The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-31
ABRAHAM & STRAUS
HAVE GOTH BIRTHDAY
Golden Anniversary TO Be Cclc-
brated by Month Of
Special Sales.
STORY OF GROWTH TOLD

The firm Of Abraham { straus Is cele-
bratng this week the golden anniversary
of the store. fifty years of existence as
one OF Brooklyn's big department stores.
The event Is being celebrated in a typi-
cally mercantile way by special sales that
will last "a month.
At recent luncheon given by the firm
the growth OF the concern from its small
beginning in lower Fulton street as Joseph
Wechsler & CO. to It's present large bust
ness was sketched and a tour Of the build
ings was made In which tho development:
Of the plant was pointed out.
The late Abraham Abraham, founder OF
the firm Of Abraham & Straus. told once
how he entered business soon after the
close OF the civil war In 1850 He de-
scribed himself as the Go" in wechsler
q Co. when the firm occupied only the
street floor Of the store In the little build
ing still standing at 297 Fulton street.
The store soon grew until Mr.. Abraham
decided to move. and he told how he fas-
tened on the present site as the most de-
Sirable place of business
"NNare this store now stands lie said.
was a circus ground. Before that an old
Dutch Reformed Church and its burial
ground were here. Wheeler. a man far
ahead of his time, built q very fine iron
front building, tho first structure Of It's
kind in the city, very pretentious indeed
for those days II was n very unfor-
tunate venture for him.
FINALLY II was divided into small stores
and rented for n saloon. a dime museum.
second hand auction place and the old
Olympic Theatre. Beyond that 10 Flat
bush avenue might just as well have been
Western mining camp so far as appear
ances went. And beyond that was the
country.
Our store grew rapidly. taking In the
floors above. competitor owned both
sides Of us. and we could not spread out.
one day / was walking In Fulton street
and happened to look at the big Wheeler
/ Building Like fash II came to me
f, that when tho bridge opened the Wheeler
! Building part OF Fulton street could be
made the trade centre OF brooklyn, Ne
gotiations were quietly opened by Mr.
/ James a real estate man. the owners
coming together without knowing who
wanted the big white elephant
I when the reporters found out and
! published the fact that II was our store
: It caused surprise and comment to the
! effect that VIC had made a serious error.
| odd as IL may seem to-day there were
! many who believed the territory limit OF
/ Brooklyn business possibilities WAS ut the
/ City Hall Even tho fow houses estab-
| llshed beyond that line advised me they
! we're going to move downtown below
Myrtle avenue. II they could. There was
an attempt for time TO keep the BUSH
ness centre downtown, but our store was
an immediate success and one after an
other the other stores followed us or
! went out of business"
har & Etrniia'q n most
, UP to date department store, with res
taurant grocery. model kitchen and bak-
cry. mail order department. dressmaking
salon. big cold storage plant fifty-two ele-
vators and a telephone switchboard large
enough Tor in. town uf Fiustins 10 meet
tie demands of customers. The trir
through the plant. which took in merely
that part of me store which the general
public does not usually see and knows
little Of took more than an hour.