Frenchtown then & now

The Hummer Building, as some of the old-timers call it, is on the left. The western half of it was built by druggist and liniment manufacturer Albert Williams right after the Great Fire of 1878 on the ashes of his former building. The original tenant on the corner was George W. Hummer’s furniture and undertaking business. Williams’ pharmacy was next door. Lorenzo Kerr put up the other half in 1881. His original tenant was DeWitt C. Dalrymple’s store, whose wares included corsets, men’s straw hats, lace curtains, feathers, and parasols. (Ten years later, Mr. Dalrymple was yardmaster of a Hoboken railyard and was run over by a train). The current owner is Jill Kearney, who also owns FiNNBAR. Although she is the founder and executive director of ArtYard, these are her personal holdings. —Rick Epstein