A. I. Namm & Son Department Store
1 Hoyt Street | also 458 Fulton Street, 456 Fulton Street, 464 Fulton Street | Boerum Hill | built 1925
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1891
Adolph Namm opens a new Fulton Street store on this corner after a fire destroys his old one
In December 1890 a fire destroyed the Fulton Street building that Adolph I. Namm rented. He had leased a lot at Hoyt and Fulton streets and started a $60,000 store there, and a March 1891 sale advertisement spoke of moving to his new building. The store at 452 Fulton Street, between Hoyt Street and Elm Place, grew into a dry goods store with 80 departments, and in 1924 Namm's announced it would demolish this original store to build the addition that is part of today's landmark.
- 1916
Benjamin H. Namm becomes president of his father's store
Benjamin Harrison Namm (1888-1969) started out as a stock clerk at the store his father ran and became its president in 1916, after Adolph retired from active participation in 1910 because of poor health. During World War I he rose to the rank of major, serving in the Corps of Engineers and other divisions. In 1945-46 he held the presidency of the National Retail Dry Goods Association.
- 1925
Namm's opens the Fulton Street addition, then Brooklyn's tallest department store
In January 1924 Namm's announced it would demolish its original store at 452 Fulton Street for a new addition by architects Robert D. Kohn and Charles Butler, built by Thompson-Starrett. The exterior was finished in October 1924, and the store officially opened in February 1925, then considered the tallest department store in Brooklyn. It held a subway entrance, a bargain basement and six selling floors, and by 1923 Namm's was already listed as the third largest cash-only department store in the country.
“Major exterior construction was completed in October 1924, though interior work continued until the store's official opening in February 1925.”
- 1925
Robert D. Kohn gives the store a limestone and bronze design with sculptural piers
The Landmarks Preservation Commission credits the design to Robert D. Kohn, who echoed his earlier Vienna Secession-influenced work. Tall masonry piers rise above the roofline, set against window bays and bronze spandrel panels, with Indiana limestone contrasting with green-patinated bronze. The Fulton Street entrance was originally an arch flanked by Corinthian columns, and a pedimented third-floor window still marks its location.
- 1929
A corner annex at Fulton and Hoyt streets brings the store to 500,000 square feet
Namm's announced in June 1928 that it would add an eight-story annex at the corner of Fulton and Hoyt streets, also designed by Kohn and Butler, on a site that the Sorosis Shoe Company had occupied for some 25 years. It matched the earlier addition's materials and rounded corner, added 22.5 feet of Fulton Street frontage, and was completed by November 1929, bringing the store to 500,000 square feet.
- 1957
Namm-Loeser's closes its Brooklyn flagship store after operating losses
In February 1957 the Namm-Loeser's company announced it would close its downtown Brooklyn flagship and operate only its suburban stores, citing substantial operating losses. After a two-week liquidation sale the store shut in March. By the New York Times's count it was the eighth major store in the city to close since 1952, and some stockholders accused the Namm family's Arebec Corporation of benefiting at the store's expense.
“In February 1957, however, the company announced its decision to solely operate its suburban stores and to close its flagship downtown Brooklyn store due to substantial operating losses…”
- 1958
Abraham & Straus keeps the 1920s Fulton Street additions for offices and stores
Federated Department Stores, owner of Abraham & Straus, bought the Namm-Loeser property in August 1957 for $2.85 million. In July 1958 A&S announced plans to demolish the rest of the old store for a 600-car garage but to modernize the 1924-25 and 1928-29 Fulton Street additions. Liberty Mutual initially took four stories and A&S's accounting department the top three.
“…announced plans in July 1958, however, to demolish all of the former A.I. Namm & Son Department Store for a 600-car garage, except for the 1924-25 and 1928-29 additions…”
- 2005
The city designates the Namm building a landmark
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building at 450-458 Fulton Street a landmark on March 15, 2005, after a hearing in November 2004. Seven people spoke for designation, including groups such as the Brooklyn Heights Association, Municipal Art Society and Historic Districts Council, while the Downtown Brooklyn Council and Fulton Mall Improvement Association asked the commission to delay.
“Seven people spoke in favor of designation, including representatives of the Brooklyn Heights Association... Representatives of the Downtown Brooklyn Council and Fulton Mall Improvement Association requested that the Commission delay…”
- 2021
The city announces a 160-bed men's shelter inside the former store
Plans for a 160-bed shelter for single men inside the Namm building were announced in 2021 by the New York City Department of Homeless Services. Public hearings on the proposal were held that October. The building had changed hands several times since the store closed, and a Modell's Sporting Goods store opened in it in 2008.
“…the New York City Department of Homeless Services announced that it would open a 160-bed homeless shelter for single men within the Namm building.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- A. I. Namm & Son Department StoreWikipedia
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