'Family Matters' Exhibit at a Glance
March 22, 2002 -- The new exhibit Family Matters: Century-Old New York City Businesses, highlights the economic and personal achievements of 11 family-run companies in business for over 100 years. Here's a snapshot of some of the featured firms.
Skyline Symbol: A well-known fixture in Manhattan's vertical architecture, Rosenwach Tank Company's roof-top water tanks deliver water to building inhabitants by gravity. The firm was started by Polish immigrant Harris Rosenwach, a skilled cooper who he began working for a water tank company in 1894, buying the business outright in 1896. The company, now under a fourth-generation Rosenwach, also specializes in plumbing, filtration systems, pumps, wood restoring and outdoor furniture.
Cafe Society: When opera fan Antonio Ferrara wanted a place to meet fellow opera lovers he decided to open a café and bakery in New York City's Little Italy. The business has thrived despite several economic downturns — mainly because of Ferrara's ingenuity. For example, after surviving the Great Depression, the company faced the possibly devastating rationing of World War Two. Thinking ahead, Ferrara's nephew wisely ordered more sugar, milk and flour than immediately needed, knowing that quotas were determined by the size of the last purchase. The gamble worked, and also led to the beginning of Ferrara's modern mail-order business.
Bricklayer with Big Dreams: Irish immigrant John Gallin founded a small masonry and concrete business in 1886, and his family's ties with the Catholic church led to many projects for the New York Archdiocese during the post-World War II building boom. As the firm grew, so did the projects. The Museum of Modern Art, American Airlines terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport, renovations of several Fifth Avenue stores as well as numerous corporate buildings, are all among John Gallin & Son's construction sites.
Eyes Are the Prize: Swiss native Peter Gougelmann introduced the business of custom-made artificial glass eyes to New York City — and America — in 1851. Before his arrival, only imported glass eyes in stock sizes were available. As demand grew, Gougelmann took on a partner and expanded outside. Some of Mager & Gougelmann's tens of thousands patients include Alfred I. DuPont, Jay Vanderbuilt, Joseph Pulitzer, Helen Keller, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Falk, Hume Cronyn and Sen. Thomas Gore.
In Front of the Eight Ball: Belgian-born Henri Mali arrived in New York in 1826 to represent a family-owned company specializing in making green wool cloth for pool and billiard tables. Today the company is the oldest and largest supplier of pool-table fabric. But Henry W.T. Mali & Company has expanded past pool tables. Its cloth is slated to line drawers and cabinets in the space shuttle scheduled to orbit the moon in 2008.
Decorating New York: Danish immigrant Frode Christian Valdemar Rambusch came to New York City in 1889 with years of apprenticeship experience with master painters and a formal arts education under his belt. Within a decade a newly founded firm was specializing in painted decorations for churches, opera houses, theaters, mansions, hotels and restaurants, translating architects' raw ideas and rough sketches into reality. Rambusch Decorating Company's decorative projects adorn the Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Airlines terminal at Kennedy Airport, and the new Conde Nast Building in Times Square.