Merchant District

This narrow two-block stretch lies on low, level ground near the river. Perhaps 75% of New Jerusalem’s stores and shops can be found here. Church Street is the most important artery, and Main is of secondary importance. People ordinarily call such an area downtown; here they say instead “Goin’ to Merchant” since Downtown is a part of town north of the river. The old East Church and West Church are found here, and several rows of early eighteenth century Georgian-style warehouses line the river. These latter mostly stand unused, though one serves surreptitiously as a depot for illegal goods.
The heart of the district is the long block bordered by Main, Garrison, Church, and West Streets, where stand two- to four-story early nineteenth-century brick row buildings.
Church Street, from Main to West, is cobblestoned, originally laid down in 1773. Occasional alleys, barely wide enough for skilled truck drivers to get in and out of, give access to the service courts in the rear of the shops. These dingy courts are more often than not cluttered with crates, packing materials, and machines that don’t work but are too good to haul away.
River Street was once heavily trafficked by stevedores moving goods between docks and warehouses, but the stretch between Garrison and West Streets is now abandoned to decades of litter, requiring skill for a driver to negotiate.
The two blocks of warehouses east of Garrison, mostly made of wood, were long ago converted to tenements and settlement houses. Here the street is clearer, the result of a volunteer effort since the mid-1920s.
The two shopping blocks east of Garrison and south of Main are composed of shops housed in buildings older and less impressive than those along Church Street. Many are tightly crowded converted residences. The tall Georgian steeple of Christ Church dominates the skyline.
This neighborhood’s western edge is of older residences, growing very old near Boundary Street. Boundary north of Church Street is unlit; north of Main the street is sparsely populated.

Notable Locations

• Ace Alarms and Lock-Safes - 433 W Main Street
• Anderson's Furniture and Carpets - 353 W Main Street
• Annesley Curios and Antiques - 261 W Main St
• Arthur Murray School of Dance - 333 W Main St
• Bargain House Clothiers - 390 E Main St
• Beautiful Bouquets - Next to Christchurch Episcopal Church
• Bell Cafe - 132 E Main St
• Benson's Market - 276 E Main St
• B. F. Jones Hardware - 244 E Main St
• Bryant's Apothecary - 135 E Church St
• Caleb Markham, Locksmith - 206 E Main St
• Caselius's Fine Jewelers - 388 1/2 W Church St
• Chelsea House Apartments - 267 E Church St
• Christchurch Episcopal - 150 S Parsonage St
• Church Street Cafeteria - SW Corner Church and Garrison
• Cunning Pets - 321 W Main St
• The Docks
• E. Parrington, Gunsmith - 433 1/2 W Main Street
• E. Wade, Goldsmith - 478 W Church St
• Easterly Warehouses - N of River St, Garrison to Peabody
• Esso Service Station - NE Corner, Main and Garrison
• Evans Optometry - 237 W Main St
• Fenner Avery, Tobacconist - 185 W Main St
• F&M Trains and Toys - 233 E Church St
• Gilman's Office Supplies - 298 W Church St
• Gleason's Department Store - 268 W Church St
• Graham’s Lunch Cart - Next to Christchurch Episcopal Church
• Harden's Used Books - 226 E Main St
• Hattie's Boutique - 388 W Church St
• Hubbard Grade School - 622 W Church Street
• Jaywil's Book Store - 224 W Church St
• Kroger's - SW Corner of Main and Garrison
• Lucky Clover Cartage Co. - 200 W Main Street
• Malloy's Timepieces - 205 W Main St
• Manelli's Music Store - 321 1/2 W Main St
• Marsh's Confectionery - 172 W Church St
• Marwick's Theatrical Supply - 148 E Main St
• Misery Island - Missituk River
• Miss Jenny's Beauty Parlor - 288 W Church St
• The Missituk River
• New Jerusalem Cab Stand - S Garrison St and W Main St
• New Jerusalem Dairy - 559 W River Street
• New Jerusalem Gift Shop - 195 E Church St
• Old East Warehouses - North side of East Main St, West from Peabody
• Old West Warehouses - North side of Main Street, West from Garrison
• Old Wooded Graveyard
• Pike's Haberdashery - 338 W Church St
• Public Schools Building - 601 W. Main Street
• The Radio & Television Center - 205 1/2 W Main St
• Sears-Roebuck Catalog Store - 168 W Church St
• Stewart's Caravan - 211 E Church St
• Taranowski's Bakery II - 135 1/2 E Church St
• University Shoes - 310 W Church St
• The University Shop - 224 1/2 W Church St
• The Unnamable House - 188 N Boundary Street
• Varsity News - SE Corner, Main and Garrison
• Ver Hoven Gallery of Art - 451 W Main Street
• Walter's Optics and Fancy Toys - 185 1/2 W Main St
• The West Church - 561 W Main Street
• Woolworths 5 and 10 -110 W Church St

Maps

• 

  Merchant District Color

Type

Neighbourhood

Included Locations

• Ace Alarms and Lock-Safes - 433 W Main Street
• Anderson's Furniture and Carpets - 353 W Main Street
• Annesley Curios and Antiques - 261 W Main S
• Arthur Murray School of Dance - 333 W Main St
• B. F. Jones Hardware - 244 E Main St
• Bargain House Clothiers - 390 E Main St
• Beautiful Bouquets - Next to Christchurch Episcopal Church
• Bell Cafe - 132 E Main St
• Benson's Market - 276 E Main St
• Bryant's Apothecary - 135 E Church St
• Caleb Markham, Locksmith - 206 E Main St
• Caselius's Fine Jewelers - 388 1/2 W Church St
• Chelsea House Apartments - 267 E Church St
• Christchurch Episcopal - 150 S Parsonage St
• Church Street Cafeteria - SW Corner Church and Garrison
• Cunning Pets - 321 W Main St
• E. Parrington, Gunsmith - 433 1/2 W Main Street
• E. Wade, Goldsmith - 478 W Church St
• Easterly Warehouses - N of River St, Garrison to Peabody
• Esso Service Station - NE Corner, Main and Garrison
• Evans Optometry - 237 W Main St
• F&M Trains and Toys - 233 E Church St
• Fenner Avery, Tobacconist - 185 W Main St
• Gilman's Office Supplies - 298 W Church St
• Gleason's Department Store - 268 W Church St
• Graham’s Lunch Cart - Next to Christchurch Episcopal Church
• Harden's Used Books - 226 E Main St
• Hattie's Boutique - 388 W Church St
• Hubbard Grade School - 622 W Church Street
• Jaywil's Book Store - 224 W Church St
• Kroger's - SW Corner of Main and Garrison
• Lucky Clover Cartage Co. - 200 W Main Street
• Malloy's Timepieces - 205 W Main St
• Manelli's Music Store - 321 1/2 W Main St
• Marsh's Confectionery - 172 W Church St
• Marwick's Theatrical Supply - 148 E Main St
• Misery Island - Missituk River
• Miss Jenny's Beauty Parlor - 288 W Church St
• New Jerusalem Cab Stand - S Garrison St and W Main St
• New Jerusalem Dairy - 559 W River Street
• New Jerusalem Gift Shop - 195 E Church St
• Old East Warehouses - North side of East Main St, West from Peabody
• Old West Warehouses - North side of Main Street, West from Garrison
• Old Wooded Graveyard
• Pike's Haberdashery - 338 W Church St
• Public Schools Building - 601 W. Main Street
• Sears-Roebuck Catalog Store - 168 W Church St
• Stewart's Caravan - 211 E Church St
• Taranowski's Bakery II - 135 1/2 E Church St
• The Docks
• The Radio & Television Center - 205 1/2 W Main St
• The University Shop - 224 1/2 W Church St
• The Unnamable House - 188 N Boundary Street
• The West Church - 561 W Main Street
• University Shoes - 310 W Church St
• Varsity News - SE Corner, Main and Garrison
• Ver Hoven Gallery of Art - 451 W Main Street
• Walter's Optics and Fancy Toys - 185 1/2 W Main St
• Woolworths 5 and 10 -110 W Church St