About *that* Corner Building on Suffolk and Stanton
Its fascinating history does the building justice.
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Walking around and came across an old street corner I used to live near. It has always seemed like this entire slice of the block has always been deserted - no sign of tenants, of renovation, or any activity at all. I looked at some of "Louis Zuflacht's" history.
I came across a number of blogsites claiming to know the origins of the building, the store, and the owners.
One claims that he was born in 1883 and died in 1986, having owned the store from the 40s to the 70s. The neon sign was apparently hung during wartime, in 1942.
In another blog post, about a half dozen commenters claim Zuflacht to be their ancestor, and leave some very interesting, some chronologically conflicting, information.
The most credible commenter says that Zuflacht was his grandfather, who sold the property in the 70s when business and the surrounding neighborhood began to decline. The new owner, however, seems to be intent on preserving the building, and, perhaps most importantly, the sign.
That owner seems to have been made the subject of a New York Times article from 2000 titled "For Artists, Even the Street Clatter is a Magnet".
It seems that the last time the space was used, it was as a gallery, this street on the second slide is a view from 2009.
Doesn't seem like too much will change at 154 Suffolk in the near future. A rare win for the old neighborhood and conservationists.
If you want the links to some of the blogs mentioned, look at my recent tweets!
Edit: Found out that there have been a couple new owners (seemingly corporate) since the lady sold it around 2007.