Hardware
R. B. Wing & Son – Paint, Varnish, Glass – Hardware – Albany, NY – Featured Fade – Ariela Rutbeck-Goldman
All over Albany said:
For many years, R.B. Wing and Son was recognized as perhaps the oldest business in the city. It started around 1854 as a ship’s chandler when Albany was a booming river port, and then transitioned into construction supplies. Unfortunately, it closed in 1996 after 151 years in business, and is no longer in the running for oldest business in Albany. – Carl Johnson, All Over Albany – January 19, 2012
Marx Hardware & Paint Co., Inc. – Est. 1875 – St. Louis, MO
Paints – Window Glass – Varnishes – Wholesale © Frank H. Jump
Sporting Goods – Retail © Frank H. Jump
© Frank H. Jump
Steve Marx, along with his brother Andy, runs Marx Hardware & Paint Co. in the Old North neighborhood.
CREDIT MARIA ALTMAN | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
Established: 1875 by Frederick Marx
Location: 2501 N. 14th St., Old North neighborhood
Current owners: Brothers Steve and Andy Marx, great-great-grandsons of founder
Clientele: Mostly residential customers
There’s no arguing this hardware store is the oldest in the city.“I would say probably the oldest family-operated retail business in the city of St. Louis,” said Steve Marx.
Walking into Marx Hardware & Paint Co. feels a bit like taking a trip into the past with its hardwood floors, hand-painted signs and a wood-burning stove that keeps the place warm. The brothers have kept a lot of things from bygone days, including an old plaque for the St. Louis Hardware Retailers Association, a group that no longer exists.
“Hardware stores were like bakeries, barbershops — every few blocks there was one and a tavern in every corner and everybody made a living in this town,” Marx said. “It’s so difficult to see the change.” – St. Louis Public Radio
