Looking Back: Underhill and Sterling Pl
Here's a short story that I published in a holiday card a few years back. If any one is interested in a hardcopy of the card with the original drawing I did of the store with my family, let me know. I'd be happy to email a pdf.
cbukster
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Salvatore and Mary Mirabito, my great grandfather and grandmother, came to America in the late 1800’s from the small town of Salerno on the west coast of Italy. By the turn of the century, they had begun raising a family and building a prosperous business in Brooklyn, NY. In 1920, with the help of his sons and eldest daughter, Salvatore opened S. Mirabito & Sons Market located at 180 Underhill Avenue, just off the corner of Sterling Place. The workday was long, often starting before sunrise with trips to The Canarsie Farmers’ Market where they would look over and purchase vegetables and other produce being offered by farmers and growers from all over Brooklyn. One such farmer was Robert Buckley and his son Gil. Several years later, Gil Buckley would go to work at Mirabito’s Market and fall in love with Flora, Salvatore’s eldest daughter. Being a proud and traditional Italian family, the prospect of one of their daughters marrying an Irishman was less than favorable to the Mirabitos. Nevertheless, Flora and Gil’s love for one another would not be denied, no matter how difficult the path ahead. They would eventually marry and have three children of their own: Gil, Jr., Robert and Joan.
Mirabito’s Market would continue well into the ‘50’s, even after the death of its founder Salvatore. The pride and dedication that was once the foundation of a new and successful business so many years before inadvertently led to a beautiful, young family personified in the innocence of a delivery boy, taking packages on bicycle to the once majestic apartments on Eastern Parkway, gathering tips of nickels along the way for his trouble. Soon this delivery boy, Gil, Jr., would look toward the future and begin to imagine his own path in this world. Thanks dad.
cbukster
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Salvatore and Mary Mirabito, my great grandfather and grandmother, came to America in the late 1800’s from the small town of Salerno on the west coast of Italy. By the turn of the century, they had begun raising a family and building a prosperous business in Brooklyn, NY. In 1920, with the help of his sons and eldest daughter, Salvatore opened S. Mirabito & Sons Market located at 180 Underhill Avenue, just off the corner of Sterling Place. The workday was long, often starting before sunrise with trips to The Canarsie Farmers’ Market where they would look over and purchase vegetables and other produce being offered by farmers and growers from all over Brooklyn. One such farmer was Robert Buckley and his son Gil. Several years later, Gil Buckley would go to work at Mirabito’s Market and fall in love with Flora, Salvatore’s eldest daughter. Being a proud and traditional Italian family, the prospect of one of their daughters marrying an Irishman was less than favorable to the Mirabitos. Nevertheless, Flora and Gil’s love for one another would not be denied, no matter how difficult the path ahead. They would eventually marry and have three children of their own: Gil, Jr., Robert and Joan.
Mirabito’s Market would continue well into the ‘50’s, even after the death of its founder Salvatore. The pride and dedication that was once the foundation of a new and successful business so many years before inadvertently led to a beautiful, young family personified in the innocence of a delivery boy, taking packages on bicycle to the once majestic apartments on Eastern Parkway, gathering tips of nickels along the way for his trouble. Soon this delivery boy, Gil, Jr., would look toward the future and begin to imagine his own path in this world. Thanks dad.
Comments
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That's amazing. Do you have any photos?
Which storefront is 180? It's not the current Espinal bodega corner market, is it? -
180 is one off the corner. I think it was a laundramat a few years ago; not sure what it is now.
My brother works for Con Ed and had to read the meter there several years ago and the owner of the launderamat was so honored that he took him to the basement and showed him old produce baskets and brass hooks that were on the wall. Checking with my dad, he said that indeed, these were the same hooks and baskets that he saw back in the early 1950's. Unbelieveable.
I have several photos - will scan and post for folks to see...
cbukster -
I love stories like this. Share more about the neighborhood if you can. Thank you for sharing and please scan in photos. :-)
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Here is the image of my Great grandfather's store at 180 Underhill. Note my g grandfather on far right and my grandmother (his daughter Flora) the only female in the group.
This was taken in the mid 1920's.
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wow, cool. I'm going to walk by and see if any part of the storefront has survived. I don't know what's there off the top of my head.
That broom holder is really neat. -
oh my gosh - I wish that store would reopen. it looks like a dream!
thanks very much for sharing this. -
Holy crap, this is great. Somebody do a before/after photo of this!
It's such an odd little island of storefronts in an otherwise residential location. It would be interesting to see the history behind some of the other places. -
Subject: Re: Looking Back: Underhill and Sterling Pl
cbukster wrote: Here is the image of my Great grandfather's store at 180 Underhill. Note my g grandfather on far right and my grandmother (his daughter Flora) the only female in the group.
They look like a bunch of gentrifiers to me! (just kidding, cool pic).
This was taken in the mid 1920's. -
Ana.log: Indeed! They actually were such hard workers and really cared about the product etc. The Mirabito's lived on Dean St for years and then relocated to the corner of 10th Ave and Prospect Park SW (the only limestone with a garage!), across from the park near "suicide hill".
I have a few other pictures - less formal if you will - of the outside of the store. You can see the reflection of the Synagogue's (I think its a Synagogue) stained glass window across the street in the store window. I'll try and locate and scan that one as well.
The story only starts here, it gets better. You see, the my grandfather (Gil Buckley, Sr) was the hired help. He grew up on a farm in Flatlands until the land was sold out from under them abruptly in 1924 to make way for an expanded Kings Highway. His father suggested that he go ask the Mirabitos (to whom they had sold produce for many years) for a job. He got the job. But soon, he and Flora were meeting clandestinely in Prospect Park on their off hours. He wound up marrying the bosses daughter against the family's wishes. They ultimately disowned her, literally threw her out of the house after finding out about the love affair. Flora left rather than give in to her mother and father. Its hard to imagine but back in the early part of the 20th century, the Irish (considered somewhat inferior) and the Italian (the business owners and most certainly much more well off) didn't commingle, especially via marriage. Flora and Gil were married shortly after she left home. The wedding was held at Holy Name up on 9th Ave, no one from Flora's side showed up - despite the fact that she was the eldest daughter. It wasn't until my dad was born [in 1932] that the Italian side of the family broke their silence and welcomed them back - largely because of a male grandchild.
My grandmother could never forgive what happened.
cbukster -
"Suicide Hill"? Was that part of the current Mount Prospect Park? And was it called that for reasons of sledding, or something darker?
Found this over on My Brooklyn:"Belly whopping on your sled down suicide hill, again in that beautiful Park . . . beautiful white, white snow!"
http://www.brooklyn.net/my_bklyn_02/my_bklyn_352.html -
Yes, "Suicide Hill" was aptly named because of the treacherous accidents that happened while sledding there. Picture a narrow, sharp decline bordered by trees on either side and at the bottom at the end of the run. My father lost his spleen on one such trip one winter many years ago.
I went with him to visit the spot a few years ago and it is now overgrown but still recognizable. (I think they actually began to plant trees right down the middle of the run to prevent it being used for such purposes again).
cbuskter -
Amazing. Thanks for posting your story and picture. I live on Sterling right around the corner from the store; now I'll see it every time I walk by.
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FYI, anyone can by a 1940s era tax photo of any building in the city, in case anyone else wants to know what their building or neighborhood looked like once
http://home2.nyc.gov/dorforms/photoform.jsp -
I got a tax photo of our house last year from that site-- now I just have to get it framed, of course. It's pretty great to be able to connect so directly with the past.
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wait just a minute - I was led to believe that no white person had ever set foot in this neighborhood before 2000.
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This building is now the chinese laundry where I drop my clothes off every now and then. The laundry was already there when I moved here in Jan. 1977.
Hey, I was a white person living here in 1977! 8)
Thanks for the history, I liked it! -
Hello again, its been awhile,
Can anyone confirm that this building is being renovated? There are reports that there is scafolding up. I'd like to know so that we can confirm that the old Mirabito sign is/isn't underneath the laundry sign. Can anyone help?
cbukster -
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 5:49 pm Post subject:
I think they're two different buildings. I think you're talking about the building one door away from Sterling. This is an active laundramat/laundry. It is across the street from Duryea Presbyterian Church (not a synagogue, BTW). I don't think any work is being done there.
Hello again, its been awhile,
Can anyone confirm that this building is being renovated? There are reports that there is scafolding up. I'd like to know so that we can confirm that the old Mirabito sign is/isn't underneath the laundry sign. Can anyone help?
cbukster
One block down, on the same side of Underhill and on the other side of St. Johns, on the corner, is another former laundramat, closed for many years. This building has scaffolding up, in preparation for the addition of many stories and condo conversion. -
jimbo79 - Got it. Thanks for clarifying!
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Wow, has it been 4 years since that post?
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