SHARE

Pearl River Man Brings Business, Historic Tin Man To New Location

In a modest brick building behind the Starbucks in downtown Hillsdale, N.J., stands a work of art.

Glen Mills and Bill Gesner flank the tin man in their Hillsdale sheet metal shop.

Glen Mills and Bill Gesner flank the tin man in their Hillsdale sheet metal shop.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
Tiny Tin stands over 6 feet.

Tiny Tin stands over 6 feet.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
Bill Gesner holds a photo of another tin statue, Marla.

Bill Gesner holds a photo of another tin statue, Marla.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
The business makes the sheet metal for heating and air conditioning systems.

The business makes the sheet metal for heating and air conditioning systems.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine

And it stands more than 6 feet tall.

"Tiny Tin" – a statue made of sheet metal – “is like a mascot” to Bi-State Heating & Air Conditioning, Bill Gesner, who co-owns business, told Daily Voice.

Gesner, of Pearl River, said he suspects the tin man was made in the 50’s. He was constructed by Irving Dominick, who made many similar tin statues, he said, thumbing through a scrapbook of old photos and newspaper clippings.

One of Dominick's statues named “Marla” now belongs to the Smithsonian, he said.

Decades ago, when Gesner and his partner Glen Mills purchased the supplies for their sheet metal business from Dominick, Tiny Tin was part of the deal, he explained.

“The tin man came with the business,” he said.

Before moving the business to Hillsdale, it was located in Spring Valley for about 20 years, he said.

There, “Tiny Tin sat outside all the time, and everybody went by, and they called the shop the tin man shop,” he said.

Employee Laura Brown believes the statue is gaining popularity in its current location too.

“I live in Hillsdale. I do think that people are totally aware of the tin man,” she said.

to follow Daily Voice Clarkstown and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE