EAST BROADWAY'S TRADE _ Published: December 1, 1895, . Beginning to be Pretentious in the Wholesale Lines. STORES IN OLD-TIME RESIDENCES Possession Taken by Another Race of ‘Traders—Sights and Signs That Would Make Seme Old- Timers Stare. Hast Broadway has changed its char- acteristics In the lower part several times in seventy years. During that period the dwellings there have been occupied by the wealthy, moderately rich, genteel, éesnom- ical, and striving poor. New few of the eld. dwellings remain, and most of the modern tenements and stores that have displaced the others, between Catharine and Ruigers Streets, are occupied by Hebrews. Im 1826 most of the wealthy and conspicu- ous residents lived down town below Canal Street. Mayor Philip Hone lived in Broad- way, opposite City Hall Park, the dwelling being deep, réomy, and cheerful, with 2 broad entrance hall. Myndert Van Schaick lived in Broadway, near Peter A. Jay, above Chambers Street." Bishop Hobart, the head of the Bplscopal Church, lived in Vesey Street; George Griswold in Wall Street, and Archibald Gracie in Bond Street. A year later Bleecker Street was selected as & fashionable neighborhood, and several handsome residences were erected In Wav- erley Place and its vieinity, but some of the old residents near the Battery refused to be méved by the selections of the am- bitlous in gay circles, A year previous gus was introduced Into the city below Canal Street. In these days it seems strange to relate that many persons were afraid to have it in or near their dwellings. Explosions were predicted, and opposition was manifested in other diz rections. Samuel Leggett, who organized the first gas company in New-York, intro- duced gas into his handsome residence In Franklin Square, and invited everybody to See its effects, ‘in order to demonstrate the utility of the new source of ight and comfort.” During the next twenty years the movement of residential quarters was north- ward. Fourteenth Street had many costly mansions, and Union Square became a fashionable place of resicenee for the Wealthiest families. "Above Unton Square in 1845 only a few scattered bulldings could be seen. ‘These facts fix in the mind, the size of the city and the tendency of its growth when East Broadway had many fine resi- dences, Old residents maintain that East Broadway held its own for many years after. it established its character. Many Of the dwellings there were as large and as costly in outward appearance as Mayor Hone's house, in Broadway. On the east side of the way near Pike Street are fine old dwellings, some in’ fair condition, that indicate the iinportance of the neighborhood years ago. The. carved wood of the door frames and the fanciful and elaborate pat- terns of the wrought-iron railings and newels have not been entirely destroyed. ‘ihe transformation was gradual, When the wealthy moved, the moderately rich changed to the more commodious houses. ‘Then the latter, in their turn, moved, and several of the new and genteel tenants took week- ly or monthly boarders. Twenty years ago if Wasa convenient and. respectable lo- cality for down-town clerks, who desired to walk from their boarding ‘houses to the Stores and. warehouses. It was noted at one time for the number of physicians’ signs that were displayed. In the course of time the boarding-house keepers und. other residents followed the up-town movement, and, Ii the old dwellings just above Cath- arine Street were not torn down to make room for modern tenements, they were re- modeled so that several families could live under one roof, Basements and ground floors became cheap stores and workshops, window panes gathered dust: bits of rail- ings disappeared, doot frames lost their coat- dormer windows were stuffed with 1§8; sewing machines rattled near open Windows; women and children tugged at Bundies of unmade clothing: cobblers worked far into the night; small presses flung off circulars and handbills, and mend- ers in various trades tried to earn enough for rent and something to live on.In recent years it has changed again. From Catharine Street to Rutgers Street It has tried to assume the Impdértance of larger trade, so that nowadays the sisns and" stocks of goods in severa) lines of Wholesale trade are quite remarkable. ‘The manufacturers, importers, jobbers, and dealers, according to the signs, are He- Grews, and che stocks include outer elothing, furs, hats, ‘caps, neckwear, underclothing dry ‘goods, shirts, waists, dress ‘goods, hi siery, paper, twine, stationery, leather find- ings, linens, overalls, millinery, braids, rib- bens, “wrappers, embroideries,” suspenders, Oriental goods, and notions. "None of the Stores is very large, and somo of the jobbers Are obliged to pie goods to the celling and fill the window spaces, The basements of the old dwellings have more room, ‘but they are not so light. Many ot the salesmen are bright, active young men, who are on fa- millar terms with the merchants and mem- Pers of the families, but it is noticeable frequently -that a man and his wife will attend to the selling, while a young branch of the family, sometimes a girl, but gener- ally a boy, will keep the accounts. 1h soma’ lines the trade seems to be con- stant, bue in others it is spasmodic, ac- Serding to the seasonable. quality. of the oods. It is apparent, also, that, as a rule, the orders and sales are not for large quan- lities, ‘The bundles and ‘packages gathered by the express and delivery wagons aro not very large, and many of the customers can ‘indies of moderate sizes the whole carry in Mayor Hone’s House AD: of thelr purchases. Peddlers repienion their Stocks there, and small dealers in the sub- urbs and country towns ate among the reg- ular customers. Being on the border of the Hebrew colony, the stores are convenient for the hundreds of traders there, and they aire suggestive of the rapid progression of an ambitious Immigrant: from peddler’s pack or cart to stands for retail, and Phen to room for larger stocks, although it iz likely that some of the merchants learned the wholesale business in Broadway. It is not unusual on pleasant afternoons for wives and daughters to visit the stores and ehat with the husbands and fathers. Well- dressed, bright-eved, vivacious, and ‘modest, they alt near the windows and doors and thoroughly. enjoy the oceastons for relaxa~ tion from housework. ‘On Saturdays the, doors of the stores are closed and locked. ‘The merchants and Salesmen put on their best clothes, patron- ize the barbers and bootblacks, attend the hervices in the synagogues; and’ seek enjoy- ment according to thelr inclinations, Young Women, dressed as attractively as possible, Promenade in couples and groups, and the Btreat takes on an alr of gayety in the aft- ernoon. In a few instances young mer- chants may be seen alone in the stores part of the afternoon, but they transact no bus!- hess, With their coats off, they may be reading newspapers or writing letters. ‘The janguage overheard is strange, the features are characteristic, although new, and the Signs are odd. Former residents would have to rub thelr eyes to see the change and realize that another race has taleen possession, and that Rast, Broadway is be- Binning to’ be pretentious in trade.