Blumstein's Department Store Building

As a prominent department store in Harlem, Blumstein`s interaction with the community was important. First founded in 1886 downtown by German-Jewish immigrant Louis Blumstein, when Blumstein`s moved uptown to Harlem, it became the fanciest retailor. Blumstein`s was frequented by the uptown German-Jewish population.

When Louis Blumstein died in the 1920s, his sons tore the old department store down and invested one million into what would become the Saks Fifth Avenue uptown. A building adorned in limestone and copper with a lighted sign, the department store symbolized all things wealth