The Mystery of the Hell’s Kitchen Ghost Sign

I live in the neighborhood in question where this sign is and been here 49 years and if my memory is correct Grossman’s furniture was at that location, I remember my parents buying furniture there. (I am hoping I am correct, fuzzy memory from when I was a kid)

The June 1 1957 NYTimes lists sale of 754 9th Ave from “754 9th Ave Corp (William Cohen, pres) to G G G Holding Corp”

For whatever that’s worth.

That was Grossmans furniture store. Most ppl in the neighborhood bought from them; you could pay the furniture off if he knew you & knew he’d get paid. I furnished my first apartment with his stuff back in 1974. His stuff wasn’t top of the line but good enough. In fact I still have night tables, a tall chest and a wooden rocker that I bought from him (the rocker was a gift from my grandmother).

A brief history of 754 Ninth Ave, according to ads in the NYTimes:

Harris Cohen, purveyor of the Crescent phonograph (1918), which later became Harris Cohen & Sons (mazel tov, Harry!), purveyor of the Philco Triumph phonograph (1947), and then the Philco Golden Grid television (1953)

In June 1957, as David noted above, William Cohen sold the property to G G G Holding (no doubt over Harris’ dead body–literally)

By March 1958, the space was Grossman’s Furniture, but its electronics past lived on in an ad for a Motorola hi-fi. By September 1969, though, the focus for Grossman’s had moved to Restonic OrthoTonic mattresses, and in November 1969 as well.

The history moves from ads to the Arts & Leisure section in March 1980, listing the play “Sadim” in performance at N.E.T.W.O.R.K. [sic], which had normalized to Network in January 1981, for “The Gingham Dog,” and made its final appearance with a performance of “Liliom” (the play on which the musical “Carousel” is based) in November 1982.

By August 1983, broker P.J. Feldstein Inc was listing the space in the retail classifieds, as 2,500 sq. ft at $2500/month (those were the days, eh?), which had dropped in October to $2000/month. In December 1984, Helmsley-Spear took out a display ad for the entire building, 4 floors at approximately 11,000 square feet for $8000/month. By March 1986, 754 9th Ave was back in the retail classifieds, with Helmsley-Spear trying to lease the 23×100 retail space (“was theatre and furniture Store”) and basement for $6250/month, and the second floor for $1500/month. Getting a little desperate, Helmsley-Spear returned to a fancy display ad in January 1987, listing the store, basement, and 2nd floor, with square footage but no price, under the heading “Dynamic Location.”

There must have Champagne corks popping at Helmsley-Spear within a year or so, “the newest Italian restaurant on the West Side,” Pasta Bella, was touting “The Grandest Live Lobster Summer Festival” in a display ad in June 1986, but it must not have been limited to summer, as they were still touting their $24.95 3-lb lobster dinner in January 1989. By May 1989, the restaurant was now Sorrentino’s, and the lobster dinner was up to $29.95–which must have been a mistake, since it was down to $27.95 in January 1990.

You know what it means when a restaurant drops its prices, though: in June 1990, 754 9th Ave is back in the retail display ads–“Just north of World Wide Plaza”–with 2 floors, 2500 square feet each, going for $6.40 to $8.30 per square foot ($16,000-20,750 per floor, which is quite a rise from four years earlier). Something weird must have been going on, though, because in November 1990, the square footage of each floor was down to $2250, and the rent to 41200-1556/month.

The final NYTimes appearance is in one last Helmsley-Spear ad from May 1991, with the two 2250sq. ft floors going for $1000/month each.

I don’t think VYNL’s been there since the early ’90s, though, so advertising must have been moved from the Paper of Record to some more successful venue.

My family has lived in Hell’s Kitchen for generations and my family lived across the street from Grossman’s Furniture. I even have an old photo that clearly spell’s out the name “Grossman’s ” on the sign.