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Lot 113
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Original 21 year lease for Gimbel's Dept Store, signed by six Gimbel brothers
Original 21 year lease for Gimbel's Dept Store, signed by six Gimbel brothers
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Description:

Business - A magnificent recently discovered piece of New York history! The original 21 year lease signed by six Gimbel brothers by which they leased the land upon which they quickly built their landmark New York store which opened in 1910 Historically Important Printed Document Initialed and Signed "Jacob Gimbel," "Isaac Gimbel," "Charles Gimbel," "Daniel Gimbel," "Ellis A. Gimbel," "Louis S. Gimbel," and "Nathan Hamburger" as Tenant (on page 31), 31p, 8" x 10.5". April 23, 1909. Vintage notation on cover page "Original – fully executed." Fine condition.

The original 21 year lease by which Gimbel Brothers, New York leased the land upon which they built their landmark New York store paying $605,000 for the first three years commencing on August 1, 1910, increasing annually to $615,000 and $620,000, and then to $630,000 for 1916-1920 and $655,000 for the last 11 years ending on July 31, 1931.

Also signed "John Q. Lockman" as President of Greeley Square Realty Company, the Landlord, and "Jacob Gimbel" as President and, as witness, "Daniel Gimbel" as Secretary of Gimbel Brothers, New York, the Tenant (on page 27). Corporate Seals of both Gimbel Brothers and Greeley Square are affixed to this page. Lockman's signature is notarized in Manhattan (page 28) and Jacob Gimbel's signature was notarized in Philadelphia where he resided (page 29). At that time, the only Gimbel store was in Philadelphia.

Attached at the conclusion of this deed is the 35" x 27.5" floor plan dated April 16, 1909. Copies of three letters between the New York law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett and Gimbel Brothers relating to this floor plan are attached to it. The plan shows the First Floor, the Basement Floor, and the Sub Basement, noting "9th Story Floor to be 327.47' elevation." The Mezzanine and the location of six Passenger Elevators are also noted.

Article I of this deed provides that "There is also hereby reserved by and to Landlord, and Landlord shall have, the right to grant to or vest in Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Company, its successors and assigns, or any of them, all or any of the following rights, which rights shall be superior to the rights of Tenant hereunder, that is to say: The right to the exclusive use and occupation of the spaces hereinafter specified, for the purpose of handling and storing baggage, mail and express matter, and for ticket offices and any other necessary purposes of and adjuncts to … the underground railroad station to be located at Broadway and Thirty-third Street…"

There are sections of the Sub Basement, the Basement Floor, the First Floor, and the 9th Floor marked with red diagonal lines noted "space hatched red to be occupied by H. & M.R.R. Co." The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Co. is known today as PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson). Construction began on the existing tunnels under the Hudson River in 1890, but stopped shortly thereafter when funding ran out. Construction of the Hudson Tubes resumed in 1900 and on July 19, 1909, three months after this deed was signed, service began between the Hudson Terminal in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City, New Jersey.

Bavarian Jewish immigrant Adam Gimbel (1817-1896) arrived in the United States in 1835. He opened a general store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842, moved to Danville, Illinois, in the 1880s, and, in 1887, relocated to the fast growing town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had a sizable population of German immigrants. His store quickly became the leading department store in Milwaukee. The saying in town was that Gimbel had "a surplus of capital and a surplus of Gimbels." With one successful store and planning for the future of his eight sons, Gimbel saw that a second store was needed. In 1894, sons Daniel, Jacob, and Ellis opened a seven-story department store in Philadelphia.

On June 16, 1910, "The New York Timers" headlined "Gimbel Store Completed," noting that "the contract was signed on April 23, 1909, and the excavating work consumed five months, so that the work of construction proper did not actually begin until well in October of last year…" The store opened on September 29, 1910, just 13 days after the death of 55-year-old Nathan Hamburger, a signer of this lease. Nathan had become an apprentice to Adam Gimbel in Vincennes in 1869 and was in charge of the Milwaukee store.

Gimbels' new store had two basement floors which was actually a department store in itself with the same kinds of goods as in the upper floors but of a lesser quality and lower price that would attract the small wage earner. The "Times" called it a "chief innovation in the new store."

Gimbels soon became the primary rival to the department store across the street, Macy's. The rhetorical question "Does Macy's tell Gimbels?" became a popular phrase which meant that competitors are not supposed to share secrets with one another. While Gimbels closed in 1986, it lives on at least once a year, around Christmas, when "Miracle on 34th Street" is televised. In the 1947 Oscar winning motion picture, Macy's Santa sent customers to Gimbels when the store did not have what the customer wanted, initially resulting in his firing. The "Miracle" refers to what happened next.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000