1 Rivington Street

also 209 Bowery | Lower East Side | built 1900

Open on the map3 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1859

   Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co. hardware moves into a five-story building at 209 Bowery

   Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co. was founded in 1848 by German immigrants and began at 221 Bowery as a hardware business. From 1859 until 1904 the firm occupied a five-story building at 209 Bowery, which the National Register nomination describes as Italianate. The nomination counts it among the few old firms still on the Bowery while the street filled up with lager beer saloons, cheap clothing stores and restaurants.

   Source: National Register nomination

2. 1904

   Hammacher Schlemmer leaves 209 Bowery for Fourth Avenue and 13th Street

   Ephemeral New York says the business began as a hardware store serving cabinetmakers and piano builders. William Schlemmer, a nephew of one of the owners, began by selling tools out front for $2 a week and rose to buy his uncle out. Albert Hammacher, a German immigrant, likewise started young at the store and became a principal. The company left 209 Bowery for Fourth Avenue and 13th Street in 1904 and moved to East 57th Street in 1926.

   Source: Ephemeral New York

3. 1955

   Owners strip the old brownstone front and apply stucco, and the windows are redone

   The Bowery Historic District survey describes 209 Bowery as a five-story brick warehouse and store from the mid-19th century, with a brownstone facade and probably an Italianate design. In 1955 the owners chipped away the brownstone and covered the front with brownstone-toned stucco. The windows were most likely replaced at the same time. The survey notes that the building was combined with the Federal-era house at 211 Bowery.

   Source: National Register nomination

Further reading

• The Bowery roots of a famous uptown gift storeEphemeral New York

Nearby

• Hammacher Schlemmer's Bowery store209 Bowery | 3 entries
• Alabama House219 Bowery | 3 entries
• Dixon Place161A Chrystie Street | 3 entries
• The Bowery Mission227 Bowery | 5 entries
• 206 Bowery5 entries
• Germania Bank Building190 Bowery | 14 entries

All 78 buildings with stories in Lower East Side