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Utica, N.Y., circa 1905. "Utica City National Bank, Genesee Street." Partners in commerce with various purveyors of hats, caps and "mattings." View full size.
Refrigerators? In 1903?
"Ice Boxes" yes, but "refrigerators"?
[The word itself was used as early as the 17th Century; it was applied to pre-electric devices, as seen in the 1905 adverisement. -tterrace]
Note what looks like sliding fire doors to cover windows on the right side of the bank building on floors four through 6-1/2. Being a bank and probably with concern for the possibility that the building to the right of the bank could burn, the fire doors were probably installed up to a height that flames might get to. I have never seen such an installation before.
All of these buildings still stand and are in use, but just about everything out of the frame at right is gone. My father-in-law ran a gardening store here, the Utica Seed Company, and in January 1948, a restaurant next door burned, and the blaze destroyed his building and three others. After being dormant, the area is being redeveloped.
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