It's widely known that the OpenSalon branch of Salon.com operates out of Manhattan. The location is no secret, either, and the street address is 15 West 37th Street. What you may not know is that 15 West 37th Street is really akin to a vertical city mall. In this one building many of your needs may be met with one stop shopping.
From food to wigs to flowers to zippers to jewelry to design to public relations to stampcasting to handbags and gloves, 15 West 37th Street is your total source!
Just think of the convenience of being able to buy a present or flowers for a loved one without leaving the building, the Salon staff knew what they were doing when they moved here!
Take a moment to peruse the neighbors of OpenSalon and remember that as the Activity Feed is buzzing along at a million miles per hour these folks are just next door busy at their work, too.
15 West is between 5th and 6th Avenues. Unfortunately, Google did not provide a street view of this part of 37th Street.
The view looking west from 5th towards the block where OpenSalon is located.
Below are the many diverse businesses that share the building with Salon:
Carolina Amato
Scotts Flowers
Baar and Beards Inc., 15 W. 37 St. (1986)
Baar and Beards, Inc., women's neckwear, opened for business in 1941. The firm was founded by Sylvan M. Baar (1897-1975) and Milton Beards (1906-1987). Both men were from Brooklyn, and both entered the neckwear profession early in life. Sylvan Baar appears in the U S Census of 1920 living with his father, Max Baar (an immigrant from Austria in 1888), and listing his occupation as "Salesman, Neckwear." Milton Beards, only 13 at the time of the 1920 Census, appears in the U S Census of 1930, listing his occupation as "Manager, Neckwear."
The original Baar & Beards sign at this location read "Baar & Beards / Ladies / Neckwear / & Scarfs." This can be seen in Lloyd Acker's photograph (no. 1974-4) at the New York Public Library. Acker's photo likely dates to the late 1940s or early 1950s. Baar and Beards remained in this building on 37th Street until 1998, when they moved to 350 5th Ave.
Jacquelyn Wigs
XO Communications
American Jewelry
Sondra Roberts
Guy Conti
The Cafe where I presume the Salon gang goes for coffee and lunch.
HPM Zippers, in case you pop a zipper eating too much at the Cafe.
Portolano
(an excerpt from the New York Social Diary is below)
Portolano’s Michele Pacino agrees. “Gloves are fashionable right now,” she says. “The styles are right – especially all of the jackets, coats and suits with three-quarter length sleeves.” “The trend for gloves started when handbags evolved,” notes Michelle Longo, speaking for Yves St. Laurent. “They are a huge business for us whether they are fingerless with a mink cuff or Opera-length styles.”
Fry Multimedia
National Stampcast, to paraphrase James Bond in "Moonraker" --"there's never a stampcaster around when you need one." Well, 15 West has the problem handled.
(Note: this is part 12 of an occasional series about OpenSalon.)
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jmac1949
Robert Steibel
Texas Means Friends
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Jennifer Prestholdt
Salon.com
Comments
Rated for your questionable sanity!
Now that the real estate boom has subsided, perhap there will be more buildings like yours. Here's hoping!
-- Chris L.
Chris, thanks for linking to your article--I learned a lot from reading it just now. I have seen a lot of commercial printers edged out of Manhattan for the same reasons and I imagine it has been a boon for those printers who stayed. I agree with you in hoping the situation turns around and more small businesses are able to stay or return to Manhattan.
Jane, in the above mentioned scenario reply to Cartouche, I would have everyone bearing a gift of cake. I'll bet that would be a door opener!
rated for all your hard work on this.
Onecorgilover, I didn't realize you had lived in the city--I'm happy I could provide a slice of it for you today!
Cindy, my office is about not far from there--the Chrysler Building. Perhaps one day I can capture Kerry and Thomas just as they enter the door and update the post with a candid photo of them covering their faces with their attache cases. I would venture a guess that they wouldn't turn you away at the door if you stopped by one day.
Stacey, I was expecting to simply find some offices in the same building and not the range of companies that is present. One of my clients used to be on West 33rd Street in a medium-sized building and the tenants there included Channel 13 and The NY Daily News as two notable tenants, but not quite the mix of the Salon building as I recall.
Julie, he will refer you to the person in the office who specifically handles that: "Jack the Zipper."
Joan, I can say that just leafing through the Manhattan Yellow Pages is an eye opener to just how many kinds of businesses there are that call Manhattan home. Enough lawyers for every man, woman and child in the U.S., just as an example.
Nice to know more about Baar & Beards; the sign is still there, though it has faded beautifully since that archival shot.
Karin, XO Communications certainly looks like all hugs and kisses.
Christine, I'm sure I missed some companies but it's a fairly good representation.
kitehlips, if I can add in some candid street shots of the staff I'll post an update.
Kerry, tight security seems to be the norm around the city. In my building, no one can get near an elevator unless they are escorted in or work there. Interesting to hear how well the sign on the side of the building is these days.