52 Avenue A | Block : 399 | Lot #8

Description & Building Alterations

Built in 1944, this one-story building was constructed as a warehouse, truck garage and hardware store for Albert and Leon Klinghoffer. The facade of glazed brick was a popular choice in post-World War II architecture.

Albert and Leon Klinghoffer ran the family hardware business, which was started by their father, who died at an early age, leaving the boys to provide for the family.  This building on East 4th Street and Avenue A was a symbol of their success, as it was a new and larger location for the business. It provided space for manufacturing small appliances, one of which was the infrared broiler, a combination rotisserie and infrared cooker.  In 1985, Leon Klinghoffer was killed when the cruise he and his wife, Marilyn, were on was hijacked.  For more information about the Klinghoffers please click on the articles under our Additional Resources.

Before construction of this building, tenements were located on the lots. The lot was part of William B. Astor’s holdings and was leased out between c. 1850-1875. The buildings were owned by Vincent Astor, who sold the property to the city for “model housing development” or early urban renewal projects.  The tenement buildings were unable to maintain a profitable number of rented units and to pay to bring them up to the new codes, so the individual lessees of the buildings were allowed to forfeit the building back to Astor who in turn sold the properties to the city.