Abraham - Straus

 [Abraham & Straus storefront.], circa 1895, v1972.1.611; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Abraham & Straus was a department store founded in 1865 by Abraham Abraham and Joseph Wechsler with a flagship location at Fulton and Hoyt Streets in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn. The photo of the week depicts the Abraham & Straus storefront around 1895, with an unknown man posing in front of the store display.

Abraham & Straus was originally a dry goods dealer under the name Wechsler & Abraham located at 285 Fulton Street. The store was so successful that the Wechslers were bought out by the Straus family, partners of Macy’s department stores, which led to the name change and the new store location on Fulton and Hoyt Streets. A New York Times article from 1893 reported on the business change. According to the article, the new store was an estimated 1,500,000 cubic feet, five stories, and roughly 40,000 daily shoppers.  Also mentioned in the article was the list of goods sold in the new store, which included, “silks and dress goods, cloths, laces, embroideries, cloaks, shawls, linens, gloves, china and glass, sterling silver, bronzes, ribbons, house furnishings, upholsteries, art embroideries, books, furniture, carpets, and stationary.”

By 1965, Abraham & Straus became the third largest department store in the United States. In 1995, the store became part of the Macy’s department stores which eliminated the Abraham & Straus branding. The original location at Fulton and Hoyt Streets continues to be operated as a Macy’s Department Store today. To learn more about Abraham and Straus, check out the Abraham & Straus collection which contains various materials relating to the company throughout the period 1865 to 1995.

This photograph comes from the Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection. This collection is comprised of roughly 1,400 black and white photographs taken by various photographers from 1860 through 1920 throughout Brooklyn and Long Island.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org