Sam Ash Leaving Iconic Location

ASH TO ASHES: The legendary Sam Ash suite of music instrument stores on W. 48th St. will be shuttered in favor of a new location at 333 W. 34t h St. The family-owned retailer has a half-dozen cozy, old-fashioned stores on both sides of W. 48th between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. The first to leave will be the brass, winds and drums shops on the north side, said Paul Ash, a son of company founders Sam and Rose, but all will eventually be moved to the new location. Ash said, “48th Street is a very important street in the history of music. Once there were 30 different businesses—music stores, practice studios, repairmen. One by one they’ve disappeared.” Sam Ash’s new home—including 20,000 sq. ft. at sidewalk level and10,000 sq. ft. in the basement—was once used as a Merrill Lynch cafeteria. Sam Ash was founded in Brooklyn in 1924. The retailer opened its first small store on W. 48th St., then the heart of the city’s music industry, in the late ‘60s. It expanded its presence on Music Row piece by piece over the years. It now has stores on the block selling guitars, woodwinds, brass instruments, drums, keyboards, sheet music and every kind of accessory. (7/24p)