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A Piece of History Captured in Old ShopSyracusans soon will have the Opportunity to step into a perfect re-creation of a 1900s apothecary shop.At the turn of the century, the pharmacy was a special place in the neighborhood, available always in an emergency. Often it was a place of elegance and dignity wnere the pnarmacisi performed the magic of preparing medicines and offering medical advice and products for sale.tXMlUsL Ul\cLilaL)iy ill i.UUiC Udi,the pharmacist, an educated man, was a man on whom the neighborhood relied for counsel and help of all kinds when the family met the frequent catastrophic illnesses that were common then.Alan Rothschild has turned the clock back. A most elegant pharmacy of those early years has been re-created as a tribute to his father and mother.It is located in the newly enlarged and renovated Rothschild Home Health Care Center at 817 E. Genesee St., and will be open to individuals, families and groups by reservation.Alan Rothschild’s father, Gus-a ___ r~ - ;■» - i- - -a—i — j «.•,wave ivuui^miu, wiiu diditcu uiafirst pharmacy in Syracuse in 1926, was his inspiration.But his mother also is due credit as an implementor.The Rothschilds’ first drugstore was located at State Street and Raynor Avenue. When their oldest son, Lee, came into the business in the 1950s, they bought a second store, the West Side Pharmacy at West and Gifford streets. It had been open 50 years and was full of pharmaceutical items dating into the 19th century. These were saved in a back room. When the creation of the West Side arterial necessitated moving the store in 1963, Rose Rothschild insisted that the furnishings and the old items be saved, and put in storage.Alan, their youngest son, was studying pharmacy in Albany at about that time and he made friends with Samuel Aker, a retired pharmacist. Aker had one of the world’s finest collections of apothecary items, and he helpedAlan Rothschild start his own collection.That was the genesis. Today, the two collections have been merged, and an authentic turn-of-the century apothecary shop has been created, filled with the “goods” of the era, and is accurate to the smallest detail.The beaded board walls and wood trim were custom milled and painted to exactly match the color and texture used at the time. Old brass has been polished to its original luster. The counters are marble topped, set in handsome cherry frames. The hand lettering on the door and window is gold leaf.These details make the shop a visual delight — and the contents ..JIn the windows on either side ofthp Honr srp show ffJaseps hneo almost cone-shaped blown glass vessels filled with colored water now, used originally to expose chemicals to the sun. Show glasses, like the barber pole, had become marks to identify the apothecary shop at the turn of the century. Other smaller show glasses are displayed inside the store.The walls are lined with bottles of crude drugs, tablets, powders. Many, many of the bottles are hand-blown. Tins, flasks and packages also are in abundance.The names of the drugs recall Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries. Among the crude drugs from just one manufacturer, Parke Davis, include balmony, commonly known as white turtle head, used as a laxative and to treat worm infections and jaundice. Other crude drugs were bayberry, bitter-root, buckthorn bark, coca leaves, conch grass, cranesbill root, dogwood, dwarf elder, foxglove, hemlock spruce, lavender, silk weed, sumAS FINE AS SILK”I LABEL REGISTERED)TO ALL DYSPEPTIC^ THIS R TT EPS IS Hf COV VF.NOFT IT REUEVFS A y OSCE That A . l GONE ■ ‘ F-FPL'SG V\ ‘ N D ONSTOMACH. LiVFR COMPLAINT, AND Ail f-CRVS OF INDIGESTION. FFVFR AND AGUE. BILIOUSNESS G t M U A L Of 13 IL IT Y FAINTNESS. FEVALf WEAKNESS. Al 0 AN A. R F ( A 9 i E STIMULANT FOB °FRSONS RECOVERING MOV s'(. * N * S SONI • ABl : SPOON* . '-“tS A DAr juS- C*p s’ ’ *•' ■ NtlDtOPREPARED BY/CEO.W. HOLLOWAY,MANUFACTURING PHARMACIST.807-809 N.SalinaSt., SYRACUSE. N.Y.MAmer savory, tamarac and water avens root.From McKesson Robbins are tins of belladonna leaves, blood root powder, chamomile flowers, cubeb berries, dragon’s blood, orris root, and others. An inventory of the crude drugs takes 10 pages.One of the most interesting collections is that of drugs manufactured in Syracuse.Many came from George W. Holloway, listed on the label as manufacturing pharmacist, 807-809 N, Salina St. The building, now standing in the 800 block is easily recognized by the twin gables pictured on some of the drug labels. It is across the street from Assumption Church Hall.Other manufacturers were George B. Wood, Todd Chemical Co., West Side Pharmacy, J. D. Hakes, Kemps System Tonic Co., H. D. Spafford, The Delano Co. Benz Toilet Products Inc., Parma-lee Vegetable Pill Co., The SmithDrug Co., the Unguol Pharmacal Co., W. B. Fuller Druggist, Atb-lake Laboratories Inc., Kellogg Hitchcock Co., Gon-no Corp., the Removo Co., W. J. Slattery Pharmacist, the Wendell Pharmacal Co. and C, W. Snow Co.Perhaps as interesting as the final products is the equipment which the pharmacist used in preparing drugs for the customer. In addition to the old mortar and pestles, there are scales, percolators and presses for making tablets, capsules and suppositories.Not necessarily drug related, but a gem, is the fancy brass cash register, which could add amounts up to a total of $1.95 — obviously a big bill in an old-time apothecary shop.Working with Alan Rothschild and Ernest Pelli, home health division manager at the firm, was architect Michael Dietz who specializes in historic restoration. The shop will be dedicated May 19.
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Post Standard
Syracuse, New York, US
Thu, Apr 07, 1983
Page 144
Full Page
Clipped by
Sarah K.
NA, 01 Jul 2024
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