The Industries
John Street was not residential, instead it was home to a variety of different industries and businesses which shifted over the years. Produce and food were abundant on John Street, as well as manufacturing.
The 1882 Sanborn map provides the information regarding which industry was taking place in each building on John Street at that time. Interestingly, none of these various and diverse industries include shoes or leather, even though the street had been called Shoe & Leather Street only fifteen years prior. Instead, various forms of produce and food related businesses dominated the street, including sausage, butter, meat storage, and coffee roasting. Aside from these specific industries, three buildings are listed simply as produce, which makes produce alone 1/8 of the entire street. Manufacturing was also incredibly prominent, with examples including canned goods production, paper box production, glass, and tin. Tin was especially abundant, listed explicitly in four buildings, not including the canned goods production buildings.
1882 Sanborn Map
75-79 North Street, 41-47 John Street taken May 18, 1930
One business which took place at 47 John Street was the W.M.B. Berry Company, whose sign can be seen in this photograph on the corner of John and North. According to this sign, W.M.B. Berry had been located here since 1867, which was sixty three years before the photograph was taken. They specialized in sheet metal while also having food and drink options, which makes W.M.B. Berry a great example of the kinds of businesses and industries that existed on this street. The 1882 map identifies this building as a tinshop, so the fact that it specializes in sheet metal production decades later is unsurprising.
Another business whose sign could be seen on John Street in 1930 was M. Birnbach Products. This sign displays tinware, copperware, and pipes as specialties of the business. The 1882 map identified this building as a tinshop as well, and according to the sign tin was still being worked with here sixty three years later.
17 1/2-22 John Street and 24 John Street to 67-73 North Street, taken May 18, 1930