In the running for the most attractive building on Metropolitan Avenue‘s 14-mile length from Williamsburg to Jamaica is the Hess-Miller Funeral Home at 65th Street. Its location is no coincidence, as All-Faiths (Lutheran) Cemetery is a block to the east. (Middle Village may even be called The City of the Dead.)
This building dates from 1902 and was originally the summer home of a local politician. In 1920, John Miller purchased the home and established his funeral parlor here. When Arthur Hess partnered with him in the 1940′s, it then became the Hess-Miller Funeral Home. It is still in business under the same name, although it is no longer owned by either family. If you’re ever attending a wake here, seek out a couple of antique mirrors. They were formerly at the now demolished Niederstein’s Restaurant a few blocks to the east, demolished a couple of decades ago to make way for an Arby’s franchise.
One of the fascinating things about being dead is that they make you look as good as possible despite the circumstances by dressing you in finery, putting you in a room full of family and friends in some cases in the most beautiful building you ever set foot in. And then they burn you to a crisp or bury you in the ground.
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6//21/24
9 comments
“One of the fascinating things about being dead is that they make you look as good as possible despite the circumstances”
Assuming all goes as planned. When Pope Pius XII died in 1958 he was given a nontraditional type of embalming. It was such a complete failure that the display of his body in the Vatican had to be cut short when his nose fell off.
Many funeral homes are now owned by a huge Canadian company which cunningly
keeps the old name of the home to make people think its still owned by locals when in
fact its now part of a chain just like a 7-11 or a Bugger King.
And it is said that the Swiss Guards guarding the Pope’s body as it lay in state were so grossed
out by the stench of his rotting carcass that they became ill,and the event was terminated
earlier than usual.
“Buonasera, make him look good for his mother– and now you will have repaid me…”
Hey Chris, You’re correct about large corporations owning local funeral homes and keeping the original name as not to seem to be corporate. One of the largest corporations that own a myriad of facilities is Dignity Memorial.. Dignity Memorial owns funeral homes AND cemeteries in almost every corner of the U.S. They have several mortuaries in Queens and Brooklyn. In addition, there’s a Dignity Memorial funeral home in my home of New Bern, NC.
Does anyone remember the HBO series, Six Feet Under”? One of the many plots was a mortuary service conglomerate attemptingng to buy the family owned mortuary.
Yeah,and if you should shop around for the best price you’re going to find out they all charge the same
price for a funeral cuz they’re all owned by the same company.
Private Equity companies also play that game with other industries.
Question: “Doesn’t he look good?”
Answer: “He looked better last week.”
This was where my grandfather’s funeral was held in 2009. What interested me were the horse heads decorated along the railings. Similar railing designs can be found at Nat Schneider Triangle (at Woodhaven Blvd and Trotting Course Lane near Metropolitan Av) and Peter Chahales Park (by 69th St and the LIE.)