1 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
2 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
3 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
4 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
5 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
6 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
7 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
8 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
9 of 9
Kevin A. Roberts
Founded a century ago, New Market Hardware Co. (4064 Laclede, 314-371-1720, newmarkethardware.com) fell into Dutch Schneider’s hands when his brother-in-law left to seek his fortune in the Venetian-blind business. The brother-in-law made millions, but Dutch had fun. And now his grandson, Steve Schneider, is modernizing—sort of.
He’s brought in scratch-and-dents, glaring-white washers and dryers that sell for a song. But he still uses the old scale (its most recent patent date was 1915) to weigh nails and grass seed. He stocks new hardware, but keeps it in the back room. Out front, walls are lined with old wooden drawers, the top tiers reached by a rolling wooden ladder.
One alcove holds small bottles of old-fashioned cleaning supplies, because all of these young people moving to the Central West End do occasionally clean. Another alcove contains the key cutter (and big iron skeleton keys that’ll fit most closets in the private-place mansions). A local artist uses the miscut keys in his sculptures. Antique-car collectors come in to buy vials of banned liquid mercury for their headlamps. “I think the early ’70s was when we were supposed to stop selling it,” remarks store manager Todd Lucks.
The Muny, a regular customer, borrows the store’s 1920s wheelbarrow as a prop. The St. Louis Blues, the Saint Louis Zoo, the universities, the hospitals, and Bellerive Country Club are all cutomers. New Market can’t beat The Home Depot’s neon prices, but the store delivers, customizes, provides handyman services, and will track down anything you need, at no extra charge: drawer gliders for an antique armoire, a remote control the size of a Broadway marquee… It’s a reminder of the days when hardware stores helped you fix your life.
