[119 East 67th St.]
119 East 67th Street, Todhunter Fireplaces and Lighting; other shops visible include a cleaners, a gallery, furniture store and interior decorator.
1930
[119 East 67th St.]
119 East 67th Street, Todhunter Fireplaces and Lighting; other shops visible include a cleaners, a gallery, furniture store and interior decorator.
Todhunter Fireplaces and Lighting, date unknown.
In 1927 Arthur Todhunter purchased the former upscale home at 119 East 57th Street and renovated the building for use a a showroom for this business. Todhunter, Inc. imported European antique architectural items, such as fireplaces, mantles, hardware and lighting features. Later he would also move into the business of manufacturing and selling architectural reproductions. Swept up in the popular fad for old English architecture, the facade was transformed into something the New York Times described as, "late sixteenth century England transported to the heart of New York’s shopping district.” Much of the ornamentation and materials, unsurprisingly, given the business of the owner, were recovered from older European structures and reused here.
Todhunter only remained in the building he had worked to create for a little over a decade. Between 1939 and 1973 tenants included a number of galleries, a furniture store, offices of theatrical producers, and a literary auction firm. In 1973 the eye-catching building was razed for a large, modern apartment building.