4: Merchant District Information

400–499

This narrow two-block stretch lies on low, level ground near the river. Around 75 percent of Arkham’s retail stores are located on Church and Main Streets. The area is bounded by Boundary Street to the west, South Peabody Street to the east, the river to the north, and Church Street to the south. In other places, people would ordinarily call such an area “downtown,” but, in Arkham, they instead say “Goin’ to Merchant” since Downtown is a neighborhood north of the river
The heart of the district is the long block bordered by Main, Garrison, Church, and West Streets, where stand two- to four-story early 19th century brick row buildings. W Church Street, from Boundary to Garrison, is cobblestoned (originally laid down in 1773). Alleys, barely wide enough for skilled truck drivers to get in and out of, provide access to the service courts in the rear of the shops and buildings. These dingy and usually poorly lit pathways and courts are more often than not cluttered with crates, packing materials, and machines that don’t work but are too good to haul away.
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 Christchurch Episcopal dominates the western end’s skyline, while the old West Church can be found toward the eastern end of the neighborhood.
Several rows of early 18th century Georgian-style warehouses line River Street. These latter mostly stand unused, though at least one serves surreptitiously as a bootlegger depot. The blocks of old warehouses east of Garrison are mostly made of wood, a few of these were (long ago) converted to tenements—some destitute or poor folk still reside in these—but mostly the warehouse buildings are decaying and all but abandoned. The warehouses west of Garrison tend to be newer (early 19th century) and are brick built. While some of these are currently empty, local businesses use the rest for storage. The Lucky Clover Cartage Co. leases one of these units. Older residences and buildings line the neighborhood’s western edge, near Boundary Street, and beyond those is Hangman’s Hill and the Old Wooded Graveyard.