Elaine Dress Shop

[40 John Street, Financial District, Manhattan, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]

There are a number of Elaine enterprises in the 1940 Manhattan directory:

[As seen via stevemorse.org.]

But only one has a tax photograph with a legible sign: Elaine Dress Shop.

Elaine Dress Shop appears to have been a fairly swank operation. Notice how few items of apparel appear in its windows. The New York Times shows a shop with the same name — the same shop? — taking a lease at 3½ Church Street in 1931. New York Times classified ads show the John Street shop looking for a slswoman [sic ] and an alteration hand in 1946. The shop later appears in a frankly insane advertising spread encouraging charge-account use.

[The New York Times, November 7, 1962. The listings for Lower Manhattan take up roughly half a column of a two-page six-column spread. Click for a larger view if you dare — the shop is in there, honest.]

At no. 42, Farrish’s Chop House. A short New Yorker item tells something of its history. At no. 44, not seen in this photograph, John Street United Methodist Church, the oldest United Methodist church in the United States.

And that’s all I’ve got.

This post is a slightly early anniversary present for my Elaine, though I think she’d rather have gotten the frock company.

*

September 28: I just realized that I posted a John Street tax photograph with a Chock full o’Nuts last year: Chock full o’Signs.

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