542-544 Broadway

542 Broadway | SoHo | built 2015

Open on the map5 entries

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

  1. 1864

    A white marble store opens with three Roman goddess statues on its sixth floor

    The six-story marble building at 542-544 Broadway went up in 1864; one block south, across the avenue, stood the white marble St. Nicholas Hotel. Its architect is unknown. On the top floor stand statues of Panaceia, Athena and Ceres. Three of the original cornice urns have since been lost.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  2. 1867

    Hoff's Malt Extract, billed as a health tonic with anti-aphrodisiac properties, sets up shop here

    The makers of Hoff's Malt Extract were early tenants. Their 1867 ads pointed customers to the store opposite Barnum's Museum, and promoted the drink as a tonic for digestive complaints. The ad copy also mentioned anti-aphrodisiac properties.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1889

    December 3

    A fur manufacturer's blaze here costs a quarter of a million dollars in today's money

    Around 7:40 on the evening of December 3, 1889, fire broke out in Louis Kaelter's fur business. The New York Times called it a lively fire, since the stock burned fast. Kaelter's loss was roughly a quarter of a million dollars by modern standards, and the firms below suffered serious water damage.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1903

    The Bailey Restaurant chain goes bankrupt, blaming its $9,000 yearly rent at 542 Broadway

    Bailey Restaurant opened a small branch in the building, bringing its chain to six restaurants in Manhattan. By 1903 the whole company was bankrupt. Its attorney said the rent of $9,000 a year at 542 Broadway had sunk it.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 1913

    August 26

    A stenographer jailed for forging checks draws a character witness from the Bedford Reformatory's head

    Harriet Cohen, a stenographer at the Standard Steam Specialty Company here, was jailed on August 26, 1913 for forging $9,000 in checks against her employer. She was said to be fond of opera and to want costly clothes. At her hearing, Catherine Bement Davis, head of the Bedford Reformatory, testified for her; Cohen had been sent there three years earlier for forgery.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

Nearby

All 736 buildings with stories in SoHo