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Page 14 PHOENIX April 25,1974Fulton St. is Home for Gage &Tollner Restaurateur-ResidentBY EILEEN BLAIRIn many ways, Gage & Tollner may be considered the mascot of the downtown redevelopment movement. Established in 1879, the award-winning seafood restaurant and steak and chop house on Fulton Street has witnessed the growth of that commercial thoroughfare from the days of horsedrawn carriages and electric trolleys to today, when an enclosed, climate-controlled mall is projected for the Street.Gage & Tollner has occupied its present quarters at 372 Fulton Street since 1892, amid surrounding flux and change. But not only the decor and standards of that gracious period have been retained: Gage & Tollner represents a sustained belief in the downtown area.Commitment has always been a characteristic of the restaurant, since the days when Messrs. Gage & Tollner selected the sturdy mahogany tables and banks of cut glass and gaslight chandeliers that have come to signify the longevity and continuity of the eatinghouse. That tradition of commitment continues today, under Gage & Tollner%u2019s present proprietor, Ed Dewey, whose father, Seth Bradford Dewey, a Manhattan restaurateur, acquired Gage & Tollner in 1919.In 1972, after over two decades in the family business, Dewey and his wife Trudy chose to make downtown Brooklyn their home as well as their place of business. The Deweys converted the upper floors of the deep, elegant restaurant into living quarters, placing them in the unique position of being resident merchants right in the heart of downtown.%u201c I was born in Clinton H ill,%u201d explains Dewey, %u2018%u2018and now I feel that I%u2019ve really come home again.%u201d A fte r commuting three hours a day for 26 years, living on Fulton Street is more than a convenience for Dewey; it %u2019s a real opportunity to be a participant in a vital urban project. What%u2019s it like at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night on Fulton Street? %u2018%u2018Absolutely delightful,%u201d asserts Dewey.%u2018%u2018It%u2019s peaceful and tranquil -w e love it.%u201dFor Dewey, downtown Brooklyn is definitely on an upswing. He cites major improvements such as the new LIU, Con Edison and Telephone Company buildings as obvious examples of the revitalization, but also notes day-to-day accomplishments, such as getting potholes repaired and streets cleaned. According to Dewey, the Downtown Brooklyn Development Association is a major factor inmaking the area more viable. %u2018%u2018DBDA%u2019s farsighted overview coordinates individual and sm aller group endeavors so that no one loses sight of where the whole is going.%u201dDewey is a strong supporter of the mall proposal for Fulton Street, an alteration he believes will make the area more convenient and therefore more attractive. %u2018%u2018The mall plus the residential redevelopment of the brownstone neighborhoods will do much to support the renewal of thedowntown area already underway.%u201dEd and Trudy Dewey%u2019s optimism and contribution to downtown Brooklyn are rooted in a genuine cherishing of Gage & Tollnerits history and its future. For John Simmons, who manages the restaurant, as well as for the Deweys, Gage & Tollner is both a landmark, footnoting bygone elegance, and a promise, whose survival is testimony to the renewed future of downtown Brooklyn.A B R A H A M 'SW35