Herman Spiegel - Trentonian's Own

Trnetonian's owncame to Trenton in 1932 after marrying Ida Alexander of the Trenton Harry Alexander family. he rented a garage on 33 Market St. and opened a small maple shop which he ran for many years. When the old Morton house which Harry Alexander, his wife's father, had lost during the depression came up for sale Herman purchased it and converted the rooms from the Morton House into model rooms for his furniture showroom. Herman’s son Irwin joined the business in 1951 after graduating from Rutgers University. On the corner Herman rented to his brother in law Sully Alexander and his drug store. In 1954 Herman rented Mopar Auto parts on Warren Street from the Himmelstein family and there he opened a second furniture store handling only contemporary furniture and it was called Modern Manor. Herman’s youngest son, also a Rutgers graduate joined the firm In 1954 a furniture store featuring all modern furniture was unheard of. Herb left the firm in 1956 to become an Air Force navigator and returned to run the contemporary showroom in 1959. After being condemned for a Trenton urban removal project in 1961 Modern Manor moved to the old Rifkin and Grannick building on State and  Willow streets in center city Trenton. In 1968 the Spiegel family combined its traditional showroom and its modern store on Route one in Lawrenceville. The route one showroom closed in 1984. Herman Spiegel furniture closed its doors forever after 52 years. 

Herb Spiegel 

Dad came to Trenton with about $20 dollars in his pocket!!

He went to The Trenton Savings Fund Society after being turned down for ANY no down payment loans. A young banker named Bill Faherty gave him a loan on a handshake with the assistance of a young lawyer named Henry Schragger. The Schraggers and Spiegels have been close friends and our lawyers ever since.  In the mid 1930's, Herman Spiegel Furniture had a disastrous fire and Herman decided he would reopen 

The day before he opened hew was visited by a Trenton lamp manufacturer, Mutual Sunset on Lalor and Hancock Streets. The lamp company owner, Morris Thau asked my dad how come you have no lamps in the showroom. My dad told him he had run out of money. The next day the sidewalk of his Market street store was loaded with Mutual Sunset lamps and the Bill came one year later to see the success of selling his lamps. To our closing days, we always carried Mutual Sunset lamps.  In fact, they made Lenox Lamps and Spiegels were the first company in the U.S. to sell lamps from Lenox!!

Lou Alexander was my mother’s brother. He was my dad's "go to guy". Need a mattress for tonight Louie got it to you!  Nice guy. My dad had to regroup when he died at age 51 in 1951.