Despite the rigors of over a century’s worth of wind, rain and storms, the painted sign identifying Middendorf & Rohrs Grocers is still identifiable at #1 Little West 12th Street. The building has an oddly slanted shape as it fronts on both Gansevoort and Little West 12th, which intersect here. There also seems to be a palimpsest effect here with other ghosts of words, especially on the right side.
The basic no-nonsense brick building was constructed in 1887, while M&R, who built #3 Little West 12th in 1918 (seen on the left side) operated a wholesale grocery in the building from 1883 to 1964, with the Rohr nephews, the oldest of whom lived until 1965, carrying on the business after the deaths of the original owners, Henry Middendorf and Herman Rohrs.
4/25/13