A five-story townhouse at 123 Lexington Avenue near 28th Street doesn’t appear to have much of a history, aside from being the home of Kalustyan's International Specialty Food Store for the past 76 years.

Yet something pretty big happened there more than 60 years before Kalustyan's even opened. There’s a difficult to read plaque, positioned behind glass, to prove what happened in the building 140 years ago. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Chester A. Arthur was inaugurated in his home at 123 Lexington Avenue in Rose Hill, Manhattan

  • He was Vice President at the time, and became President after the death of President James Garfield

  • Garfield succumbed to injuries suffered two months earlier when he was shot by a disgruntled office seeker

  • The only other Presidential Inauguration in New York City was the first one: George Washington took the oath of office at the old Federal Hall in 1789

On September 19th, 1881, President James Garfield died from injuries suffered two months earlier when he was shot by a disgruntled office seeker. Hours later, at around 2 A.M., Vice President Chester A. Arthur was administered the oath of office on the first floor of the building, which was his home.

To get some perspective, I talked with Lily Wong, assistant curator with the New York-Historical Society, in their Oval Office replica, which is part of an exhibit on the presidents.

Chester Arthur's inauguration is one of only two ever in New York City. The other may have been a bit more memorable. It was the first one. George Washington, at Old Federal Hall near Wall Street. At the time, New York City was the nation’s capital. 

"Definitely, it's not a well-known that an oath of office was taken in New York City,” said Wong, who added, “Some people might know about Washington, but very few people know about Chester Arthur and certainly not where it took place.”

The Old Federal Hall was demolished (there is a newer version there now) so the building at 123 Lexington Avenue is the only building remaining that actually hosted a presidential inauguration in New York City. 

Inside, Kalustyan's Operations Manager Dona Abramson says they are well aware of the history of the building and that sometimes it even brings in customers.

 

“Sometimes they come to see the plaque and then they say, 'Oh what's here next store?' and then they engage one of us and say, 'Oh did you know,' and we are like, 'Yeah, we know that,'" said Abramson.

I asked if that gets annoying after a while, but she said absolutely not. They embrace the questions and the customers. So beware, a visit to the site of President Arthur's inauguration, could cost you a few dollars.