The cast-iron storefront at sixty-eight through seventy-four South Street holds up an expanse of granite and brick that once hummed with the trade of animal hides. When this building rose in eighteen ninety-nine, the Leather District functioned as the country’s primary marketplace for raw leather. Merchants operated out of these upper floors, inspecting samples of calfskin and cowhide by the steady, consistent light pouring through these tall, oversized windows. It remains a sturdy monument to that specific, smelly, and lucrative industry.
68-74 South St
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