The Old Neighborhood Part I

Another shop on the corner, now home of the Cluttered Closet Consignment Store, occupies part of the building which is typical of many small commercial enterprises that developed in the 1920s as extensions from houses, covering up small front yards and serving as transitional structures between residential and commercial use. This was before comprehensive zoning was implemented throughout the city.

The South Beech shop is notable for its corner articulation. The cut-corner doorway was typical for urban shops in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It allows access directly into the store but still allows maximum display window space on two facades. In this case, the Trinity Place window is now blocked, but it originally brought commercial activity more directly onto the otherwise residential street.