This striking 7-story store and loft Beaux Arts Belle Époque structure at 24 East 13th Street housed significant figures in the fields of photography and stained glass design, two industries embodying the intersection of commerce and art which was so characteristic of this area.

Imperial Plates advertised by G. Gennert, 1917 In 1892 a new building permit was filed for 24 East 13th Street by G. Gennert, a photographic materials company. Gennert Brothers Photo Supply was founded in 1856 by German immigrant Gottlieb Gennert and his brother.

The Sylvar Camera advertised by G. Gennert, 1911 It was one of the first photo supply houses in America, and became famous for its daguerreotype mats, cases and other supplies. By 1869 Gottlieb broke out to start his own firm, G. Gennert, and soon his business was the third largest photo supply business in the country. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

The ten-story loft building at 78 Fifth Avenue was constructed in 1896 by architect Albert Wagner, designer of the nearby landmarked Puck Building.

Albert Wagner, c. 1893 Wagner received this commission from fellow German immigrants Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale, the founders of Bloomingdale’s Department Store.

Joseph Benjamin Bloomingdale, c. 1893 This building served as the store's corporate offices. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

30 East 13th Street was once the home of G. Gennert, also located down the block at 24-26 East 13th Street. Gennert Brothers Photo Supply was founded in 1856 by German immigrant Gottlieb Gennert and his brother.

Imperial Plates advertised by G. Gennert, 1917 It was one of the first photo supply houses in America, and became famous for its daguerreotype mats, cases and other supplies. By 1869 Gottlieb broke out to start his own firm, G. Gennert, and soon his business was the third largest photo supply business in the country.

The Sylvar Camera advertised by G. Gennert, 1911 Gennert expanded to have shops not only in New York but Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, introducing innovative new types of cameras including the ‘Montauk’ and the ‘Penny Picture.’ By 1892, Gennert had outgrown his business’ home at 54 East 10th Street (at Broadway, within this area but demolished), and two of his sons, Maurice G. and Gustav C. had taken over the daily operations of the business. They then hired the architectural firm of DeLemos & Corden to construct 24-26 East 13th Street. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

German immigrants Bernhard and Emma A. Mittelstaedt purchased No. 86 University Place in 1889 for both their family residence and to house their business, E. Mittelstaedt, Inc., which sold women’s hair products. Bernard immigrated to the United States in 1866, though Emma’s date of arrival in America is unclear. New York City directories first show the family business of importing and wholesaling human hair during the 1870s under Bernard’s name at a Canal Street location. Long before the advent of synthetic wigs, elaborate coiffed wigs and hair pieces were very much in demand by Victorian women, and this proved a lucrative endeavor for the Mittelstaedts. By the 1880s the family had moved their home and business to 5 Wooster Street. Interestingly, shortly thereafter Bernard’s name stopped being listed in the New York City directories in relation to the business, and Emma’s was instead. Also shortly after the move, Emma filed a patent for a new and improved women’s front hair piece. The patent was filed in November of 1881 and issued in February of 1882 for “an improved construction of hair-fronts for ladies’ use, whereby they can be finished in a neater and more durable manner, more easily secured to the hair, and worn with or without parting, as desired.”

In 1889, according to the Real Estate Record and Builders Guide, the Mittelstaedts purchased the property at 86 University Place. The initial conveyance was in Emma’s name as were some of the subsequent alteration permits. Presumably at some point after the Mittlestaedts bought the building in 1889, the elaborate cornice and pediment that we still see today on the building which proudly boasts “E. Mittelstaedt, Established 1867” appeared. The 1900 federal census shows that the Mittelstaedts rented part of No. 86 to tenants, a tradition that would continue through the 20th century by their heirs. In 1905, an approximately 40 foot rear extension was added at the first floor, which at that time was being used as a store.

Emma died in 1908 and Bernard in 1917, but shortly before Bernard’s passing, New York City directories show the firm expanded its operation into the still-extant commercial loft building next door at No. 84 University Place. Patents and advertisements illustrate the company continuing to operate at No. 84 under the leadership of his children after Bernard’s death. Meanwhile Bernard and Emma’s daughters, Emma and Harriet, continued to live at No. 86 while renting some floors to tenants. The last Mittelstaedt to occupy No. 86 was Harriet, who donated the family home to New York University in 1958 with the condition that she could live there for the rest of her life, which she did until her death in 1964. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

40 East 12th Street, an 8-story loft building, was constructed in 1899 for German-born real estate developer and tire manufacturer Philip Braender by architect Frederick C. Browne. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

33 East 10th Street is an 8-story neo-classical style loft building constructed in 1894 by William Schickel & Co. for Samuel Sachs. The German-born Schickel was the architect of NYC landmarks including the German Library and Dispensary at 135-37 Second Avenue and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola at 980 Park Avenue, as well as the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., one of the largest Gothic Cathedrals in the United States. Sachs, a successful fur manufacturer and importer, also developed the nearby 43-47 East 10th Street. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

53 East 10th Street is a 6-story neo-classical style loft building constructed in 1899 by Schickel & Ditmars for Samuel Sachs. The German-born William Schickel was the architect of many other notable buildings, including the German Library and Dispensary at 135-37 Second Avenue and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola at 980 Park Avenue. Slightly farther afield, he was also the architect of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., one of the largest Gothic Cathedrals in the United States. Sachs, a successful fur manufacturer and importer, also developed the nearby 43-47 East 10th Street. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

The architect of 840 Broadway was the German-born Robert Maynicke (1848- 1913).

Maynicke took night courses at the Cooper Union, and went on to supervise the construction of the New York Times (1888-89), Equitable (1886- 89), World/Pulitzer (1889-90), Union Trust (1889-90) and Havemeyer (1891-93) Buildings, as well as the New York Produce (1881-84) and New York Cotton (1883-85) Exchanges. Further south on Broadway and Waverly Place, Maynicke was also responsible for the Guggenheimer Building. Maynicke was an expert on the structural properties of iron and steel and, consequently, tall buildings. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

From at least 1940 until at least 1955, Dr. Otto Nathan, a professor of law and economics who fled Nazi Germany, lived at 787 Broadway/55 East 10th Street. Nathan was a close friend and sole executor of the estate of Albert Einstein after his death in 1955. While residing here, Harris was subpoenaed and questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

127-133 Fourth Avenue was the home of Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. from 1904 until 1926. The company, started by a German immigrant family, was New York City’s first hardware store and the publisher of the country’s longest-running catalog, launched in 1881. The store that became Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. originally opened at 221 Bowery at a time when high-quality hardware was hard to find. In 1867, William Schlemmer and his new business partner Alfred Hammacher bought the family business, renaming it Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. Schlemmer had been involved with the company for almost two decades, selling tools in front of his uncle’s store as early as 1848. The two men, both German immigrants, turned this local shop into a national company.

Hammacher Schlemmer Catalog, 1912 When Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. outgrew its final location on the Bowery (by the end of the 19th century it was operating out of No. 209), the company decided to transition to a location near Union Square. This newly-bustling commercial district had become a key site in the piano trade and would be a perfect home for the growing hardware store, which sold piano materials. Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. moved to 127-133 Fourth Avenue in 1904 and stayed here for over two decades, leaving in 1926 for a larger space at 147 East 57th Street. Even after the company left, 127-133 Fourth Avenue remained in the Schlemmer family until 1936 under the ownership of William Schlemmer’s daughter Ida S. Bruch, who owned several other properties in the area as well. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

Around 1898, 143 East 13th Street was purchased by William and George Schade, who were both of German heritage. Their ownership of this building at this time reflects its history as part of the Kleindeutschland (“Little Germany”) area. The Schades owned the building until 1927.

Mr. William H. Vanderbilt’s Drawing-Room (decorated by the Herter Brothers), 1882 In 2012, the building’s longtime owner, Bill Curry, suggested that the Herter Brothers furniture company might have had a workroom in the building based on some furnishings in the basement. The company, founded by German-born brothers Gustave and Christian Herter in 1864 and based in New York City, was one of the premiere American furniture makers and interior decorators of the late 19th century. It had a number of workshops in the city. Given 143 East 13th Street’s location near the Kleindeutschland area, it is plausible that one could have been located at this address. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

Permits to build 126 East 12th Street were filed in March of 1900 by owner John P. Schuchman. Schuchman was born in Germany in 1851 and immigrated to the United States in 1868. He became a lawyer and later a judge who lived in a house (still extant) just around the corner from here at 186 Second Avenue (just south of 12th Street). A pillar in the German-American community which came to dominate the East Village in the late 19th century, he also served on the Tenement House Committee in the 1890s, the purpose of which was to make recommendations to improve conditions in housing for poor and working-class New Yorkers. Ultimately that would lead to the “New Law” Tenement House Act of 1901, which resulted in new and higher standards for New York City housing. Schuman appears to have raised those standards in his construction of 126 East 12th Street - one of hundreds if not thousands of tenements constructed in the months before the passage of the “New Law” - before the law even required it. This was also a consequence of, and reflected in, his choice of architect for the modest building, John G. Prague. A well-known and a prolific architect, the majority of Prague’s work can be found on the Upper West Side, where he was commissioned to design high-end private homes and apartment buildings. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

According to the 1910 census, German American illustrator Paul Stahr lived at 60 Third Avenue with his wife Edith and her family. Stahr was educated at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League, and began his illustrating career with People’s Home Journal. He went on to work for Life, Collier’s Weekly, American Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, The Saturday Evening Post, and the Women’s Home Companion.

World War I poster by Paul Stahr, c. 1918 He also created posters for the Red Cross, Liberty Loans, and the National Defense. For ten years beginning in 1924, Stahr produced pulp cover magazines for Argosy Magazine. He also painted book covers, including The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

Originally two separate lots, the buildings at 105-107 Third Avenue have been combined. Together they housed the flagship store for Kiehl’s since 1851. Founder John Kiehl started his career as an employee at Englehardt & Huber Apothecary at the corner of Third Avenue and East 13th Street, in a building now demolished.

Englehardt and Huber were the store’s second owners, purchasing it from German immigrant Louis Brunswick who started selling herbs & oils at his Brunswick Apotheke in 1851. Brunswick owned the store on Third Avenue for roughly thirty years before selling it to Englehardt and Huber. John Kiehl, who was born around 1868 and was a first generation American from a German family, began working for the apothecary when he was approximately 20 years old. In 1921, Kiehl’s apprentice Irving Moskovitz took over the store.

The original Kiehl's building before it was rebuilt in 1878 The Russian Jewish Moskovitz family had immigrated to the country after World War I adopting the surname “Morse.” In 1959, during Morse’s operation of the store, Kiehl’s was moved next door to 107 Third Avenue. While Morse ran Kiehl’s pharmacy, he also owned his own drug store and lab still located on the corner of Third Avenue and East 13th Street. In 1961, Morse’s son Aaron Morse began operating Kiehl’s, revamping the brand into what it is today. Aaron Morse transferred the business to his daughter Jami Mose in 1988, who then expanded Kiehl’s in 1990 from 107 Third Avenue to the corner, its original location. In 2000, Jami sold the company to L’Oreal. The present building at 105 Third Avenue was constructed in 1878. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

On June 15, 1904, about a thousand residents of the East Village German-American enclave known as Kleindeutschland lost their lives in what has come to be known as the General Slocum disaster.

Illustration of the General Slocum by Samuel Ward Stanton, 1895 That day, about 1,342 people, most of whom were women and children, boarded the General Slocum Ferry for an annual exclusion up the East River and through Long Island Sound to Eaton’s Neck on Long Island. The boat was chartered by the St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church at 323 East 6th Street. When a fire broke out, spreading across the ship, passengers discovered that the fire hoses, lifeboats, and life preservers were not functional. The General Slocum eventually began to come apart, and over 1,000 individuals died by drowning. This was one of the worst naval disasters in American history, and until 9/11 the greatest peacetime loss of life in New York City history. Many residents of Kleindeutschland were intimately connected with someone onboard the ship that day, and the community was devastated by the event. Selma Uhlendorff of 93 Third Avenue, one of the addresses included in this building, was among the list of identified dead passengers listed in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .