 King Karol logo, 1971 | |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder |
|
| Defunct | sometime between 1987 and 1993 |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 7 |
Area served | Manhattan |
| Products | Albums |
King Karol was a New York City, New York-based record store chain founded by Ben Karol [1] and Phil King in 1952. [2]
Lasting through at least 1987, [3] and defunct for some time by 1993, [4] King Karol was one of New York's "largest [and most] comprehensive" music stores. [5]
Aside from its main branch at 126 West 42nd Street in Manhattan, [5] King Karol by mid-1971 had outlets at 460 West 42nd Street, at the corner of 10th Avenue; 940 Third Avenue, at East 57th Street; 609 Fifth Avenue, at 49th Street, in the KLM Building; and, in Flushing, Queens, at 40-46 Main Street. [6] Later, the chain opened at least one other location, at 1521 Third Avenue, at East 86th Street, [7] and, by mid-1975, at 1500 Broadway, at West 43rd Street. [8]
During the early days of the firm, a store was located at 111 West 42nd Street, at 6th Avenue, from sometime before 1954 [9] [10] until 1976 [11] when it was replaced by the 126 West 42nd Street location. During most of the 1950s, this was the sole store. In the 1960s and early 1970s, this was the flagship store of the chain.
After 1976, the 126 West 42nd Street location [11] served as the flagship until it closed sometime around the beginning of 1985. [12] [13]
During the 1960s, stores were also located at 254 West 34th Street (1961 [14] –1966 [15] ); 153 West 42nd Street (1961 [14] –1961 [16] ); 48 West 48th Street (1965 [17] –1966 [15] ); and 444 West 42nd Street (1966 [18] –1966 [15] ).
During the 1970s, stores were also located at 940 Third Avenue, at 57th Street (1969 [19] –1980 [20] ); 460 West 42nd Street, at 10th Avenue, in the West Side Airlines Terminal Building (1970. [21] [22] –1977 [23] ); in Flushing, Queens, at 40-46 Main Street (1970 [6] [24] –1980 [20] ); 609 Fifth Avenue, at 49th Street, in the KLM Building (1971 [25] –1978 [26] ); 1500 Broadway, at West 43rd Street in the National General Building, Times Square (1972 [27] [28] –after 1987 [3] ); 7 West 48th Street (1977 [23] –1981 [29] ); and 1521 Third Avenue, at 86th Street (1979 [30] –after 1987 [3] ).
In 1981, Ben Karol experimented with record album rentals, similar to the then-emerging market for videocassette rental, after having studied successful record rental systems in Canada. He told an interviewer, "The record industry isn't that great these days. You sit around and think of ways to stimulate it, try to come up with ideas based on what similar product is doing. ... [T]he whole video tape business is now going rental". [31]
A year later, in 1982, the chain had four stores and began to include a video tape rental service that was provided by an outside vendor. [32] [33] Ben Karol said 1987 he subleases the video department to an outside vendor saying that he is "still a records man". [3]
Toward the end of 1982, the chain was reduced to three stores and the owners King and Karol were considering the possible sale of the remaining. [34] Around this time, Tower Records was building a 34,000-square foot superstore in Manhattan [35] [36] and locally owned Sam Goody had recently sold itself to the parent of Musicland [37] which made it possible for Sam Goody to expand nationally. King died shortly afterward, in 1983. [2] By late 1984, Tower made it very difficult for small independents to compete. [12]
By 1987, the company was down to two stores, from seven at its height. [3] Ben Karol died in 1993 after a long illness. [38]
King Karol also operated a mail order record business through P.O. Box 629, Times Square Station, New York, New York 10036. [39]
The King Karol branch at 460 West 42nd Street, with its lit sign in a nighttime scene, is visible during the bus-chase sequence in the 1973 New York City police film Badge 373 , immediately before the bus crashes into an Army/Navy store. The name King Karol can be seen in the 2016 film Ghostbusters during the climactic scenes in Times Square when billboard advertisements revert to defunct brands.
The Times Square–42nd Street station is a major New York City Subway station complex located under Times Square, at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh Avenue, and Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan. The complex allows free transfers between the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle, the BMT Broadway Line, the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the IRT Flushing Line, as well as to the IND Eighth Avenue Line a block west at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal. The complex is served by the 1, 2, 3, 7, N and Q trains at all times, the W train during weekdays; the R and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; and <7> trains during rush hours in the peak direction. A free passageway from the shuttle platform to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station, served by the 7, <7>, B, D, F, <F>, and M trains, is open during the day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.
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The 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station is an underground New York City Subway station complex, consisting of stations on the IRT Flushing Line and IND Sixth Avenue Line. Located at 42nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the 7, D and F trains at all times, the B and M trains on weekdays, and the <7> and <F> trains during rush hours in the peak direction. A free passageway from the IND platforms to the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station, served by the 1, 2, 3, 7, <7>, A, C, E, N, Q, R, W, and S trains is open during the day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.
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The Candler Building is a skyscraper at the southern end of Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located at 220 West 42nd Street, with a secondary address of 221 West 41st Street, the 24-story building was designed by the firm of Willauer, Shape and Bready in the Spanish Renaissance style. It was constructed between 1912 and 1913 for Coca-Cola Company owner Asa Griggs Candler. The Candler Building was one of the last skyscrapers built in New York City before the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which required setbacks. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
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390 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Gorham Building, is an Italian Renaissance Revival palazzo-style building at Fifth Avenue and West 36th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. It was designed by McKim, Mead & White, with Stanford White as the partner in charge, and built in 1904–1906. The building was named for the Gorham Manufacturing Company, a major manufacturer of sterling and silverplate, and was a successor to the former Gorham Manufacturing Company Building at 889 Broadway. The building features bronze ornamentation and a copper cornice.
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Phil King, who founded King Karol Records with Ben Karol in 1952, died Jan. 18 of cancer. He was 66.
King Karol: Some might call him the patriarch of Gotham record retailing. At 72, Ben Karol has been selling records for 38 years. He has two King Karol stores now: one on Third Avenue and another at Times Square. ...at one point, a seven-store chain. Both current stores are combos, but Karol subleases the video departments.
New York's two other largest comprehensive stores [in addition to Tower Records are] J&R Music (732-8600), at 23 Park Row, and the main King Karol (354-6880), at 126 West 42d Street....
King Karol's Record Shop, 111 W. 42nd St. near 6th Ave.
King Karol Inc., 111 West 42nd Street.
Mail orders to: King Karol, P.O. Box 629 Times Square Station, New York 10036; America's most completely stocked record stores; 1500 Broadway at 43rd Street; 609 Fifth Ave.; 111 West 42 St.; 460 West 42 St.; 940 Third Ave.; Flushing, Queens: 40-46 Main St.; Coming Soon - Our largest, best stocked, most attractive store ever! Watch it being built - 126 West 42 Street at 6th Avenue.
"It's going to have an impact on every store within 50 mles of here," said Ben Karol, president of King Karol Records, which operates three stores in Manhattan. "You can't compete with them. They're going to dominate." Karol added that Tower is a good reason part of the reason that he will soon have to close his 10,000-square-foot warehouse store on West 42nd Street.
At all King Karol stores, America's most completely stocked record stores; 126 West 42 St.; 1500 Broadway at 43rd St.; 1521 Third Avenue at 86th Street.
King Karol Record Shops; 3 convenient locations: Main Store, 111 W. 42nd St. nr. 6th Ave.; 153 W. 42nd St. off B'way; 254 W. 34th St. bet. 7th & 8th Ave.
King Karol Records, 3 convenient locations, 444 West 42nd Street (Between 9th & 10th Aves.), 111 West 42nd Street (Between 6th & 7th Aves.); Terminal Hudson Store, 48 West 48th Street (Between 5th & 6th Aves.
King Karol Record Shops; 3 convenient locations: Main Store, 111 W. 42nd St. nr, 6th Ave.; 153 W. 42nd St. off B'way; 254 W. 34th St. bet. 7th & 8th Ave.
King Karol Records, Main Store, 111 West 42nd Street; 254 West 34th Street; Terminal Hudson Store, 48 West 48th Street.
King Karol Records, 3 convenient locations, 444 West 42nd Street (Between 9th & 10th Aves.); 111 West 42nd Street (Between 6th & 7th Aves.); Terminal Hudson Store, 48 West 48th Street (Between 5th & 6th Aves.
Direct mail orders to: P.O. Box 629, Times Square Station, New York 10036; East Side: 940 Third Avenue at 57th Street; West Side: 111 West 42nd St. at 6th Avenue.
Mail orders to King Karol, P.O. Box 629 Times Square Station, New York 10036; America's most completely stocked record stores; New Store at 1521 Third Avenue at 86th Street; 126 West 42 St.; 7 West 48th Street; 1500 Broadway at 43rd St.; 460 West 42 St.; 940 Third Ave.; Flushing, Queens: 40-46 Main St.
King Karol Records & Tapes; New location 460 West 42nd Street corner 10th Ave.; Direct all mail orders to: King Karol Records, P.O. Box 629, Times Square Station, New York 10036; West Side: 460 West 42nd St. at 10th Avenue; East Side: 940 Third Avenue at 57th Street; Midtown: 111 West 42nd St. at 6th Avenue.
Ben Karol has opened a third King Karol store in New York, in the West Side Air Terminal Building.
Mail orders to King Karol, P.O. Box 629, Times Square Station, New York 10036; America's most completely stocked record stores; 126 West 42 St.; 609 Fifth Ave.; 1500 Broadway; 460 West 42 St.; 940 Third Ave.; Flushing, Queens: 40-46 Main St.; Our New completely stocked store is now open at 7 West 48th Street (a few steps west of Fifth Avenue).
King Karol Record & Tape Shops; Direct all mail orders to: King Karol Records, P.O. Box 629, Times Square Station, New York 10036; Bargain Outlet: 460 West 42nd St. at 10th Avenue; East Side: 940 Third Avenue at 57th Street; Midtown: 111 West 42nd St. at 6th Avenue; Opening Soon, Another King Karol at 40-46 Main St., Flushing Queens.
111 West 42nd (6th Ave.); 940 Third Ave. (57th St.); 460 West 42nd (10th Ave.); Flushing-Queens, 40-46 Main Street; Flash! Our new store, 609 Fifth Ave. (corner 49th Street/KLM Bldg.), Will be open July 1.
America's most completely stocked record stores; 126 West 42 St.; 1500 Broadway; 609 Fifth Ave.; 940 Third Ave.; 460 West 42 St.; Flushing, Queens: 40-46 Main St.; Our New completely stocked store at 7 West 48th is now open.
Use Ad As Order Form. Check Items Wanted And Send Mail Orders To: King Karol Records, P.O. Box 629, Times Square Station, New York 10036; 609 Fifth Avenue (49th St. KLM Bldg.); 940 Third Avenue at 57th Street; 111 West 42nd St.; 460 West 52nd St.; Flushing, Queens, 40-46 Main Street.
...in the five-store operation in the metropolitan N.Y. area. A sixth will open Oct. 1 here in the National General Building.
Mail orders to King Karol, P.O. Box 629 Times Square Station, New York 10108; America's most completely stocked record stores; 126 West 42 St.; 1500 Broadway at 43rd St.; 7 West 48th Street; 1521 Third Avenue at 86th Street.
Send mail orders to King Karol, P.O. Box 629 Times Square Station, New York 10036; America's most completely stocked record stores; 126 West 42 St.; 1500 Broadway; 7 West 48th St.; 940 Third Ave.; 460 West 42 St.; Flushing, Queens: 40-46 Main St.; Visit our newest store at 1521 Third Avenue at 86th Street.
King Karol, the four unit Manhattan chain, will end its holdout as a prerecorded and blank home videotape in several weeks. According to Ben Karol, co-owner of the company, Win Records & Tape Tape here will rack the unit with 300 best-selling tapes, mostly in the VHS format.
Two of Ben Karol's three King Karol retail units here will have a firm footing in the home video market by the end of the month. Karol says his third unit is expected to move into home video around the first of the year.
After more than 30 years on the New York music retail scene, Ben Karol and Phil King are entertaining offers to sell their King Karol operation. ...Karol, who co-founded the now three-store unit with King in 1952. At its peak three years ago, Karol and King operated seven stores in the New York metropolitan area. Since the, four units have been phased out, including a location in Flushing and Manhattan locations on 42nd St. and Ninth Ave.; 57th St. and Third Ave.; and 48th between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
Ben Karol, in his late 70s, of a long illness, July 22 in New York.