Marx H. Lazarus
Moses Levy built this three-story commercial building after the Great Fire of 1838, which also destroyed Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue nearby on Hasell Street, and his family held it as a rental property for sixty years. The upper floors were designed as large open halls that were used by many of Charleston’s social and fraternal clubs, including the Aldine Society, a Jewish men’s social club fostered by KKBE’s Rabbi Barnett Elzas. The ground-floor retail space was occupied by a series of successful businesses.
In 1909 Marx H. Lazarus, an established hardware merchant, bought the building from the Levy family and moved his store here from 267 King Street. A 1912 business guide declared that “in Charleston they say that Lazarus is to hardware what gold is to silver,” and M. H. Lazarus Hardware remained a fixture on this corner for nearly half a century. After the death of Marx Lazarus, Harold Simmons and a partner bought the building and continued operations as M. H. Lazarus Co. The business relocated to Charleston Heights (North Charleston) in 1957.
