Frank Lava Gunsmith

6 Centre Market Place | Little Italy | built 1900

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.

1850
Eli Parker founds the gun shop that Frank Lava later runs at 6 Centre Market Place
The gunsmith shop at No. 6 traced its start to 1850, when Eli Parker founded it. It later passed to a Belgian family, the Lavatatas, and Frank Lava, a third-generation descendant, ran it into the 1960s. By then, Lava said, a growing share of his customers were hobbyists who wanted expert help with the finer points of gun repair. A gun-shaped sign marked the shop.
Source: vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com
1937
February 4
Berenice Abbott photographs the Frank Lava gunsmith shop at 6 Centre Market Place
On February 4, 1937, Berenice Abbott photographed the shop at 6 Centre Market Place and gave the picture the title Gunsmith and Police Department Headquarters, tying it to the police building at 240 Centre Street. The print carries a Federal Art Project sticker and is held by the Museum of the City of New York, where it is catalogued under the keyword Frank Lava, gunsmith.
Source: collections.mcny.org

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