Leon Zoland & Son, Inc

USA / New Jersey / West New York / West 47th Street, 75
 commercial building, jewelry store/shop

4-story Italianate commercial building originally originally completed in the late 1850s as a townhouse for David Randell. By the mid-1870s it was home to Dr. John Messenger, and was soon again sold several times - to Julius Hart in 1879, to James E. Kelly in 1882, and then eight more turnovers until 1902, when it was bought by Dr. Albert G. Weed, who initially used it for his home and office. In August 1910 Weed commissioned architect Henry C. Pelton to convert the house to business.

The renovation included an extension to the front, another to the rear, the addition of bathrooms and the rearrangement of interior walls. The remodeled house was purchased by Benjamin V. R. and Lillian V. Winterbottom around 1914. It became one of two J. Winterbottom & Son Co. funeral homes. In 1922 the lower floors became home to the Penwick Restaurant. The quaint name disguised a well-attended speak-easy that was raided on the night of November 17, 1923.

In 1968 the building was again renovated, resulting in a jewelry store on the first floor, offices and jewelry repair on the second, and two apartments each on the upper floors.The 2-story commercial storefront is framed by black granite end piers. The ground floor has a brass-and-glass storefront and door to the upper floors, topped by a black canvas awning. The 2nd floor has a band of windows (three large panes in the middle, with narrower end panes), with a brownstone upper section that is topped by a wrought-iron fence where the upper floors set back.

The upper floors are also faced in brownstone, with three bays of segmental-arched windows with projecting, bracketed sills and curved lintels. The facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice with brackets and panels. The building is now occupied by Leon Zoland Diamond & Jewelry Exchange, which was founded in 1929 and moved here in 1985.

www.zolands.com/contactus.html
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Coordinates:   40°45'29"N   73°58'52"W
This article was last modified 5 years ago