In 1940, Diamond’s Dry Goods held down 2516 Mermaid Avenue, west of West 25th Street in Coney Island. The name was displayed in a diamond-shaped motif with a window display advertising “ladies’, men’s and children’s furnishings,” and a complete line of white goods and bathing supplies.” In the past, “white goods” referred to appliances that were usually colored white such as refrigerators, washers and dryers: however, I think 1940 was a bit early for those appliances and “white goods” may have referred to towels, which were more often white then, napkins and the like.
Diamond’s was owned by Polish immigrant Akeeba “Kieve” Diamond and his wife, Rose, from Russia. Their son Neil was born a year after the photo was taken, in 1941. The family lived in Brighton Beach (where the store moved) and in Cheyenne, WY for a few years, as Kieve Diamond was stationed there during an Army stint. Neil Diamond was inspired to become a musician after hearing Pete Seeger sing at the upstate Surprise Lake Camp for Jewish kids. He attended Erasmus Hall High School with fellow future music superstar Barbra Streisand, his duet partner on “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” Diamond’s first big splash as a songwriter was with the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” in 1966, when he was 25. He began a singing career, his own songs and others’, around the same time, and embarked on an over 50-year career in show business, retiring just recently. Both Kieve and Rose lived into old age and saw Neil reach his greatest fame.
The block in which Diamond’s was located was knocked down in the 1960s to make way for the apartment complex Gerald J. Carey Gardens. Folksinger Woody Guthrie and his family lived further west on Mermaid Avenue for several years and may well have patronized Diamond’s.
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2/27/25