A.I. Namm and Sons Department Store, ca. 1925. Adolph I. Namm, a Polish immigrant, moved his Manhattan-based upholstery and embroidery trimmings store to Brooklyn in 1891. His first Brooklyn location opened at 452 Fulton Street, at a moment when this section of Fulton Street was developing into a commercial center. With great success, the store expanded to become a department store, which by the 1920s was one of the largest in the city. The section of the building depicted in this circa 1925 was the penultimate construction for the Fulton Street complex (the final section would be constructed at the corner, at right, a few years after this section was finished in 1925). Designed by Robert D. Kohn and Charles Butler, the department store was built with a steel frame and reinforced concrete floors. The facade was rendered in a modern style with sculptural masonry piers and decorative bronze panels. (The later corner annex created a lovely curved corner facade.) In the 1950s the business merged with a neighboring department store to become Namm-Loeser’s. In early 1957 the downtown Brooklyn store closed, when its parent company made the decision to focus on its suburban locations. Later that year the full block complex of Namm buildings were purchased by the parent company of Abraham & Straus Department Store. They demolished most of the block for a parking garage, save for the 1920s additions, which were converted for offices and ground-level retail spaces. These remaining structures were designated NYC landmarks in 2005.

Today, Fulton Mall is a bustling shopping district in Downtown Brooklyn. During the late-Victorian / early-Edwardian eras (think 1880-1910), it was the preeminent thoroughfare for fashionable shopping in Brooklyn. With monumental department stores like Abraham & Straus and impeccable restaurants like Gage & Tollner, shoppers and window shoppers alike teamed Fulton Street to see everything from the latest wedding trousseau to mourning veils, and penny candy to soft clam bellies in Duxbury stew. While most of these businesses no longer exist, many of their architectural remains can be found behind and above their modern facades.

A.I. Namm and Son Department Store ca. 1925 ARCHITECT: Robert Kahn & Charles Butler DATE: 1924-25 STYLE: Art Deco The A.I. Namm & Son Department Store building at 450-458 Fulton Street is the sole surviving portion of the important enterprise that once covered nearly one entire block. Adolph I. Namm was a Polish immigrant who transferred his Manhattan upholstery and embroidery trimmings business to Brooklyn in 1885 and expanded his business into a highly successful department store. This structure, Namm’s last architectural phase, was built in 1924-25 and 1928-29 to the design of architects Robert D. Kohn and Charles Butler, and consists of a structural steel frame with reinforced concrete floors, clad in Indiana limestone with bronze trim. The highly sophisticated, elegant modern design, with a rounded corner, contrasts monumental sculptural masonry piers, vertical window bays, and decorative bronze spandrel panels. The design was undoubtedly by Kohn, one of the few American architects who had produced aesthetically noteworthy and interesting work (c.1905-15) influenced by the Vienna Secession.

New Yorkers have seen many changes in voting patterns, locations and technology through the years that echo some of the same challenges we confront today. As election day approaches, we look at election stories from years past and where they happened in the city.

A department store founded with the motto "Don't Sell America Short... Sell It Shirts!"

Adolph I. Namm was a Polish immigrant with an embroidery and upholstery business in Manhattan. In 1885, he moved his business in Brooklyn, and by 1891 he opened a new store at 452 Fulton. At the time, that stretch of Fulton Street was emerging as a popular commercial shopping destination. His son, Benjamin Harrison Namm, eventually took over the business. During its heyday, the store was enormously successful. It was also one of the largest cash-only enterprises in Brooklyn, competing with other large department stores like Abraham & Straus. The A.I. Namm & Son flagship store was closed in 1957, and the business moved to the suburbs. The building has since been sold and purchased several times. The store once covered an entire city block, but the 450-458 is the last remaining portion today.