Entry from October 12, 2004
Fur District
The Fur District moved uptown in the twentieth century, then faced decline. It's near the Garment District (another district that has declined).
John Jacob Astor (a nineteenth century New York millionaire) made his fortune from fur. Times have changed.
22 October 1907, New York Times, pg. 4 (ad):
In the Center of the Fur District.
The John Ruszits Fur Company
69-71-73 Eleventh St., One Door West of Broadway, New York
17 February 1926, New York Times, pg. 23:
Concident with the strike of 12,000 workers in the fur district, which became effective yesterday, there appeared imminent a strike of much larger proportions in the dress industry.
(...)
Although it was admitted that 12,000 fur workers went on strike yesterday morning, Samuel Samuels, President of the Associated Fur Manufacturers, Inc., 121 West Twenty-seventh Street, declared the manufacturers were not disturbed by the situation, but had voluntarily closed their shops and declared a lockout last Thursday to "clarify the situation."
The WPA Guide to New York City
New York: Random House
1939
New York: Pantheon Books
1982
Pg. 163: Fur District
Although the street scene of the fur district - Twenty-fifth to Thirtieth Street, between Sixth and Eighth Avenues - is less turbulent than that of the garment center, the neighborhoods are similar in many respects;
8 August 1980, New York Times, pg. C10:
Just south of Madison Square Garden along Seventh Avenue lies the fur district, a relatively tranquil area of discreet shop signs and windows full of sleek pelts.
7 June 1981, New York Times, pg. F7:
...New York's fur district. Within its border - 27th Street to 31st, the Avenue of the Americas to Eighth Avenue - the furriers present an peculiarly inelegant picture of an industry swathed in glamour.
8 October 1995, New York Times, pg. CY6:
Fur Trade Wanes, But Its Cradle Finds New Life
When Tom Gigi started in the fur business 40 years ago, West 30th Street from Avenue of the Americas to Eighth Avenue was thick with rack runners, jobbers and sewing machine operators. (...) Although it remains the heart of the nation's fur trade, these days the fur district is more likely to house accountants or photographers than pelt merchants.
John Jacob Astor (a nineteenth century New York millionaire) made his fortune from fur. Times have changed.
22 October 1907, New York Times, pg. 4 (ad):
In the Center of the Fur District.
The John Ruszits Fur Company
69-71-73 Eleventh St., One Door West of Broadway, New York
17 February 1926, New York Times, pg. 23:
Concident with the strike of 12,000 workers in the fur district, which became effective yesterday, there appeared imminent a strike of much larger proportions in the dress industry.
(...)
Although it was admitted that 12,000 fur workers went on strike yesterday morning, Samuel Samuels, President of the Associated Fur Manufacturers, Inc., 121 West Twenty-seventh Street, declared the manufacturers were not disturbed by the situation, but had voluntarily closed their shops and declared a lockout last Thursday to "clarify the situation."
The WPA Guide to New York City
New York: Random House
1939
New York: Pantheon Books
1982
Pg. 163: Fur District
Although the street scene of the fur district - Twenty-fifth to Thirtieth Street, between Sixth and Eighth Avenues - is less turbulent than that of the garment center, the neighborhoods are similar in many respects;
8 August 1980, New York Times, pg. C10:
Just south of Madison Square Garden along Seventh Avenue lies the fur district, a relatively tranquil area of discreet shop signs and windows full of sleek pelts.
7 June 1981, New York Times, pg. F7:
...New York's fur district. Within its border - 27th Street to 31st, the Avenue of the Americas to Eighth Avenue - the furriers present an peculiarly inelegant picture of an industry swathed in glamour.
8 October 1995, New York Times, pg. CY6:
Fur Trade Wanes, But Its Cradle Finds New Life
When Tom Gigi started in the fur business 40 years ago, West 30th Street from Avenue of the Americas to Eighth Avenue was thick with rack runners, jobbers and sewing machine operators. (...) Although it remains the heart of the nation's fur trade, these days the fur district is more likely to house accountants or photographers than pelt merchants.