A Genealogy of Place Pt. 3: From Frankfort Institute to Flat Iron Café

The same tools used to trace the history of one’s house are useful in tracing the history of commercial buildings. To illustrate this, let’s examine the evolution of 561 State Street, currently home to the Flat Iron Café.  

^{The Flat Iron Café, at the conjunction of State Street, Smith Street, and Lyell Avenue. From: Googlemaps, 2022.}

On January 14, 1814, Philip Lyell (the avenue’s namesake) purchased village lots 48 and 49 for $1,200. Those parcels had been subdivided previously into 412 smaller lots. The lot now occupied by the café was lot 8 of sub-lot 133. There is no evidence that Lyell ever lived on the land himself.

^{Philip Lyell’s circa 1814 purchase of lots 48 and 49 with stipulated subplots. From: Genesee County Clerk, Deed Book, Liber 7, p. 141.}

In 1822, Lyell sold the property to Abraham Elwell, a laborer, for $125. Elwell then sold it to Henry Bonesteel for $1,200 five years later. Bonesteel was an active entrepreneur. He already owned the Frankfort Tavern (later known as the Bonesteel Tavern) on the other side of Lyell Avenue, where the Cole Muffler Shop currently sits.

^{The Bonesteel Tavern, seen here circa 1891, stood across the street from what is now the Flat Iron Cafe building. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

An 1840 advertisement described Bonesteel’s newest purchase as: “The new brick building in Frankfort, in which the Frankfort Institute is kept, containing three apartments suitable for stores or groceries, and several convenient and pleasant upper rooms.”

An ad the previous year indicated that the Institute provided a “classical education” (i.e. instruction in Greek and Latin), as well as courses in English, writing, and painting. It also played host to lectures, such as a temperance speech given by Oliver Peirce on October 16, 1842.

^{Henry Bonesteel’s circa 1840 advertisement for tenants of the Frankfort Institute. From: Rochester Daily Democrat, June 26, 1840.}

It appears the Institute’s life was short-lived, and the building was used primarily as an apartment house. In 1852, Bonesteel sold the property to one of his boarders, Henry Munger, for $4,757.50. Munger transformed the building into a grocery store, which he continued to operate until shortly before his death. He sold it in 1863 to James Campbell, who conducted a cooperage (barrel-making) business on the premises.

^{Lot 133 circa 1888. The building designated “J. Campbell” in the upper right corner is now 561 State Street. From: City of Rochester Plat map, 1888.}

James Campbell, and later his son John, continued to own the edifice for the next six decades, not selling it until 1922; however, following the elder Campbell’s retirement, the building was leased to a succession of druggists. It is chiefly as a pharmacy that Rochesterians in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries knew the structure.

In 1878, the building was leased to Syms Ashley Merriam. His was no ordinary drug store. In addition to the usual assortment of medicines and health aids, Merriam’s establishment featured a state-of-the-art soda fountain, an assortment of cigars, perfumes, combs, brushes, paints, oils, and glass merchandise.  In 1897, the building was leased to George Hahn, who also operated it as a pharmacy for four years. Hahn bought the structure in 1922 and sold it to Morris Rockowitz four years later.

^{George Hahn’s pharmacy, circa 1899. From: City of Rochester.}

Like the Campbells, Rockowitz chose to lease the space to yet another druggist, Kenneth A. Stocking, who left Rochester for Elmira once the Great Depression made the store unprofitable. The empty shop made paying off the existing liens impossible, so the building was sold at public auction in 1932. The winning bid was $2,000, from Elizabeth Crittenden, granddaughter of James Campbell. She would retain ownership until 1962.   

In 1935, Noah’s Ark Auto Supplies leased the space. Noah Sher (and later his son Martin) owned the business, which, at its height, counted eight franchises in the city and 26 throughout New York and New Jersey. By 1962, the business had gone bankrupt and Crittenden sold the property to Joseph R. Spallina.

Spallina leased the space to Amiel’s Jumbo Submarine Sandwiches, owned by Amiel Mokhiber. The store opened in August 1964, becoming the third of eventually 12 sub shops in the area. The State Street store’s initial profitability led Mokhiber to buy the edifice in 1968, but declining business forced the closure of the location in 1973. The building again sat vacant for years.

In 1985, the new owner, Mark Hull, leased the property to Dundalk News. The adult book and video store was previously located on South Avenue but had to move to make way for the Hyatt Regency hotel. Dundalk’s placement was controversial but eventually received the necessary permission. The business closed in 1998 and the city foreclosed in November 2000 for non-payment of taxes. The owners of the Flat Iron Café, Mitchell and Michele Rowe, purchased the building from the city on May 19, 2005 for $1,000.  

In the 180-plus years of the building’s existence, it evolved from a structure of learning and culture to a pharmacy to an adult bookstore. Its current iteration has brought it long-term respectability, profitability and stability. Long may it continue.

– Christopher Brennan

(Originally published December 22, 2022)

For Further Information:

Rochester city directories, 1827-2005

Rochester plat maps, 1875-1935

Genesee County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 7, p. 141.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 8, p. 286.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 10, p. 412.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 106, p. 456.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 180, p. 187.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 510, p. 265.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 1158, p. 106.

Monroe C Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 1357, p. 408.

Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 1595, p. 410.  

Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 3424, p. 292.

Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 3875 p. 561.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 5455, p. 82.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 10128, p. 327.

“A Beautiful Fountain,” Democrat and Chronicle, June 10, 1888, p. 6.

Dena Bunis, “An Uneasy Feeling about What’s in Store,” Democrat and Chronicle, June 11, 1985, p. 1B.

“Business Chronicler: Amiel’s to Open 3^rd Store,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 26, 1964, p. 5D.

“Death of an Old Citizen,” Union and Advertiser, February 10, 1873, p. 2.

“Death Takes George Hahn, Ex-Druggist,” Democrat and Chronicle, April 24, 1938, p. 5B.

“Dundalk News Grand Opening Sale,” [advertisement], Democrat and Chronicle, September 20, 1985, p. 4C.

“Franklin Institute,” advertisement, Rochester Daily Democrat, September 20, 1839, p. 2.

“Holiday Gifts for Gentlemen,” Democrat and Chronicle, December 24, 1881, p. 4.

Blake McKelvey, “Names and Traditions of Some Rochester Streets,” Rochester History 27, no. 3 (July 1965).

“The Mortuary Column: The Death of James Campbell,” Democrat and Chronicle, December 4, 1886, p. 6.

“Mortuary Matters: Death of Syms A. Merriam,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 14, 1890, p. 7.

Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck, “Frankfort: Birthplace of Rochester’s Industry,” Rochester History 50, no. 3 (July 1988).   

“Noah Sher Dies,” Democrat and Chronicle, October 1, 1974, p. 1B.

Robyn Roberts, “Still Long Way from Decision Over Book Store,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 23, 1985, p. 2B.

“Temperance Notice,” advertisement, Rochester Daily Democrat, October 11, 1842, p. 2.

“To Rent or Exchange,” advertisement, Rochester Daily Democrat, June 26, 1840, p. 1.

There and Back Again: Jay Silverheels’ Connection to Rochester, Pt. 2

The first post in this series detailed the early years of erstwhile Rochester resident and lacrosse player, Harold J. Smith. Smith put down his lacrosse stick and took up acting in the late 1930s, adopting the name Jay Silverheels. Under this moniker, he would become one of the most famous Native American actors in Hollywood. And it was in this unlikely setting that he developed a new connection to Rochester.

Silverheels’ second career developed gradually. The aspiring actor reported to countless auditions over the course of the 1940s, earning a series of extra spots and bit parts, largely in Western movies, though he also appeared in the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film noir classic, “Key Largo,” in 1948.

The following year, Silverheels made history when he landed the role of Tonto on “The Lone Ranger,” making him the first Native American to star in a television series. Actors playing Indigenous characters in that era (and for many years after) were usually white, often of Italian or Greek descent. (The actor who had played Tonto on “The Lone Ranger” radio series was Jewish.)

^{Jay Silverheels (left) as Tonto and Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger. From: Democrat & Chronicle, March 6, 1980.}

While the role made Jay Silverheels a household name in the 1950s, it did not depict Native Americans in a favorable light. Frustrated by the fact that he had to portray Tonto as a monosyllabic two-dimensional character, Silverheels insisted to his producers that Tonto should be a man of equal intelligence to the Lone Ranger. The character gradually evolved over the course of the show’s run. Silverheels maintained that he would have left the show had his request not been met.

He later reflected to a Democrat & Chronicle reporter that in the early years of his acting career he’d had to do a lot of things that he knew were “wrong or didn’t like and for which I was rebuked by Indians.” But, he explained, “if one wishes to make changes in any industry you have to first survive within that industry and go along with it. I went along with it until I could reach a level where I could exert influence.”

While enjoying some time off from set one day, Silverheels encountered a young woman named Mary DiRoma at a local racetrack. The Los Angeles bank employee originally hailed from Rochester. The pair married in 1954, renewing Silverheels’ connection to the Flower City.

^{Mary DiRoma as a young Madison High School student. From: The Madisonian (1942).}

Though he remained based in Los Angeles after “The Lone Ranger” was canceled in 1956, Silverheels would make many trips to both Rochester, home to his in-laws, and Buffalo, where several members of his own family resided.

^{Silverheels visiting with his niece Cecelia and nephew Ernest DiGiovanni, the children of his wife’s sister, at their home at 18 Essex Street. From: Democrat & Chronicle, May 23, 1957.}

In addition to visiting his wife’s family, Silverheels also made a range of public appearances in Rochester, serving as the guest of honor at functions for his politician friends and signing autographs at local businesses, including his brother-in-law’s car dealership.

^{An ad for Silverheels’ appearance at his brother-in-law Ernest DiGiovanni’s car dealership on East Avenue. From: Democrat & Chronicle, February 11, 1960.}

While Silverheels used his star power for promotional ends in Western New York, on the West Coast, he harnessed it to advance Indigenous causes. A vocal critic of discrimination against Native Americans in Hollywood, Silverheels served on the Ethnic Minorities Committee of the Screen Actors Guild, and, in 1968, established the Indian Actors Workshop. The Los Angeles-based school sought to develop the acting, writing, and directing talents of its students, and help funnel more Native Americans actors into Native American roles.

The workshop was fairly successful in this goal, likely buoyed by the fact that Indigenous causes earned more widespread support in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Amidst this zeitgeist, Silverheels partnered with his brother-in-law in a short-lived store on West Ridge Road called Red Sunset Wigwam. A sister store to the original location in Brockport, the business specialized in Native American goods and jewelry. While he was in town promoting the store in the spring of 1974, Silverheels quipped to a Democrat & Chronicle reporter: “Indian things are sort of  the ‘in’ thing now. I wonder how long that’ll last.”

^{A circa 1974 ad for Red Sunset Wigwam. The West Ridge Road location was the sister store to the original store on Main Street in Brockport, NY. From: Democrat & Chronicle, August 21, 1974.}

The following year, the shop closed and Silverheels suffered a massive stroke while undergoing an angiogram that left him partially paralyzed. Sadly, his acting career was cut short just as he was starting to land more three-dimensional roles. Silverheels passed away in 1980, one year after becoming the first Native American to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

-Emily Morry

(Published: December 8, 2022)