Saturday, March 01, 2008

A Bit of Family History

While on a double date with my parents the other night (seeing Avenue Q with your father is just a little weird), my father mentioned that my Zedda (grandfather) used to work in 305 Seventh Avenue.Zedda was a furrier back in the days when wearing fur wasn't evil. My dad describes him as a very powerful man who could lift a stack of pelts as easily as you might lift a telephone book.
That's not how I remember my Zedda -- by the time I was on the scene, Zedda owned a stationary store in Queens. We'd go by every so often to visit. I remember the greeting cards and the assortment of general stuff in the store. There was candy, too, but I only really discovered that as a teen when, popping in on my own, Zedda stocked me with some goodies for a youth group trip.

I tried to see what history this building holds but was unable to find much. It is not considered to be architecturally interesting enough for my favorite NYC architecture website and a basic google only gets me some of the businesses in the building. Sorry! It is, however, a piece of family history and I will never walk by it again without thinking about my Zedda.

4 comments:

Paul said...

I just can't imagine seeing Avenue Q with my mother. I was surprised that after seeing Chicago with her in January, that her only negative comment was "They weren't wearing very much". She loved John Schneider, though...

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about certain buildings having a "family" history. My aunt and uncle owned a luncheonette in Katonah in the Bronx and that neighborhood will always be dear to my hears. We actually lived there for a few years before moving back to upstate NY.

Hugs!!!!

Oldpatterns said...

Cool bit of family history!

Are you going to show us the building in Manhattan where your dad worked too? That is one of my NYC teenage memories.

Susan said...

My mom would have staged an intervention if I'd taken her to see Avenue Q LOL. I love it when you tell stories about buildings. I truly believe that we leave a part of ourselves in places we inhabit. So architecturally important or not, it really IS an important building.