Dyer House

325 Canal Street | SoHo | built 1819

Open on the map4 entries

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

1. 1819

   John Dyer builds one of the first brick houses on newly covered Canal Street

   Canal Street took its name from a narrow drainage ditch down its middle, finished in 1811 and so foul-smelling and mosquito-ridden that it was roofed over in 1819. The widened roadway drew new housing right away, and merchant John Dyer's three-and-a-half-story Federal house, finished before 1820, was among the earliest. It was renumbered 325 when the street's numbers changed in 1860.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1872

   December 1

   Burglars clean out Colmer's fur stock at 325 Canal, and he offers $800 with no questions asked

   On the night of December 1, 1872, thieves stole the stock of the Colmer fur business, which shared the upper floors with a hat maker. Three days later the owner ran a newspaper notice promising $800 for the return of all the furs, with a proportional reward for any part and no questions asked. The sum equals more than $16,500 in present-day money.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1877

   A cast-iron storefront and a new top floor turn the old Dyer house into a garment-trade loft

   In 1877 the aging Federal house was remodeled as a modern commercial building, receiving a cast-iron storefront and a roof raised to make a full extra floor. The investment paid off, and the building soon filled with garment makers. By the late 1890s one shirt firm here had a workforce of 35 men, 15 women and 7 girls under 21, all working 59 hours a week.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1957

   August

   Hobbyists buy parts for a home-built speed alarm from Gyro Electronics at 325 Canal

   By mid-century Canal Street was filling with plastics and electronics shops, and 325 became a supplier for home tinkerers. Pocket Radio Craft sold a three-tube pocket radio kit by mail in 1949 for $9.95, and Gyro Electronics stayed through the 1950s. Popular Science's August 1957 project for building a speed alarm told readers to get the parts at Gyro's Canal Street shop.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The Sadly Abused 1819 Dyer House - 325 Canal StreetDaytonian in Manhattan

Nearby

• Michael Quinn House327 Canal Street | 4 entries
• 329 Canal Street1 entry
• 323 Canal Street4 entries
• Isaac Lawrence row house321 Canal Street | 3 entries
• 319 REAR-A Canal Street1 entry
• 8 Greene Street1 entry

All 736 buildings with stories in SoHo