Artifact: Two brass gothic door lock assemblies
Material: Brass
Identification marks: Toulon 2850, 10th floor, and 17th floor, Patent dates include 1904 and 1905
Dim’s h/w/d: 12-3/4” x 3-1/2”
Weight: 4# approx
Origin: From a NYC commercial building ca 1910, possibly from 90 West Street.
The back of the plate reads “Toulon 2850” and “L H Patented Apr 19 1904, Aug 20 1904, May 16, 1905 and others.”
The style and age as well as one coming from the 17th floor strongly lean towards their having come from 90 West Street in Manhattan, it was erected and in the style at the same time frame as these locks having been made, and the building is 23 floors high, suffered considerable interior fire and water damage after 9/11/01 and was renovated into condos. These heavy commercial door locks would have become obsolete, and it’s possible over the years some were removed from doors that had been removed or replaced, and the locks stored in the basement. There’s no other gothic styled building I can think of in Manhattan that would seem to fit everything as well as having at least 17 floors, other than the Woolworth building but all of the doorknobs in that building have logos on them that clearly indicate the Woolworth building.
ny gothic styled building with less floors can be ruled out for obvious reasons, as can residential apartment buildings since these door locks are heavy duty commercial locks and plates installed on large 2″ thick doors, that also used a master key system.
