Finkenberg's Sons Furniture

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Finkenberg’s Sons Furniture was a New York City-based luxury-furniture department store chain that operated from 1870 to 1948.[1]

History[edit]

Finkenberg’s Sons Furniture Inc. was a furniture department store chain founded in Manhattan in 1870, and by 1940, the company expanded across New York City, becoming one of the largest furniture retail chains in the New York metropolitan area. After Adolph Finkenberg’s death in 1914, the firm was managed by his four eldest sons: Edward, Sam, Frederick, and Israel. [1]

In 1919, access to the corporate headquarters, located on 2279 Third Avenue, was impeded by the closure of the ferry line between Yorkville, Manhattan and Queens.[2] As a result, the company’s President, Frederick Finkenberg, was appointed to the board of the Triborough Bridge and tasked with creating an additional gateway into Manhattan. A decade later, as the Triborough Bridge’s Reception Committee Chairman,[3] Finkenberg assisted in the organization of the bridge’s dedication ceremony, attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and Governor Herbert Lehman.[4]

Finkenberg’s Sons opened its flagship store in 1927, which encompassed a five-story building that expanded the entire block across from Bloomingdale's.[5] It was at this location that the first Jumbo Philco, billed as the world's largest radio, was on display for public viewing.[6]

Finkenberg’s Sons Furniture continued to thrive despite the Great Depression. In 1938, the company opened a store across the Hudson River,[7] and a year later, an expansive outlet was added to the chain's mantel, located on 36th Street and Eighth Avenue.[8]

Finkenberg’s Sons introduced a novel layaway plan to the United States and was known for its motto: “Friendly credit since 1870.” During a 1941 broadcast on Philco Playhouse Network, Finkenberg’s Sons Inc. was recognized for its innovative financing.[9][10]

In 1948, Finkenberg’s Sons was sold and renamed Finkenberg’s Furniture Co, and the furniture chain's midtown location, between 58th and 59th Streets and Lexington and Third Avenues, was transformed into Alexander's Department Store.[11]

Adolph Finkenberg was a founding member of New York City’s Temple Israel,[12] contributed to helping orphans,[13] and sheltered African Americans during New York City's race riots in the early 1900s.[14] His legacy is that of an entrepreneur and a passionate advocate for the marginalized. Adolph Finkenberg; his wife, Emma; along with his eight children; and their spouses [15] rest in the family’s mausoleum located in Mount Hope Cemetery in New York.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b The Evening World. Image 15. 5 October 1922, p. 15.
  2. ^ "Proposed Triborough Bridge Over Harlem And East Rivers; Closing Of East Ninety-Second Street Ferry Revives Plan For Bridge Connecting Manhattan, Bronx And Queens-- Petitions Now Being Circulated In Harlem". New York Times. 5 January 1919. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ Uptown Chamber of Commerce (New York, N. Y. ) (1936). Program commemorating the opening of the Triborough Bridge /. Columbia University Libraries.
  4. ^ "Texts of Addresses by Roosevelt, Lehman and Others at Bridge Ceremony". The New York Times. 1936-07-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  5. ^ “A. Finkenberg’s Sons to Open New 59th St. Store To-day.” New York Herald Tribune. 26 Nov 1927, p. 9.
  6. ^ "Chapter 3: Leadership in Radio – Philco Library".
  7. ^ "Large Space Leased in Newark Buildings: Trailer Company Takes 12,000 Feet in Long Island City". The New York Times. 1938-08-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  8. ^ "Store Taken For Chain Outlets: Leasing of Retail Quarters- Finkenberg's Sons Signs Million Dollar Contract for Space at 36th Street". The New York Times. 15 November 1939. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  9. ^ “The Corner Store: Spanish Harlem Furniture Store Provides Credit, Plus High Prices and Hard Dunning.” Wall Street Journal, 28 Aug. 1970, p. 24.
  10. ^ “Retailers Hear Attack on Costs of Government: W. Reyburn Asks Association to Compel Economics as Business Aid Holds Veterans Need Aid Commence Idea For Study; Questions View of Young.” New York Tribune, 6 Feb. 1931, p. 19.
  11. ^ Roberts, Sam (2006-07-09). "To Find 1 Beacon Court, Better Ask for Bloomberg". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  12. ^ "Temple Israel - New York City". www.nycago.org.
  13. ^ “Jewish Charities Fund Increased to 84,437,000." New York Herald Tribune. 2 Dec 1931, p.8.
  14. ^ "Police Exonerated; President York Holds Them Guiltless of Clubbing Negroes". The New York Times. 1900-12-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  15. ^ "Remembering the life of Fanny Jon-Jonas-Finkenberg 1898 - 1967". obituaries.thedailystar.com.
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