George Klerlein photograph and ephemera collection

George A. Klerlein (1870-1945) was the proprietor of cigar and confectionery stores in Baltimore, Maryland, during the first three decades of the 20th century. The first store owned by Klerlein was located at 730 North Broadway Street and primarily sold cigars and other tobacco products. This location operated until approximately 1910 when the store relocated to 1600 North Wolfe Street. With the move to North Wolfe Street, Klerlein’s business expanded to include the sale of confectionery and household goods, including bottled Coca-Cola and toilet paper.

The area surrounding Broadway Street, where Klerlein’s first cigar store was located, was a social and cultural hub for both recently settled and established immigrant populations. These immigrant communities were largely composed of individuals originating from modern day Germany and Eastern Europe. George A. Klerlein’s mother was a German immigrant and he was connected to the local Bohemian population through his marriage to Anna Rochlitz Sima (1864-1939). Anna Sima was the widow of Edward Sima (1863-1907), both of whom emigrated from the present day Czech Republic.

The relocation of Klerlein’s store to 1600 North Wolfe Street reflected broader trends in demographic change and the resulting construction. The Baltimore East/South Clifton Park district, in which the second store was located, underwent rapid expansion between 1870 and 1930, largely focused on producing residential housing for Baltimore’s expanding population. The district was characterized by simple row houses, with little development of commercial properties. The most notable exception to this residentially focused construction was the inclusion of the corner store, which subsequently became a neighborhood institution. Klerlein’s store was one of several corner stores in the area that provided local residents with a broad range of goods and services. For the majority of consumer needs and employment, neighborhood residents would have to commute to areas of the city with higher rates of commerce, utilizing new modes of transportation including the streetcar system that passed through the neighborhood. Today the historic district of Baltimore/East/South Clifton Park is largely enclosed within the Broadway East and South Clifton Park neighborhoods.

Dr. Hazen G. Chamberlain (1893-1968) was a graduate of the medical school at Johns Hopkins University. Originally from Cuba, New York, Chamberlain married Martha Sima (1903-1968), daughter of Edward and Anna Sima and stepdaughter of George A. Klerlein, in 1922. He spent a significant amount of time at 1600 North Wolfe Street, where Martha Sima resided, during his time at Johns Hopkins and following their marriage.