26 March 2010

86-Year-Old Locksmith in Park Slope


I needed some keys made. So I stopped by a small locksmith on 9th Street in Park Slope that I've passed by a hundred times without a thought. Fifth Avenue Key Shop. Turns out the place has been in business since 1924. I never would have imagined it. But I guess key makers can be multi-generational as much as any other line of business.

The owner told me the business was founded on Fifth Avenue—hence the name. But they moved around the corner after a few years and have been there every since.


There are a few old pictures just inside the door. One shows that the shop used to be next door to a movie theatre. (It's a McDonald's now.) Alice's Beauty Shoppe was above. (Empty now.) A lawyer's office and Western Union Shop were on the other side.


Another picture shows that the layout of the store hasn't changed much over the years. Same low tin ceiling, too.

The new keys work fine.
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8 comments:

  1. mingusal3/26/2010 7:19 AM

    That's on 9th St, not 3rd St. The theater is the old Avon that was there from 1914 until the late '70s. A little more information on the theater, along with some links to old pictures of it, and the locksmith shop, can be found here:
    http://cinematreasures.org/theater/4033/

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  2. Brooks of Sheffield3/26/2010 7:35 AM

    Correction made.

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  3. Locksmith in NY5/24/2010 5:43 PM

    Unbelievable this proofs that gander stereotyping doesn't apply anywhere

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  4. Locksmith New York1/24/2011 11:25 PM

    In my opinion, the number of years in the business could be one of the benchmarks to check.

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  5. Locksmiths in Edinburgh10/04/2011 9:35 AM

    I think its great to see something going for so long!

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  6. Locksmith Brooklyn4/16/2012 6:34 AM

    Really its great to see the information about such an old locksmith store.

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  7. Brooks of Sheffield4/07/2013 9:45 AM

    It's weird. Of the thousands of posts I've done over the years, this one has attracted the most spam. Every week, I have to delete a comment from a slimy locksmith who's trying to slip in a link to their business website. Who knew locksmiths to be so unscrupulous?

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  8. Mike Lintro11/04/2014 12:16 PM

    It would be totally sweet if the current sign looked like it did originally. I love going to stores that have that retro look to them. Although it would be hard to maintain something like that. And to have it well lit. I guess any locksmith that will help me out in a pinch is worth my time. http://www.alphaomegalocks.com/Vehicle_Openings_La_Habra_CA.html

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