Genuine New Yorkers

If you were standing on the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street around 1988, you would no doubt have noticed the giant billboard proclaiming “REAL NEW YORKERS KNOW! J&R Music World.” Times Square is a little different these days, but the message is the same– genuine New Yorkers know value, they go out of their way to find it, they tell their friends.

The giant billboard (sponsored by Maxell Corp.) was symbolic of J&R’s amazing rise from downtown music store to New York phenomenon. Now, of course, J&R is a prime target destination for national and international visitors. People have learned to depend on J&R. There are glitzier stores, but none with the newest products, best prices, exceptional service, and the kicker– that all of this can be found in one location, across City Hall Park on historic Park Row.

From 1921 to 1966, the area on downtown Cortlandt Street was known as Radio Row. There were stores with names like Leotone Radio and Blan The Radio Man. And in 1971, shortly after the World Trade Center was completed, Joe and Rachelle Friedman began selling LP music albums in a little store on the second floor of 33 Park Row. Soon afterward, they added electronics and the rest is history. Whenever there was an electronic innovation, J&R was there– cassettes, the Walkman, CDs, VCRs, car stereo, projection TVs, camcorders. Then came computers, digital photography, cellular phones, MP3 players, the iPod. If there was a cutting-edge product, J&R was the cutting edge.

In the 1990s, downtown New York supplanted midtown as the hot tourist destination. Stores like J&R and Century 21 anchored this renaissance. Soon the Wall Street area was blossoming with residences and new stores. Then came September 11, 2001. The downtown was shocked by the disaster felt round the world. Instead of selling laptops, the J&R computer store was used for a triage area. The store was closed for three months, while our fledgling website, www.jr.com, filled the void. And when an improved J&R reopened in 2002, New Yorkers were heartened by this symbolic phoenix, rising from the ashes. Mayor Giuliani could again buy his beloved opera music at J&R.

The downtown area is doing quite well these days. The red tour buses are bringing the usual groups of visitors, there are products with names like Blu-Ray and Zen entering our consciousness, and 7 World Trade Center is filling with new tenants. And in the middle of it all is a unique shopping experience– J&R Music and Computer World, the store known by real New Yorkers around the world. Because anywhere there are people who will go out of their way for advanced products, money-saving value, and warm service, in one location, there are real New Yorkers.

This entry was posted by Uncle Bill on Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 3:13 pm