After nearly seventy years of business, independent family-owned Stein Opticians has closed its doors for the last time. Operating in the Harcourt/Camden Street area since 1944, the shop was opened by Dublin-born Mendel Stein who was born in 1915 and passed away in 2000.
Like many of Dublin’s first large wave of Jewish emigrants, Mendel’s family settled in the ‘Little Jerusalem’ area of Portobello/South Circular Road. By 1911, the family were living in 15 Victoria Street. Harry (29), a draper, and his wife Mary (29) lived with their two young children and Harry’s brother Isaac (35), also a draper. The Mendel’s employed a 55-year-old female servant named Mary-Anne McCormack.
Mendel, who was born four years after the census was taken, became heavily involved in sports and the scouting movement as a young man. In 1945, he established the Apollo gym with Paddy Whelan. Their membership spanned a cross-section of Irish society. He was also active with the Dublin Maccabi Sports Club, Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and used to train daily right up until he was well into his 80s.
As featured on this blog last year, Mendel’s ophthalmic optician practice at 36 Harcourt Road became one of the most popular opticians in the city. Customers included Michael MacLiammoir, Hilton Edwards, Harry Kernoff and others at the heart of the Dublin art and theatre scene.
An epic David vs. Goliath fight broke out in 1983 when developers wanted to demolish his practice to make way for a new office block. From the earlier article it was noted that :
While other property owners and lessees of buildings due for demolition accepted the substantial compensation, Mendel decided that he wasn’t going to give in so easily. He said that he would not leave until they gave him a new shop in the immediate vicinity and a guarantee that his (beautiful) shopfront would be preserved.
Articles on the campaign from the time period can be viewed here.
Original architectural drawing for Stein’s new shop on Camden Market. Credit – Amelia Stein
Spurred on by local support, Mendel held out and eventually received a guarantee that the shop would be taken down intact and re-erected at a new location in nearby Grantham Street off Camden Street. It traded here for the next thirty years.
Stein Opticians, 1983. Flickr User – David Denny.
This shop eventually closed its doors for the last time on Christmas week 2013. Mendel’s daughter Amelia, who worked with her dad for many years and ran the business since his passing in 2000, now plans to concentrate on her photography. She told me that she would be referring her customers to Fitzpatricks opticians in Terenure. One of the few last remaining independent opticians in the city.
I went down on Thursday 19th December to take some pictures and to mark what is an end to an era.
Front of shop. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
Interior. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
Second interior shot. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
Original eye chart. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
Optical instrument. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
Sign from first floor. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
Original Eye now in storage. Credit – Sam McGrath (CHTM!)
