Photo © Guss' Pickles

Guss' Pickles opens

New York, New York, 35 Essex St, New York, NY 10002, USA

Description

Opened, 1910

Guss' Pickles opens by Polish Immigrant, Isidor Guss who perfects the art of the 'New York style, becoming one of the last survivors of the 'pickle district' before finally decamping in 2009 for Brooklyn. Guss arrived in New York in 1910, and like hundreds of thousands of other Jewish immigrants, settled in the Lower East Side. Clustered in the "pickle district" of Essex and Ludlow streets, early 20th century pickle vendors gave birth to what would be known as "New York style" pickles.

Factoids

1866-By the turn of the century, here were 1500 carts in the Lower East Side beginning on Hester Street when 4 peddlers set up pushcarts. Peddle-cart pushers hawked Jewish and Italian street foods including pickles. By 1906, the Lower East Side had more than 2,500 licensed pushcarts.

1938-Mayor Fiorello La Guardia banned street-side merchants peddle-cart pushers hawking Jewish and Italian street foods, this lead to the decline of the Lower East Side.

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