Byram Self Storage in Port Chester, N.Y., will celebrate 20 years of business and a rich family history this weekend with a community party including free refreshments, music, food, face-painting, a bouncy house, raffles and giveaways. The event will take place at the Higland Street facility on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., or the same time on Sunday if it rains.
The building that houses Byram Self Storage dates back to the 1880s when it was th site of Abendroth Brothers Foundry. What is now the facility-management office used to serve as the foundry dispatch.
During World War II, the site was operated by EMCO Porcelain Enamel Co., which made ammunition boxes, ship lockers and relay boxes for the U.S. Post Service. After the war, the company made steel cabinets for homes. Also in the building for many years was Bantam Toys and another toy manufacturer.
Mortimer Patchen, whose parents formed EMCO in 1938, created Byram Self Storage in 1992. The family had acquired all of the land and buildings that had been previously owned by Abendroth Brothers, which went from Willett Avenue to Highland Street and Abendroth Avenue to the Byram River.
Patchen's children later joined him in the business, which is now run by Robin Klein, Jeffrey Patchen, Kip Patchen and Mortimer Patchen.
The Byram building, which has more than 900 storage units of various sizes, has undergone a facelift since its factory days and has been repainted red, white and blue.
