His funeral was held in the second floor of 350 Sixth Avenue the next day.
The couple shared the upper floors with George and Mary Le Caitel and John McCreery in 1867. Le Caitel was a hairdresser and McCreery was in the shoe business. The following year, Michael Rowan (whose name was confusingly similar to Michael Ronan) and Richard New opened their M. Rowan & Co. "ice cream depot" (i.e., ice cream parlor) in the store space. It is unclear to where Michael Ronan temporarily moved his tailoring shop.
The ice cream parlor moved a block south to 334 Sixth Avenue the following year, and Ronan regained his shop. Before long, Michael Ronan's health began to decline. By the spring of 1872, he was no longer able to operate his business. On April 19, an auction was held of:
...the selected Stock of the long established Tailor Store 350 Sixth avenue, between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets: Cloths, Cassimeres, Vestings, &c.; also custom made Pants, Coats and Vests, together with Counters, Fixtures and large size Singer Sewing Machine. The attention of the trade invited.
Michael Ronan died on August 16, 1872 at the age of 50, "after a long illness," according to the New York Herald. Unlike his son's funeral, Michael's was held in St. Francis Xavier's Church the following day.
Ronan may have held out hope that he would recover. Not everything had been sold at the auction. On September 8, an advertisement in the New York Herald offered, "For Sale, Cheap--A lot of new French Cloths and a Singer's Sewing Machine; almost new. Apply at hall door 350 Sixth avenue, New York."
Mary and George Le Caitel still lived here. George died "after a long and painful illness," as reported by the New York Herald, on December 17, 1873. He was 42 years old.
Stephen E. England installed his "variety store" in the shop in 1875. Among those living upstairs were Mary Maccarran, who made caps; William Powell, a stove dealer; Jacob W. Aeppli, whose barber shop was on Fourth Avenue; and tailor Christopher Postera. (Mary Maccarran and William Powell would remain at least through 1880.)
Sisters Elizabeth M. Ritter and Agnes J. Ritter each owned 50 percent of the property in 1888. When Agnes married Edward T. McCoy, she divided her portion with her new husband.
A Mrs. Bacon ran a domestic employment agency here in the early 1890s. She and other agencies faced a crisis when the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition opened in 1893. On April 29, The Evening World began an article saying, "Housekeepers and the proprietors of New York employment agencies are becoming not a little alarmed at the unusual scarcity of servant girls just now prevalent in the metropolis." In anticipation of the throngs of visitors to the fair, Chicago hotel managers were depleting Manhattan's workforce with seductive offers. The article said, "Mrs. Bacon, of 350 Sixth avenue, has many applications for Chicago situations, but has sent no servants there and invariably discouraged such applicants."
Robert T. Dowling occupied the store by 1899. The following year, architect David P. Miller remodeled the storefront. On February 4, 1902, Edward T. McCoy and Elizabeth M. Ritter renewed Dowling's lease for 10 years at $6,000. (The rent would translate to about $1,675 per month in 2025.)
Dowling's residency would not last through the term of the lease. In 1905, the architectural firm of Buchman & Fox was hired to convert the building to commercial use and remodel the facade. Any trace of the 1847 house was eliminated in the architects' vaguely commercial take on neo-Classical architecture.
Above the cast iron storefront, two-story paneled brick piers flanked the metal infill. Double-height fluted Ionic pilasters created three bays, the floors separated by paneled spandrels. Vast show windows flooded the interior with natural light. A molded cornice and low parapet finished the design.
via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
The new tenants were Daniel J. Healy, maker of skirts and patterns; the Singer Sewing Machine Company; and a branch of J. Ehrlich & Sons.
A 1905 advertisement announced the store's opening. The World, June 12, 1905 (copyright expired)
J. Ehrlich & Sons' optical business was founded in 1862. The firm operated its own glasses factory. In the summer of 1908, an advertisement cautioned New Yorkers, "Don't risk your vacation pleasure without extra glasses." The ad promised, "Bring your glasses to us NOW. We can duplicate them EXACTLY without the original prescription and at a very moderate cost."
J. Ehrlich & Sons remained here until 1912, when McCoy and Ritter made interior renovations. Architects Schwartz & Gross designed the reconfiguration of walls. At the same time, toilets were installed. In 1914, S. Miller & Sons, a women's apparel store, moved into the ground floor shop.
In the 1940s, L. Radin's occupied the space, offering female shoppers "corsets, brassieres, and blouses."
Today there are apartments on the third floor of the venerable building. Buchman & Fox's 1905 storefront was obliterated in the second half of the 20th century, but, overall, the building's appearance has not changed.
photographs by the author
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