Looking North Along Broadway At Stewart’s Store & Grace Church – c. 1878
Two prominent buildings on the east side of Broadway are the subject of this stereoview photograph taken around 1878: the five-story A.T. Stewart Store and Grace Church.
The view was taken from the western corner of 8th Street and Broadway.
The blurs in the street are vehicles that were passing by during the long exposure time necessary to capture this scene.
Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-1876), an Irish immigrant, would eventually amass a fortune, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the United States. Stewart began his retail career by inheriting $5,000 from his grandfather and receiving advice from a family friend to start a business in Irish linens. With no knowledge of business but a desire to learn, Stewart began by spending $3,000 of his inheritance in importing linens and leasing a store at 283 Broadway which was only 12 feet wide and 30 feet deep.
Stewart would perform all the duties of running the store himself including building the fires, clearing the sidewalk of snow in winter and sweeping the store. Within three years Stewart was thriving and expanding, moving locations and running a drygoods retail and wholesale empire. Stewart’s grand store constructed of marble in 1846 on Broadway and Chambers Street was appropriately called the Marble Palace. That building at 280 Broadway still exists.
Stewart’s Iron Palace
In 1860 Stewart began erecting his new retail outlet seen above. Completing construction at a cost of $2,750,000 in 1862, Stewart would move his retail operations to this location using the older Chambers street location as a center for his wholesale operations.
Because of its cast iron skeleton, this store on 10th Street was nicknamed the Iron Palace. During the 1860s and 70s Stewart would keep expanding the building to encompass the entire block from Broadway to Fourth Avenue, and from 9th to 10th Streets.
In 1876 Stewart died. Stewart’s associates, led by Henry Hilton would take over the store as Hilton & Libbey. Over the next 20 years eight different successors would have their try at running the store, but in 1896 the store failed. That same year, John Wanamaker, growing his own retail empire would take over the store, renaming it Wanamaker’s and remain in operation there until 1954.
While undergoing demolition the Iron Palace burned down on July 14, 1956 in one of the largest fires in New York history. It took 25 hours to bring the fire under control.
Another similar stereoview with a closer view of Stewart’s
Grace Church built by architect James Renwick is one of New York City’s most beautiful houses of worship. The church was consecrated on March 7, 1846 and is still in regular use.
