January 29th, 2009:
Importers of Wholesale Sausage? – Esteve Packing Corporation – Hugh King & Co. Building 1881 – Home of MTV's Real World – 630-632 Hudson Street, NYC
According to Tracie Rozhon’s New York Times article, Habitats/632 Hudson Street; Restuffing the Sausage – published: January 23, 1994: the four-story, 8,000-square-foot building erected in 1847 between Jane and Horatio Streets by the heirs of Richard Towning.
A CAST-IRON cornice bearing the name of the produce merchant Hugh King was placed across 632 and its twin, 630 Hudson, in 1881.
The Esteve family bought the building during World War II to make candy, according to Edward V. Esteve, a Long Island lawyer.“ You couldn’t get torrone, a Spanish nougat, during the war, so we started making it,” he said. – NY Times
The Esteve family purchased the building during World War II with the intentions to begin producing candy. The family switched to sausage in the mid-1950’s. By the 1960’s the canned chorizo was carried all over the world. Maria Esteve closed the sausage business in 1983, but refused to sell the building, hoping to launch another business, possibly a restaurant. It wasn’t until her death in March 1993 that the family was able to sell the building.¹
Other links to 632 Hudson Street: