J&R Music NYC history

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and, at the time, he was the youngest person to have done so.

From Audio to Office Products and Computers: 1971-89

Rachelle Friedman started J&R's catalog business in 1974, and it soon proved a big success.

By 1979, their record catalog was so large that the Friedmans expanded to 23 Park Row.

Accordingly, in 1989 J&R moved its computers and videos from the lower level of the main store to 15,000 square feet in 15 Park Row, a stationery supply building two doors distant.

The grand opening of what was named J&R Computer World was held in 1990.

J&R celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1991 with a two-day cruise that brought all of the company's 400-odd employees together.

In 1992 J&R purchased another building on Park Row to convert into a separate audiovisual store, housing about 25,000 square feet of hardware.

In the Sunday Times Styles section, Liz Logan reported in 1993 that she visited J&R Office World--the home-office store--looking for a telephone answering machine.

A cosponsor of the 1995 world chess championship in New York City, J&R reported strong demand and increased sales in products directly connected to the event, including all chess software, CD-ROM software, and self-standing chess games.

In the fall of 1998 J&R's retail outlets were situated in eight buildings that occupied most of Park Row.

J&R's plan called for a six- or seven-story building with 50,000 square feet of space, to be constructed in its place and to open in 1999.

Jeffrey Tarlo was a J&R classical salesman from 2001 until he was laid off in December.

Restructuring can be costly and time-consuming, but she said she also felt a “sentimental reluctance” to relinquish their store’s physical presence. (In 2011, the store lobbied the local community board, unsuccessfully, for an honorary “J&R Row” street sign.)

She’s the famed “R” in J&R Music and Computer World, the Fulton Square superstore on Park Row which, being located just a few blocks from the World Trade Center, survived the economic devastation following 9/11 before closing in 2014.