Let's Make a Deal in N.Y.

The doors at Mark McDonald Ltd. originally adorned a 1930s-era movie theater in nearby Saugerties, N.Y.





From the Washington Post
By Annie Groer
Sunday, September 7, 2008; Page P06

Make no mistake about it. You go to Hudson, N.Y., a slowly gentrifying, semi-shabby city of roughly 7,000 souls, to feather your nest.

Sure, you can admire splendid Hudson River and Catskill Mountain vistas 125 miles north of Manhattan, check out four centuries of architecture, eat and drink well in a Starbucks-free community and even take in local culture.

But the main draw, which has been evolving over 20 years, is antique furniture, art, rugs, sculpture, books, funky tchotchkes and, increasingly, new home furnishings. Feel the need for some George III or Louis XVI chairs? A Murano glass chandelier? Japanese erotica, garden sculpture, 1970s psychedelic barware, elaborate quilts, primitive paintings? How about decorating advice on pulling this stuff together?

It can all be yours along an eight-block stretch of Warren Street and a few adjacent byways. The mile-long main drag boasts about 60 antiques dealers, whose merchandising style ranges from meticulously curated to annoyingly jumbled, and 100-plus flea-market-style vendors sharing space in two large old buildings nearby.

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REMEMBERING .. 7 YEARS LATER

When I first arrived in New York City, in the early 1960's, I was interviewed and employed by a long-gone prestigious Wall Street firm, Eastman Dillion, Union Securities & Co. The man who hired me was handsome, bright and incisive, only a few years older than me. He became my "mentor", his speciality, the beginning phenomena of mutual funds as a tool for investing. It was a fascinating experience for me!

In recent weeks, I sought to find out his current association, his whereabouts. It is with great sadness that a search on Google revealed that he was among the thousands who died on September 11, 2001. He was reportedly in his office on the 92nd floor of a World Trade Center tower that fateful morning. I regret it took me seven years to learn of this tragedy.

My very belated condolences to his wife Marianne and his children. I will always remember the role Robert Cruikshank played in my life.