The 1817 385 Bleecker Street

 

image via loopnet.com

In 1815, retired clothing merchant Aaron Henry purchased a large tract of land in Greenwich Village.  The recently bucolic neighborhood was seeing an influx of activity since the erection of the nearby State Prison.  In 1817 he erected two frame structures at the northeast corner of Perry and George Streets.  (George Street would be renamed Bleecker around 1829.)

Like the slightly smaller building next door, the corner structure was two-and-a-half stories tall.  Its peaked roof would have been pierced by two dormers.  In 1820, both buildings were sold to Samuel Torbert, who apparently leased them.  As early as 1830, Daniel McCroly and William Tiet's "weaving" business occupied the ground floor of 385 Bleecker Street.

The upper floor and attic were rented.  Living here in 1847 and '48 were the families of John C. McCollam, a carman; and carpenter Elihu B. Price.  The commercial space continued to house fabric concerns.  In 1855, Robert Scott ran a dyeing shop here, while the family of John Burns, a smith, occupied the upper portion of the building.

As early as 1858, James Black manufactured buckram--a stiff, rough fabric--here.  The wooden building was threatened early that year.  On March 11, The New York Times reported that a fire had broken out at 8:00 the previous evening.  "The fire originated in the dyeing-room, and was caused by an imperfection in the flue," said the article.  Happily, it was quickly extinguished with little damage.

Around 1860, the Cyrus Patten family moved into the upper floors.  Patten was a jeweler.  He and his wife, Lydia, had at least one daughter, Mary J., who taught in the girls' department of School No. 15 on Fifth Street.  At the time, Jacob Moore, ran the ground floor fabric business.  By 1863, Richard Moore, presumably a son, joined the business.

Lydia Patten died at the age of 65 on October 14, 1863.  Her funeral was held in house two days later.

Mary J. Patten, who had recently married Joseph Masten, was no longer living in the Bleecker Street house.  Interestingly, however, Henrietta Katkamier moved in.   She was a teacher in the girls' department of School No. 15--very possibly replacing Mary Patten Masten's position there.  Henrietta boarded with Cyrus Patten through 1866, when he moved into Mary and Joseph Masten's home in Yonkers, where he died at the age of 77 on December 26, 1874.

Elizabeth Miller, the widow of Thomas Miller, occupied the upper floors in 1867, apparently renting rooms.  Henry Freund, a die maker; and Mary Danneker, who surprisingly listed her profession as "segars," lived here that year.  Eliza Friend ran her fancygoods store at street level and lived in the rear.

Eliza's venture would be short-lived.  On September 9, 1869, an advertisement in the New York Herald read, "Fancy Goods Store for Sale--In an excellent location, with apartment, doing a good business in dressmaking and stamping.  Inquire at 385 Bleecker st."

It may have been John H. Timm's purchase of the building that prompted Eliza Friend's move.  Timm lived around the corner at 77 Perry Street and moved his grocery store into the Bleecker Street space.  

It was about this time that Timm raised the attic to a full third floor and extended the building by filling in the passageway behind it to create a new entry to the upper floors.  A simple cornice and fascia and an updated storefront were installed.

image from the collection of the New York Public Library

In 1879, Timm leased the store to Flannery Brothers, composed of Thomas E., Joseph F. and John P. Flannery.  The brothers established a saloon in the space, adding it to their others at 635 Hudson Street, 613 Third Avenue and 802 Greenwich Street.  Interestingly, according to John P. Flannery on October 7, 1892, "This business is in my mother's name, Catherine A. Flannery."

The Flannery Brothers saloon lasted here until 1897, when John H. Timm leased the space to James Mulligan.   The Flannerys left nothing for the new leasee.  An auction took place on May 11 offering: 

Elegant Ash Counters with Cabinet Back Bar and 5-plate Mirrors (to match), Patent Ice House, Lunch Bars, Mirrored Wall Case, Screens and Summer Doors, Tables, Vienna Chairs, Partitions, Cash Register, Glassware, Chandeliers, Storm Doors, etc., in lots to dealers.

The process was repeated six years later when an auction of the "saloon fixtures" was held on July 29, 1903.

John H. Timm continued to lease the store space to saloon owners and their businesses continued to be short-lived.  In 1912, Thomas McFadden ran the saloon, followed by Jonathan Reilly, who was superseded by Frank Barbiere in 1915.

A distinct change came in the post-World War I years.  The Polimeni fishing tackle store occupied by the space by 1918.  While anglers could shop for fishing rods and lures, Polimeni's ads clearly noted, "No Bait."

Seen here in February 1932, the upper shutters have been removed.  Street signs are affixed to the second floor corners.  from the collection of the New York Public Library.

In 1934, the building's wooden facade was covered with a thick layer of stucco, leaving only the wood-framed windows to testify to the structure's venerable architecture.  By then, the Waverly Grocery store occupied the ground floor space.  Following the repeal of Prohibition, in 1938 the store's owner, Sam Rabinowitz, obtained a license to sell beer "for off-premises consumption."

In September 1980, the Johnny Jupiter store opened here.  The Villager reported a month later, "its white shelves are filled to overflowing with a rainbow of colors decorating fragile and delicate cups and saucers, plates, glasses, ashtrays and many beautifully designed jars, metal hanging baskets, crocheted pillows and table cloths."

Johnny Jupiter was supplanted by Simon Pearce, described by The Villager reporter Joan Foley on December 10, 1987 as "one of the finest craft stores in the Village."  A Marc Jacobs cosmetics store opened around the turn of the century, replaced in 2017 by leather goods store Tde. (short for the Daily Edited).

image via camelotrealgygroup

No one passing 385 Bleecker Street today could guess that under the gray-painted stucco is one of Greenwich Village's oldest extant buildings.