Aug 9th
2017BUTCHER, BAKER, UNDERTAKER (1895)

As the sleeping giant that is Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Ralph Avenue begins to awaken from its slumber, it is tempting to take a look back at some of the businesses that once lined this bustling thoroughfare.

STUYVESANT EAST OF YORE

The eastern section of Stuyvesant was alive with industry in the late part of the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries. As houses had recently been built along the main streets, stores, schools, and churches had gone up along the avenues and on corners, dotting the landscape with their offerings.

The neighborhood, after its initial build-up in the 1890s, became completely self-sufficient in terms of goods and services. Residents of Macon Street, like those from the other streets in the neighborhood, found themselves surrounded by a variety of offerings that would allow them – and their servants, in some cases – to satisfy the needs of their families easily and quickly.

THE BUSTLING BUSINESS CORRIDOR THAT WAS RALPH AVENUE

Starting in the late 19th century, Ralph Avenue became a busy local business corridor filled with a wide variety of shops and stores that suburban families needed to support households of consumers.

Since its inception, the avenue had public transportation, in the way of horse-drawn omnibuses and then later a streetcar line, making it a commercial destination drawing purchasers from many blocks distant.

Those living on Macon Street at the time, however, need only walk around the corner to Ralph Avenue to find everything they needed and just about anything they could have imagined.

Today, if you take a stroll down Ralph Avenue, you notice the shadows of these moribund business establishments – almost all of which are currently shuttered, but, of late, have begun to show signs of coming to life.

Back in the day, amongst the businesses along the corridor between Halsey Street and MacDonough Street, there were tailors, butchers, bakers, real estate operators, plumbers, a cigar shop, a candy store, and even an undertaker.

Here is a very short list of some of the many varied businesses that existed along Ralph Avenue and served the community then:

1. No. 159 Ralph Ave. – Hardcastle Brothers Undertakers (had been at No. 155 until the fire of 1896)
2. No. 153 Ralph Ave. – Phillip King’s confectionary store
3. No. 164 Ralph Ave – Lawrence Pfluger Butcher
4. No. 160 Ralph Ave. – J.J. Schmitt Plumbing and Gas Fitting – “Estimates Cheerfully Given”
5. No. 170 Ralph Ave. – Jas. W. Wood – Merchant Tailor
6. No. 178 Ralph Ave. – Manuel Camps Havana Cigar Shop – “YOUR TROUBLES VANISH IN SMOKE – You Want the Right Smoke Though, Try MANUAL CAMPS HAVANA CIGARS.”
7. No. 168 Ralph Ave. – I. M. Faydiman Pharmacy (“Drugs and Chemicals”)

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