The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued

Page 254

other emporiums, light reflected from huge pier mirrors, silk curtains, and polished rosewood, cherry, and mahogany furniture; some oak, walnut, and pine creeping in. Upholstery fabrics, mirrors, and miscellaneous “fancy goods” were sold to accompany elaborate and highly ornamented furniture in the earliest of the many Victorian styles, available at reasonable prices.

Large plate glass shop windows along parts of Broadway were dedicated to glittering luxuries. Local newspapers reported on the diamond jewelry, marble statues, regulated clocks, patented pistols, and specialty china and silver services that filled the best windows. Retailers competed with one another to have the most impressive objects on display. When one jeweler displayed a miniature fire engine as a prize for a local fair, another made a true to life, silver and gold model of one of the mule drawn streetcars that once traveled up and down Broadway.

Since the turn of the twentieth century, large department stores became the anchors of the shopping district on Broadway. They created lifelike tableaus in their windows, complete with mannequins, foliage, and taxidermy animals. Illuminated by electricity instead of sunlight, these windows illustrated the life of luxury that was becoming increasingly affordable for many. The shop windows of Bayway Town were designed to spark viewers’ imaginations and encourage them to open their purses.