Self storage facilities are not all the same
The location of…
S. Michelsohn & Co. at 801 Thirteenth Avenue, Belmar, New Jersey was established circa 1920 as a purveyor of coal, feed and building materials.
Prior to this…
Solomon Michelsohn operated West Belmar Motel with his brother Sam, and was a wholesaler of beer and alcohol. They bottled their own beer in a barn located behind the Motel, located at Sixteenth Avenue and Route 71. Prohibition forced the brothers to enter into another type of business, and they purchased the current location at 801 Thirteenth Avenue & Railroad from W. Newman & Sons.
Trains would deliver…
coal via a train track spur over a concrete tressel and dump the coal in bins for delivery to customers or pick up at the yard. The original scale and payment window along with advertisements are still in the front building.
There were multiple…
successors to the business over the years, then Sterner’s Lumber purchased the yard in 1957. They operated the yard as part of their lumber business up until Sterner Lumber was sold to Jaeger Lumber. They retained the property at 801 Thirteenth Avenue and rented spaces and parking to local contractors. The Sterner billboard is still on the building retaining the still current phone number 681-1900.
In 2017 …
the property was acquired by Harimax Real Estate, LLC and is being developed into self-storage for commercial and residential users. Great care has been taken to make the property functional yet retain its character from an era of simpler times. Feel free to check out the artifacts and S. Michelsohn bottles in our office area located in the front building. The S. Michelsohn & Co. sign still adorns the office building looking as it did in 1920.