Stern’s was a department store chain the served the northeastern United States for over 130 years. Brothers Isaac, Louis and Benjamin Stern opened their first store in Buffalo, New York and soon moved to Manhattan, with a flagship store first on 23rd, and later 42nd Street. The 23rd Street store featured a cast-iron facade and five stories of selling space. It was – at the time – the city’s biggest department store.
The business brought the Stern brothers great wealth. In 1905, Benjamin Stern would purchase the Gothic-styled Clapham House in Roslyn Harbor, converting it to classical French chateau.
He quickly became an influential figure in his new community. The Glenwood Landing firehouse was built with both his financial assistance and his choice of architects.
A west coast trip instilled in Mr. Stern a love for the stucco houses of Southern California. He had eight houses built in that style on Hill Terrace, the Glen Head neighborhood where streets are named for eight US presidents. Plans for further development were scuttled, however, as the country entered the Great Depression.