Eldergays, What Was Your Mom's 'Go To' Department Store?

Marshall Field's

I grew up in Colorado, and our main department store was The Denver.

Lord and Taylor

Filenes' and Jordan Marsh.

Fuh-leens btw.

Burdines

Marshall Fields when it came to our city but then it turned into a Gimbels, then Younkers, and then the whole building shut down.

Alexander's

Bamberger’s (then owned by Macy’s)

JC Penney. She had a JC Penney charge card, and she signed me up for one when I turned 16.

Now she buys her clothes at WalMart. I still shop a lot at JCPenney, though.

That grand lady, Marshall Field's on State Street. It was an event to go, and took a whole day.

Thalhimers

I feel like we just did...anyway, let’s see...

Macy’s most often, sometimes Emporium-Capwell.

I don't think Sears had an apostrophe, OP.

Marshall Field's on State Street at Christmas made my little gay heart smile and smile and smile.

B. Altman’s, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus. We lived in a suburb that had all four, but for the most part she shopped in Manhattan and would take us along on her shopping sprees.

It was great fun, and inspired me to also be a serious consumer.

R10, if it was an "event" it probably wasn't her "go to."

Wow, I haven't even thought about Zayre in decades

When we were really poor, it was the S&H green stamp store. We got some really nice pillows and small appliances there that we otherwise couldn't have afforded.

When we became more financially stable we went to Penney's, Montgomery Ward's and Sears regularly, but also a lot of discount stores like Alco and Venture. Didn't do Walmart much at all once it went from being a regular Walmart to a "super Walmart" or some such nonsense in the 1980s.

If she was able to make it to the big city of Duluth -- Glass Block, otherwise Herberger's or Penney's or Woolworths. Dayton's when she moved to the Cities (which became Marshall Fields which became Macy's).

OP You left out the major department stores of the Northeast -- Bloomingdales, Macys, Gimbels, Saks, etc... You must be a cracker from the South or something.

I posted quickly, but Field's was the go-to store for anything beautiful, upscale and fashionable.

But truth be told, we drove over to Goldblatt's in Hammond before the anschluss of K-Mart, Zayre, Target and Walmart

r1

In the DC area, we had Hechts and Woodword & Lothrop.

These were usually anchor stores in malls.

Bergdorf-Goodman or Barney's

It depended. If we wanted something "nice", it was probably Titche's or Sanger-Harris. For every day clothes or household goods like linens or drapes, probably Sears or Montgomery Ward. For cheap stuff, probably K-Mart or Gibson's.

Lord & Taylor, Abraham & Straus, B. Altman, and Bamberger’s.

B. Altman's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, A & S, Bloomingdales...real long time ago Best & Co.

May Company

[quote]I feel like we just did...anyway

We probably did, but I never get tired of hearing stories from you guys about old department stores. It just puts me in a happy mood.

[quote]I don't think Sears had an apostrophe

It doesn't. My bad.

[quote]OP You left out the major department stores of the Northeast -- Bloomingdales, Macys, Gimbels, Saks, etc... You must be a cracker from the South or something.

How dare you. I just picked some stores at random. And Gimbels was on the list.

Bamberger's

Mervyn's

In Tulsa, it was Sanger-Harris at Woodland Hills Mall. If it was for something fancy it was Miss Jackson's in Utica Square.

Bergdorf Goodman doesn't have a dash!

Wards for clothes and such and Sears for appliances, furniture and toys.

I actually have really fond memories of eating at the little restaurant that our local Montgomery Wards had.

Sears for clothes/appliances/tools/electronics. K-Mart/Woolworths for everything else

[quote]Sear's

Oh, dear's.

My mother started working part-time at Macy's when I was in high school. That became our go-to for lots of things since she got an employee discount.

Good god - I worked at Zayre in high school.

It sucked.

Shillito's and Bacon's mainly. Stewart's was the best store in town with a big store in downtown Louisville. My great grandma only wanted gifts from Stewart's.

In my small hometown we went to a medium sized department store that wasn’t part of a chain.

I will not mention the name, because I know you are all surely desirous of me and I don’t want a stalker.

This is the way it must be.

Lazarus

Filenes basement

I should be more accurate -- if something nice - Glass Block or the next level down the closer Herberger's. Normal household goods Woolworth's or Gibson's (later Pamida) or ordered from Wards or Sears.

Many of our school clothes were Penney's followed by Sears (esp. for things like Tough Skins). My mom made a good chunk of her own clothes and my sister's dresses and blouses.

Bullocks Wilshire and I Magnin.

Strawbridge's.

Grew up in the Twin Cities in a well-to-do family, so for us it was Dayton's.

Grace Bros.

Ground floor: perfumery, stationery and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food.

My grandmother and mother used to go to "Gimbleys" in NYC on weekends.

In town Boston (We don't say "downtown Boston;" it's "in town" or just "town"):

Filene's (R4, we said "FI-lene's")

Jordan Marsh (pronounced by a Proper Bostonian as "Joh-dan's"...there's no "R" in Johdan's!)

Younkers was the main one in Omaha, and later Dillards. Occasionally JC Penney or Richman Gordman. Sears, not so much. We also had Montgomery Ward, but I don't remember ever shopping there. My shopaholic mother loved to go to TJ Maxx or Marshall's most of all.

It was J. L. Hudson's flagship store in downtown Detroit, before the riots. I remember going there with her on the bus. She had a fabulous poison green boucle jacket with a black beaver collar and matching skirt, probably dating from around 1960, that she still had when she died in 2007.

I'd forgotten all about Richman-Gordman, we went to one on a trip to Omaha in the 1980s. It had a great sporting goods section.

The one in Topeka just closed this year.

Kaufmann's - it's a Pittsburgh thing - now acquired by and dba Macy's.

Monkey Wards

Marshall Fields and Goldblatts.

Zayre wasn't considered a 'dept store' when I was growing up. It was a discount place like Treasure Island or Atlantic Mills and Moreway. We were poor and those were our stores. Woolworth would have been a step up!

I think Macy's made a big mistake by acquiring all of those other brands. It just sort of diluted the brand, IMO.

[quote] Sears for clothes/appliances/tools/elect - ronics. K-Mart/Woolworths for everything else

Same. Back then Sears used to stand behind their products and had sales people who were helpful. Sadly it eventually turned into another Kmart.

The Broadway was considered more "high end".

Zayre because they carried Huskies jeans. My brother and I were fatties.

The main department store in Denver was May D & F (Daniels & Fisher). All through my childhood we bought stuff from Sears and Wards catalogs, but by the time I was 14 I was a fashion aficionado and forced them to let me by "important" clothing from May D & F. The main shopping centers were Villa Italia and Cinderella City, plus the swanky Cherry Creek Shopping Center. I only got to the last when I was a college student.

buy, of course

Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bonwit Teller

Wanamaker's

Higbee's, May Co, Halle's

Then we moved and it was Burdine's. Macy's fucking ruined them.

"Cinderella City," R59? Was that in a gay neighborhood?

"........the wealthy Philadelphia Wanamakers."

F & R Lazarus or The Union

JOSEPH N . NEELS IN MACON, GA.ESPECIALLY MY GRANDMOTHER .

Bloomingdales

W.T. Grant's

Bradlees

OP, why are you assuming we all grew up middle class?

I was a Chicago kid in the late 70s and early 80s, so high end stuff was always Marshall Fields, normal shopping was Venture, Service Merchandise, or JC Penny

The Broadway, followed closely by May Company (SoCal).

r54, where do you live now?

r21

There was a Marshall Fields and Goldblatts in Rockford, Illinois, r21. Goldblatts sold parakeets in the basement. Now I live in Palm Springs and only shop on Amazon.

Liberty of London or Harvey Nichols. NEVER EVER Harrods!!!

LOVED the Goldblatts birds. My mom would park me in front of them, go shopping, and pick me up on the way out.

Kids nowadays have no idea what pre-cable was like.

JC Penney. We lived in a small midwestern city & our Penney's at the mall was very nice. They had a design center where you could get custom window treatments done. A full service counter in the back for everything those types of stores could offer: layaway, customer services, ordering, etc. They also had the JC Penney Styling Salon where my cousin worked. I got my hair cut there for years as a kid. Also had the JC Penney Portrait Studio for all your family portrait needs!

Our Penney's is still open, I stopped in there last year. There are no services left. They sell clothes, housewares, and jewelry. Two years ago they added a Sephora makeup section that looks like a weird pop-up shop. The back area of the store which used to house all the services counters is now just crammed with clearance racks & bins and looks like a TJ Maxx on Black Friday. A mess.

Milliken's in Traverse City, MI. It was owned by Governor Bill Milliken's family. My mom worked there when she was young in the 1940s and still knew many of the sales gals in the 1960s, when she took us school shopping there. Unfortunately, by the mid-nineties the TC landmark vanished and in its place is a horrible coffee shop catering to tourists. Arrgh.

She still only trusts Penneys.

Read's.

R31 Miss Jackson’s closed just last year. They were open for a long time.

My mother mainly shopped at Penney’s, but we also had a Sanger Harris and a Striplings-Cox nearby. One of the chains later became Foley’s.

Timothy Eaton Co. a.k.a. Eaton's and The Hudson Bay Co. a.k.a The Bay . The Bay was founded in the 17th Century and is still in operation.

r16, the choices were all in downtown, so it was an event regardless: Montgomery Ward's (akin to JC Penney); I. Magnin and Lord & Taylor (both too upscale). Field's was just upscale enough, without being outlandishly expensive. Shopping, a lunch at the cafe, and more shopping. Christmas was magical. I think the last time I was awed by Christmas finery was at the Galleries Lafayette in Paris and Covent Garden in London.

Sakowitz Neiman-Marcus

Forgot Foley’s...of course!

I can't remember the names and refuse to google them, but there were two department stores in Kansas City in the 40s or 50s. I think my Mom worked at Halls? And my grandmother worked in notions at a place called Emory Bird Thayer? Does that ring a bell for any elder gays?

Foley's started out as May D&F, which was a big department store in Colorado.

Almy's

What are you going on about , R88? Foley's started out as Foley's in Houston in 1900.

Foley's acquired May D&F.

Yeah, May D&F was merged into Foley's in 1993.

Growing up in North Carolina, the two department stores we frequented most often were Belk and Ivey's (which is now Dillards). That's largely because Belk was in every town in the area. Every town. Ivey's was in all the major malls we frequented.

We occasionally went to Pennys (then known just as Penny's rather than JCPenny), but it's prdoucts weren't as good quality.

Smith & Welton, Rices Nachmans, and Thalhimers.

Bullocks, Pasadena California

Grandmother: Stix, Baer & Fuller; Scruggs, Vandervoorts and Barney. Marshall Fields when she was in Chicago and Gilchrist's when she was in Boston.

Mother: Famous Barr, Nieman Marcus, Lord & Taylor. Barney's when she was in New York.

I worked as a consultant for May Companies at their HQ in St. Louis about five years before it sold out to Macy's. Fascinating to still see traces of the distant past of department store retail as the industry was collapsing.

Liberty's, thank you very much.

R19 and R45.....Dayton’s or Donaldson’s for anything “fancy”, tho by the time I was in junior high I think they were done.. In case you all aren’t living in the area anymore....there is a recent renovation of the dt Mpls Dayton’s building. I think corona has fucked up it’s re- opening, but they made an effort to revitalize it as a mixed use/shopping destination

Before Macy's and Belk swallowed up everything, Birmingham used to have Parisian, Blach's, and Gus Mayer (upscale), along with Pizitz (which became McRae's), Yeilding's, and Loveman's (both midrange). In the '70s it was big deal when Rich's came over from Atlanta. The homegrown discount chain was Bargain Town USA.

^ Correction: We still have a Gus Mayer—it's one of only two stores left in the chain (the other one is in Nashville).

In New York City, it was E. J. Korvette.

Mervyn's!

Which I hated. In junior high, I was mortified to step foot in there! Only POOR people shopped there!

(I refused to accept we were poor!-- As I sat and ate my bologna sandwich made with government cheese!)

I've never once heard of Buffum's, The Broadway, or Nichol's. Where were those?

When I was growing up in Minneapolis in the late Sixties there were all kinds of department stores that were gone by the time I was an adult: Young-Quinlan, Powers, etc. By the time I was in high school only Donaldson's and Dayton's remained, and now neither of them exist.

How is Kmart not on this list?!

The ones that didn't allow coloreds.

r44/r62/r65 Wassamattuh, yuz never went to Lits or Snellenberg's?

Wanamaker's was the creme de la creme( cavernous inside, all marble and very high ceilings, with one of the largest pipe organs in the world[people would come just for the daily concerts] and Strawbridge's(the interior reminded me of the department store in the holiday classic "A Christmas Story") was the second tier. We used to have a Gimbel's( an aunt of mine who worked there was much envied, because she got to participate in the annual Thanksgiving Parade) here in Philadelphia, but they closed up shop in the early 70's, IIRC?

BITD, department stores would issue charge plates (embossed metal plates, about half the size of a modern credit card) which fitted into a special gadget that inked the pertinent information onto a charge slip, with several carbons. The catch was, a woman could get a charge plate but only under her husband's name. The plate always read: Mrs. John Smith, e.g., never Mary Smith.

I remember the very nice elevator operators. All female, all African American, in somber blue/gray uniforms, white-gloved, who quickly responded to signals from their shift leader, who escorted customers towards waiting elevator cars. It always appeared very regimented. The escalators, which were all wood back then, were much more fun.

Garfinckels, Woodies, I Magnin, Lord & Taylor, Hechts

I have heard Marshall Field's in Chicago was the gold standard, but the downtown Minneapolis Christmas display was such a a tradition for so many years, it is too bad that kind of thing got lost as the local department stores disappeared.

Marshall Fields. Going to the State Street was reserved for Christmas to see the holiday windows and have lunch in the Walnut Room with the giant tree. Other times we went to one of the Fields stores in the suburbs. My favorite was the Oak Brook store.

Ironically, I spent summers in high school working in Marshall Fields' display department creating the ornaments that would be used throughout the stores the following Christmas. Every year followed a new theme. I remember one summer a bunch of us worked in a small basement workroom applying spray glue to white styrofoam birds, then sprinkling them with silver glitter for weeks on end. And we were never offered masks!

It was in high school that I discovered how cruisy the men's room were. Restrooms on certain floors were known for more action than others. I have Marshall Fields to thank for my "sexual awakening" at 17!

And that story @R110 is why I keep coming back to this place.

I worked at The Broadway in the SFV!

For her: Lord Taylor

For us: Alexanders, Korvette's (at least their record dept was A+)

In our area is was Smith & Welton, Rices Nachmans, Thalhimers and Miller & Rhodes. We did have Sears but just bought appliances, tools etc. I was visiting the Atlanta area in the mid to late 60's and went to a Macy's. It was quite the store. You could by a live Crocodile/Alligator for $2.00 each. I was totally speechless. I wanted to take on home. I will never forget it.

My step-mother went into labor in a Buffums and actually named my step-brother Buffum as a result. We called him Buff.

R95. I grew up in Pasadena and my dad would take us (the children) to Bullocks on Christmas Eve to do our Christmas shopping. My mom used to take me to Bullocks Wilshire and we would have tea. She also loved the I Magnin in Pasadena. There was also a store on Lake St. that sold Lily Pulitzer and other such preppy stuff. This was in the 70's-80's.

L.S.Ayres & Co.

Bam's

Yes. Korvette’s for records.

Higbee's, Halle's and May Co. Dad loved Sears because of the Craftsmen tools. He bought me a set of screwdrivers when I was 10 and I wanted to stab him with them.

Bergdorf Goodman

OP, where do you live? We didn't have half the stores on your list.

She took us shopping at The Emporium, Macy's, City of Paris, I. Magnin, J. Magnin, Roos Atkins, H. Liebes, The White House, and Saks Fifth Avenue. We liked to shop and mom was fashionable. These were all round Union Square in SF except for Penney's, where we also shopped, which was in suburban locations. For some reason my father hated Sears.

The Emporium was my favorite, they had the Roof Rides at Christmas and the bargain basement. The City of Paris had Normandy Lane in the basement where you could get treats from France and other exotic locales. The also put up a spectacular tree at Christmas.

Mom also sewed some of her clothes.

B. Altman and Company, Lord and Taylor. Abraham and Straus and Martin's in Brooklyn.

The Department Store Museum

r117 Hoosier, eh? Did you eat in their fabulous restaurant, or walk on over to Weiss' Deli, near the Soldier and Sailor's Monument?

There were two other department stores, IIRC?

Anyone remember Klein on the Square? 14th Street - Union Square, New York. The sign was up long after the store closed.

R116, We lived in La Canada in the 1950s. My grandmother would take our mom and us kids to Bullocks. Im sure my dad didnt have the money to pay for that place.

R95 and R116- Was Bullock's Pasadena that absolutely beautifully designed building (if it is, you will know what I mean)..

Mike Hunt's for suits and Myol-Dick for everything else.

r122 We must be of the same vintage, because hardly anyone remembers the White House in SF. Their restaurant was the Raphael Weill Room, I believe. And there was a JCPenney on Fifth or Sixth and Market, I believe. My mother used to talk about when Macy's was still O'Connor Moffat.

[quote]I've never once heard of Buffum's, The Broadway, or Nichol's. Where were those?

I don't know about Nichols, but the other two were in Southern California. The Broadway and the May Co. were the two major mid-market chains in the Southland. The Broadway was part of Carter-Hawley-Hale stores, which included The Emporium, Capwell's, and Weinstock's in the northern part of the state.

Buffum's was a smaller, more upscale chain based in Long Beach. Dorothy Chandler (she of the Pavilion) was a Buffum.

We also had Ohrbach's, Mervyn's, Bullock's, Bullock's Wilshire (a separate chain, more like I. Magnin), Robinson's (upscale like Bullock's), Saks, Neiman's, et. al. No Lord & Taylor's. There was a Bonwit Teller in Beverly Hills and Palm Desert briefly.

Marshall Fields, the original.

Rich's, Davison's, & Lillie Rubin in Atlanta

What a great "only on Datalounge" sort of thread. For my mom the 'Go To" was B. Altman's. Lord & Taylor, and Bloomingdale's too (probably in the order). I know she liked Best when they were in the city. Bonwit's she liked, but said she felt intimidated by Bergdorf's -- and she wasn't easily intimidated.

Dark Shadows fan here. Did any of you ever go to Ohrbach's? What was that like?

I. Magnin and Bloomingdales at White Flint mall in Rockville, MD

Garfinkel’s, Hecht's and eventually Nordstrom at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, MD

[quote] and have lunch in the Walnut Room with the giant tree.

What did the tree order?

I did all my shopping at Klein's, with Mary and Ethel.

R101, we had Korvette's, too. My aunt belonged - at least for a while here it was "members only" and we thought it was chic. Ha!

And my aunt insisted that it had been founded by "eight Jewish Korean veterans," and that's why it was named "E.J. Korvettes."

Bambergers and Lord & Taylor

Dayton's

A little history:

Dayton-Hudson Corp. owned Dayton's and Hudson's department stores. D-H was the parent of Target which was it's discount store division.

D-H acquired Marshall Field's in the 1990s (not the other way around). The various department stores (Marshall Field's, Dayton's, Hudson's) maintained their individual names for a while before all stores being named Marshall Field's

Target grew to be bigger than the department store division and D-H renamed itself Target Corp.

A few years later, Target sold off the department stores which were bought by May Co., which itself was bought by Federated. All the department stores were branded as Macy's.

R128 Yes - it was Streamline Moderne Art Deco. Very cool building.

YES! Stunning building. I recalled reading an article about the building (which is now a Macy's) It was such a stunning building (inside and out). The fact that it is a Macy's was jarring to say the least. They should have turned at the very least into a Bloomingdales or something more upscale- Saks- anything. Just a beautiful place and of another time. I need to stop being lazy and google it.

Thank you Eldergays.

Threads like these are one of the reasons I love DL. It's like a time capsule into what life was like in smaller cities and towns in the 1950s and 60s.

You could write an entire story just based on R78's poignant post alone.

I think everyone hated when their local/regional department store became part of an enormous national chain.

Bullock's Pasadena.

Their Westwood store was kind of cool, too. (Right across the street from UCLA.)

Famous -Barr or Stix, Baer & Fuller

Famous Barr is St. Louis area? My friend from STL used to talk about it and I think I went there once years ago.

R130, I'm 70 and was still pretty young when the White House closed. I remember standing in line to see Santa there and it being one of my mother's favorite stores. Remembering it does date us. We used to make the rounds of Santas downtown.

I don't remember shopping at Penney's downtown but we did shop at the Westlake location. I do have a vague memory of a department store west of The Emporium on Market, it would have been Fifth or Sixth like you said, that must have been it.

Remember Woolworth's on Market? That was a fun place to shop. They had the great candy counter where you could buy large chunks of broken milk chocolate for about 25 cents. I'd buy one and gnaw on it for a long time.

McAlpin's or JCPenney for clothes, and Sears for home goods. Zayre was also in play until it was replaced by the TJMaxx stores. And Value City (almost forgot that one).

That was Emery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods R87, or EBT. It had been around since the 1870s I believe, and for some reason the building got torn down in the 1970s despite being on the Historic Register. There was a restaurant that used to have a bunch of elevators and other bits from the old building.

Value City was GRRRRRRREAT! You could often find high end name brand clothes there at greatly reduced prices. I was sorely bummed when my local VC went out of business years ago.

Did anybody go to the May Company on the corner of Fairfax and La Brea? I'm curious to how it looked inside. The LACMA is ruining it with a giant sphere behind it.

If you click on the picture, you can see the sphere on the left.

r153 Fairfax and La Brea are both north-south streets. The store is on the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax. And yes, I went inside when it was still The May Co.

Ohrbach's was right across the street from the May Co. It's now the Petersen Automotive Museum. Before Ohrbach's, it was Seibu, a Japanese department store.

My dad was so cheap he squeaked so we rarely got to go shopping when I was a kid - and almost always to Sears, or a local downtown store called Troutman's.

In HS mom would go to Murphy's Mart (a Kmart stype store), Gee Bees or Hills. For nice stuff, we'd go to Kaufmann's once in a while, less often Horne's.

[quote] Our Penney's is still open, I stopped in there last year. There are no services left. They sell clothes, housewares, and jewelry. Two years ago they added a Sephora makeup section that looks like a weird pop-up shop. The back area of the store which used to house all the services counters is now just crammed with clearance racks & bins and looks like a TJ Maxx on Black Friday. A mess.

Sadly Penneys took out all the good things they had going and, like most remaining department stores, decided that the way to compete is to make themselves look like Kohl's - e.g. little mini label shops all throughout the overall store.

Filene's and RH Stearns when in Boston.

Burdine's and Jordan Marsh when in Florida for the winter.

I want to just thank everyone for posting on this thread. I was in a funk yesterday and reading this really helped. You can go ahead and call me Mary! now.

I'm curious were most of these department stores one stop shops with a wide selection of stuff. Could you go to Filene's and buy a Fridge?

Not at Filene's but you could by appliances at Jordan Marsh across the street.

Our first color TV came from Jordan's. We got to know the repairmen very well because they came about once a week to fix something when we first got it.

Jordan Marsh in Boston.

Sprouse-Reitz and Finger Hut for mail order. Thinking back, Finger Hut sounds so delightfully naughty.

[quote]Threads like these are one of the reasons I love DL. It's like a time capsule into what life was like in smaller cities and towns in the 1950s and 60s.

I was talking about the 80s and early 90s but the rest of the thread is definitely interesting.

R157 - I know those stores! Anyone remember HARTS/BigBear? That was a department store where you could purchase goods as well as groceries like Walmart today.

r163 Sprouse-Reitz was a variety store/"five-and-dime" like Woolworth's, Ben Franklin, Kresge, Kress, et. al.

R81 - Are you from Kansas?

Mother worked for a time at May Co., in the admin division.

Wanamakers

Brager Guttmans, Hoschild Kohns, Hutzlers and Hechts. Anyone care to guess which East Coast city hosted these department stores?

Posting for a friend.

R170 Baltimore!

I knew it already, but here's an interesting article, too.

r170 I lived in DC from '78-'87 and I remember Hutzlers and Hoschild-Kohn's in Baltimore (and of course Hecht's was big in DC), but I've never heard of Brager Guttman's. Wasn't there also a chain called Hamburger's? Maybe it was just clothing and not a full department store.

Utah used to have an LDS-owned department store chain called ZCMI.

New Orleans-we always went to Maison Blanche, which eventually became a Dillard’s.

Levy's Department Store locally owned through late 70s

Tucson AZ

Lacey's Department Store in Pine Valley.

Monahan's

[quote]Lacey's Department Store in Pine Valley.

The Center City store was a little sketchy,

Liberty House, at Kahala Mall

Strawbridge’s was my Mom-Mom’s spot until they got swallowed up by Macy’s.

[quote]Wasn't there also a chain called Hamburger's?

Bamberger's?

[quote]The 1960s and 1970s saw expansion throughout the state of New Jersey and into the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, and by the 1980s there were branches opened in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area.

No. Bambergers was just the New Jersey version of Macy's (like Davison's in Atlanta.)

Hamburgers was at Charles and Fayette Sts. in Baltimore.

Actually, the May Co. in Los Angeles began as "A. Hamburger & Sons" in 1881. The May Co. bought it and changed its name in 1923

R107 My grandmother was a Lit Brothers woman. I was still very young when Lit's closed down but can remember going with my grandmother to the deli in the basement because she loved their corned beef. By that time there was this vast, pretty dark, almost empty basement with a deli counter slapped in the middle of it and nothing else. Thanks for bringing up the beautiful atrium and pipe organ. I'm ashamed that none of us mentioning this grand old building mentioned the iconic eagle.

[quote][R163] Sprouse-Reitz was a variety store/"five-and-dime" like Woolworth's, Ben Franklin, Kresge, Kress, et. al.

We were poor, r166. It was the go-to for shopping. Why do you hate poor people? Later for shopping for clothes it was Zody's. In Pomona. That should tell you all you need to know.

Alexanders in Rego Park ro Valley Stream NY

Mostly it was May's a cheapy store on Long Island. When the spirit moved her, she would take me to Bonwit Teller up in Manhasset...night and day

[quote]We were poor, [R166]. It was the go-to for shopping. Why do you hate poor people? Later for shopping for clothes it was Zody's. In Pomona. That should tell you all you need to know.

I didn't mean to imply you were poor, but I don't think anyone would have considered Sprouse-Reitz a department store. Zody's was a discounter like Kmart, but it was more like a department store than Sprouse-Reitz. (BTW, I grew up in the Bay Area; we had a Sprouse-Reitz in my little suburb, but Zody's was strictly SoCal. The only discount store around in my youth was White Front. Now I don't live too far from Pomona!)

[quote]We were poor, [R166]. It was the go-to for shopping. Why do you hate poor people? Later for shopping for clothes it was Zody's. In Pomona. That should tell you all you need to know.

I didn't mean to imply you were poor, but I don't think anyone would have considered Sprouse-Reitz a department store. Zody's was a discounter like Kmart, but it was more like a department store than Sprouse-Reitz. (BTW, I grew up in the Bay Area; we had a Sprouse-Reitz in my little suburb, but Zody's was strictly SoCal. The only discount store around in my youth was White Front. Now I don't live too far from Pomona!)

r134 did you live on Long Island? I worked at B Altman on the Miracle Mile ib Manhasset back in 1973. All the great store were there

Weincock's

I worked in a department store ad dept. right out of college in SF in the 70s. I loved it so much and made lifelong friends. Gays, artists, writers, photographers, art directors, so much creativity in that 40s era office suite. We had managers that could out drama Bette Davis, hissy fits and melt downs galore. Crabby buyers, special events with celebrities (the lady who planned those was so nice to me), and the fun of all the merchandise we pushed.

It was my childhood dream to work there. I went from assistant in production to paste-up, layout, and design before moving on to a better paying job. One of my favorite scenes in the movie "Carol" with Kate Blanchett and Rooney Mara is in the toy department of a department store at Christmas. I'm a sucker for department stores and just love the ones that remained in a vintage state for as long as they could.

I visited Macy's in New York a few years ago and was surprised to see that on the upper level they still had ancient wooden escalators. That was a treat.

Macy's Manhattan 1930s wooden escalators.

[quote]I worked in a department store ad dept. right out of college in SF in the 70s.

Macy's, r192?

r184 Thank you for bringing that up.

If people shopping in town wanted to get together it was the easiest thing to say "Meet me at the Eagle." Everybody instantly knew what you meant(gave you time to browse or enjoy the music). Analogous to Chicagoans saying "Meet me under the Clock," meaning the huge, iconic clock at Marshall Fields. I used to have a candy jar shaped like the clock, originally it was filled with Marshall Fields iconic Frango Mints.

Shopper's World! In Chicago was the cheapest, tackiest store for that blue collar, urban look

I have a feeling that Marshal Fields causes homosexuality, like many others have mentioned my mother would take us down to the State Street store for our annual Christmas outing. As a young Gayling I looked forward to the event every year. There were suburban Marshal Fields, but nothing compared to that downtown experience

In your opinion did malls fuck over these grand stores or was it something else?

Malls and online shopping. Mass produced clothing a la Gap, Banana Republic, H & M (who knocks off trends very fast), etc.

R197 "something else"

Bamberger's in Downtown Newark. In 1929, three weeks before the Stock Market crashed, Louis Bamberger sold to Macy's. Later had many suburban stores. Macy's kept the "Bam" name until the 90s.

Famous Barr's main location in St. Louis, and the HQ of May Department Stores.

Attempts to fund a redo of the enormous building have been challenging.

We had to go "in town" to go to Jordan Marsh and Filenes'.

Jordans' had the blueberry muffins that everybody since has tried and failed to replicate.

Gilchrists' had the giant almond macaroons.

Filenes (where I ended up working the cologne counter) had the basement with automatic markdowns and really cheap wedding dresses. "The Running of the Brides" was an annual event.

In the burbs we had Kings' and Mammoth Mart. Grants' was on Main Street in Hyannis where the parakeets from the pet department would escape and be flying around the store.

My home town had Giant. My poor Dad was forced to wait in line there to buy a 45 of American Pie for me. There were crowds and my Mom was expecting trouble so I stayed home. Too funny.

Hills. This is crazy, but some company made a candle scented after their snack bar. That was the shit, getting a red Icee and a hot pretzel or popcorn there.

Some of us eldergays remember a time when department stores had grill rooms and tea rooms, where we would have lunch with our mom and dad and go over the list of things we still needed and mull over which washer and dryer combo to buy. Sometimes they held fashion shows in the tea rooms. I still remember eating at restaurants or cafeterias at Montgomery Wards, JCPenneys, and Sears in the 1970s, early '80s, but once they built shopping malls with food courts close by, those dining places closed shop.

[quote]Hills. This is crazy, but some company made a candle scented after their snack bar.

Still not quite as crazy as Goop's vagina-scented candles.

I'm 41, and have memories of going to Woolworths. They are comforting memories, I liked that store. It was always messy though. We still have JC Penney here (midwest large city). You always think they are out of business but still going. Wards is fully out of business. Sears is also open, in some locations.

r196, and I cried when it burnt to the ground.

What killed the grand department stores was NO FUCKING CHEAP PARKING DOWNTOWN.

There was always an air of nostalgia about Woolworth's, even way back in the '50s and '60s.

@r207, Who needed parking? We would drive to the Ravenswood "L" Station and take that downtown. The ride on the "L" was part of the big experience. I grew up in the Chicago burbs, we didn't even have buses

r209, but that's the reason other people did not go downtown. The hassle. And Ravenswood is practically downtown to begin with.

That's why they put branches in the suburbs, drive in, drive out.

R210 In most large US cities, the time stores expanded to the suburbs was when the locals went there: people were abandoning city cores and populating suburbia.

The stores just followed their customers. I loved downtown, too, but by the 60's it was getting seedier and emptier as the jobs left and the malls in the 'burbs is where the money was.

@r210, I'm not arguing the point I'm just saying what the adventure was like to go to the State Street Marshal Fields. I don't ever remember driving all the way to the Loop. We would take the train or park and ride the "L". Parking wasn't an issue

@r211, You're exactly right, but as a kid I'm glad I had that opportunity to go to a fancy downtown store, do lunch and marvel at all the Christmas decorations. Time moves on and things change. I remember when they built Woodfield Mall and what a big deal that was, that to me was the official end of downtown

In the 60s we moved to Florida and my mother was appalled at the lack of decent stores. She would literally go home to NYC to shop once in a while. When Jordan Marsh was built in Orlando it was a new day. LOL! It was a very nice big store and it attracted other smaller nice stores.

In NYC it was Lord & Taylor and Macy's and I remember being taken to B.Altman's and Best as a child. When I went away to school and told my mom I was going into the city to Bloomingdales she said that Bloomies had always been considered beneath Macy's in the old days. I think they rebranded themselves in the early 1970s as a more "upscale" store. Of course, then Bloomies became one of her go-to store when my family moved to DC.

In DC the best store was Garfinkel's - then for more mundane things Woodies (Woodward and Lothrop) and then Hecht's (which was never as nice ).

Sears for appliances (when their washers were Whirlpool, etc.) and Spiegel for a catalogue of toys toys toys!! My older sister and I would pore over those catalogues and play wish games. LOL!

These days all I do is go to my little market down the street. Boo hoo.

[quote]. I still remember eating at restaurants or cafeterias at Montgomery Wards, JCPenneys, and Sears in the 1970s, early '80s, but once they built shopping malls with food courts close by, those dining places closed shop.

Most Nordstroms still have in-store restaurants, as do many Bloomingdale's. And Macy's flagship stores (e.g., Manhattan, Chicago, San Francisco) have restaurants.

Bullock's Westwood and a local one called Henshey's in Santa Monica.

In the 1970’s my mother worker part time at Zayre. The management even flew her and some colleagues-workers to Indianapolis to open a store. She loved the work and made friends with a few of the women. They would take turns hosting a monthly card club and would do destination shopping as a group. It was her happiest time. She worked in linens but the department had an unusual name. She also worked as a cashier and would buy any silver coins the customers used for purchases. She saved these coins and then made a big profit when silver prices were high.

My mother loved Palais Royal, which was later bought by Stage.

I remember going to look at the tropical fish and birds in the Woolworths. Most of the birds were small parakeet types, but there was one big black talking bird that was there as long as I can remember. I was thinking the mall had both a Woolworth's and Herberger's, but think the latter replaced the former. The Woolworth's was there when I was in grade school and the Herberger's when I was in high school and was still there until the chain closed a few years ago. Don't have the same nostalgia about Herberger's, although looking back to how the store was in the 80's, it was set up in a nicer, neater way - not everything was jammed together.

I remember also thinking how cool the Minneapolis downtown Dayton's was with all of the floors, each one different, also including a tropical fish department. I also was in awe of the J.B. Hudson's gates etc. I think by the time I went there as a young adult, the place seemed more generic.

Someone mentioned the wooden escalators in Macy's. I also was in awe of escalators, just regular ones, in the Duluth Glass Block. I obviously grew up in a pretty small town and was easily amused. By then the store was in the mall, but when my Mom lived in Duluth during college, it was a big classic department store building downtown, and lamented how the downtown shopping had died. The city has since built up the lake front, but I think the old downtown area is still pretty dead.

Was Woolworth a more substantial and upscale department store before it became more discount oriented? There was a Woolworth in the mall in my small-ish Midwestern town. It was sort of like K-Mart.

R219 That's how our Woolworth store was too, and we were in Southern California (Santa Monica). My grandparents referred to it as the "five and dime." It was about the same as the Newberry's. It seemed really downscale, and the smell from the lunch counter permeated the place.

I don't think they were more upscale - they started out as a five and dime, but I think the older stores had a bit more character than a modern K-mart or other discount stores have today. Part of that is that the older stores were simply in older buildings with wooden floors, shelves, some had the old soda fountains etc..

Woolworth in the states was a five and dime and seemed to me like a small scale KMart. They didn’t sell big ticket things like TVs, as far as I remember. There was a large Woolworths in Tysons Corner Center when I first moved to No. Va. circa 1990. I bought my first set of (very cheap) dishes there. Eventually all but one bowl broke but I had it and used it up until a year or two ago when it finally cracked. Woolworths in the UK was similar to the US one, and probably even more iconic there. It lasted until the economic crisis of 2009. Woolworths in Australia is a supermarket and in South Africa it seems to be an upscale grocery and department store, similar to Marks and Spencer.

In Chicago in the late 70's/early 80's, Woolworth's was more like the predecessor to the 7-11. I remember watching, "Mr. Selfridge" on PBS, and how he was threatened that Woolworth was going to open up a store near his, so it must have been more posh back then.

Woolworth's was never a department store. They did have a discount offshoot, Woolco, which was their attempt to compete with Kmart. Those stores were much larger and carried a broader array of merchandise.

For back-to-school clothes, it was.... ROBERT HALL!

When I was growing up in San Francisco in the 50s (I'm 70 now) the only place to shop department stores was downtown and at Stonestown on the west side of town. We took the street car downtown when I was really young and drove to Stonestown, an open air mall at the time. Parking downtown was still relatively cheap. In those days, families often had only one car and fathers drove it to work, leaving moms at stuck at home. I was thrilled the first time I visited Manhattan to visit FAO Schwarz and Bloomingdales before we had them on the West Coast.

Westlake Shopping Center with Penneys opened in Daly City in the 1950s. Nearby was Westlake Joe's, a classic 50s Madmen style dinner house with a piano lounge and stiff cocktails (I later learned). As the population grew and newcomers started filling the new suburbs on the Peninsula we got more malls. Serramonte, Tanforan, Fashion Island, Hillsdale, etc, going south. They all had at least two flagship stores. We shopped them all. Still, there was nothing like the glamour of downtown San Francisco with its old school restaurants, specialty shops, and high end stores. Now, shopping malls and big boxes stores are everywhere on the Peninsula.

Does anyone really think Woolworth is a department store? I hadn't heard that. To us it was a Five & Dime, filled with a treasure chest of small inexpensive things. In the 1970s a I bought a boxed set of their version of Fiesta ware. I still have it. We had other Five & Dimes around, as a kid I gaped at the cheap little toys.

Target.

To all the Woolworth comments, Woolworths was equal to today's Dollartree, instead of .05 &.10, everything is now a dollar. Same idea and a very good one, Dollartree is a huge success

In Scranton, it was the Globe Store, later John Wanamaker’s Globe store...

First Floor Cosmetics, Fragrances, Sportswear, Florist, Candy Shop, Charlmont Restaurant Second Floor Coats, Better Sportswear, Dresses, Shirts, Lingerie, Juniors, Junior Hair Salon Third Floor House wear, China, Hair Salon, Spa, Fourth Floor Children's wear, Furniture, Credit Department Fifth Floor Executive Offices (Wikipedia left out the basement, where all of the cheap stuff was).

And Oppenheimer’s Scranton Dry Goods. Two old-style, downtown department stores, with expansive display windows and Christmas retail celebrations. Long gone now, happy memories.

Every Christmas season my mother would take me to John Wanamaker's in Westchester. They had a special setup on one of the upper floors , like a little decorated "house" where kids could go in all by themselves and buy presents for their family. I would always get a Jean Nate gift set for my grandmother, can't recall what else they had but it was all relatively inexpensive, and there was someone to help if you needed it. After shopping my mother and I would eat together in their restaurant, on the same floor. Thanks for this thread I had actually forgotten about all this until it triggered it. Got me all nostalgiac and emotional, and shed some tears.

"Does anyone really think Woolworth is a department store?"

That's what I was thinking. I was surprised at all the references to it here. But, at the same time, unlike Target and K-Mart, for example, didn't Woolworth have a long history of being in downtowns, sometimes in multi-story buildings with (as noted upthread) wood floors and just generally an overall look that was similar to a department store? I think that's maybe why so many people cite it as a department store. Like I said earlier, the one I knew was in the mall (I grew up in the 80s) and had fluorescent lighting and white-aging-to-yellow linoleum/acrylic floors - like KMart, though a little smaller.

My grandmother's go-to department store was Foley's, a Houston chain.

[quote] Ravenswood is practically downtown to begin with.

Oh honey....no.

But even in outer areas, big cross streets like Lawrence could be very dense and crowded.

Here's a random one - my aunt's department store was Herberger's. I'd be surprised if a DLer could locate that - I think it's region was very small.

R234 I just looked it up....I won't give away the location but it looks like when it closed, it was one of the stores that were in the BonTon/Boston Store group in the Midwest.

AND apparently they're trying to reopen it.

Bloomingdales

[quote]Foley's started out as Foley's in Houston in 1900.

Foley's started out as Foley Brothers. I inherited some of my grandmother's furniture. One drawer had a Foley Bros. label.

r229=Joe Biden

r226 I was born in San Mateo (both of my parents were from SF, but moved to the Peninsula when I came along.) Hillsdale was brand new when we lived there ... but we relocated to the East Bay when I was around 4, so I don't really remember much about it. That said, I share your experience with downtown SF. We used to into "the City" fairly often since my grandmother and a number of aunts and uncles lived there. And it was a real treat to go shopping downtown. And you had to get dressed up in those days. I remember eating at Blum's, Manning's cafeteria (with the "hottles" of coffee), Townsend's (for the creamed spinach). And the fancy bakeries, too.

Rosheks in Dubuque, Iowa. They had a "satellite" radio booth in the store where the local radio station could broadcast events. Giveaways, contests, promotions, records debuts (artists would make appearances at the record store on the mezzanine).

During the 50s & 60s they had store "ambassadors" which was usually a popular girl from each high school. She'd be featured in print promotions & on the radio promoting the latest fashions at the store. They would have a poster with her picture and some factoids eg: "Julie participates in cheerleading and choir and was on this year's homecoming court...." They would wear their Roshek's clothes to school, a walking advertisement.

I told my friend the gays had been discussing their mom's favorite department store for DAYS now and she said we all need to get out more.

Department stores are swiftly becoming a thing of the past. A shame; many people have fond memories of them, especially during the holiday season. I liked the department store experience.

We would love to get out more. Some day, presumably during the Biden Administration, that will happen.

Gold Circle, because she was cheap. And then Sears, when she wanted to splurge.

[quote] They would have a poster with her picture and some factoids eg: "Julie participates in cheerleading and choir and was on this year's homecoming court...." They would wear their Roshek's clothes to school, a walking advertisement.

Did Julie have to sign something promising not to get knocked up during her reign?

Great Eastern.

Belks has filed for Reorganization Bankruptcy.

Will they make it?

I was wondering why Belks was having those extreme sales. They were selling $200 coats for about $40 a few weeks ago. I don’t live there, I just shop there online.

Sears mostly - Mom would buy dress patterns and fabric there, plus Toughskins "dungarees" for me, of course - but also Woodward & Lothrop and Hecht's.

Hess's. Then the less upscale EJ Korvette's and Almart.

My mom took my brother and I to Mervyn’s. I used to love going there. It was a lot like Kohl’s.

Hudsons in Downtown Detroit in the 50s was wonderful. The interior was over a million square feet. 11 plus stories of luxury. Dark wood and sparkling glass and chandeliers were throughout. The clerks were smartly dressed as were the customers. All the ladies wore hats and gloves. A row of a dozen elevators would take you to your destination. Each elevator had an operator who would manually take the car from floor to floor, then pull open the gate and glass doors. I liked the 11th-floor music department. Rows of records filled the entire floor. Glass booths were on one side so you could listen before buying. There were several very good restaurants. It was quite classy to my little boy self. It was the closest to Disneyland I ever got.

Did it really take until R235 for someone to mention The Bon-Ton?

That was my mom’s go-to, because while she liked and shopped at Penney’s and Sears, the Bon-Ton was a bit higher end and generally a nicer shopping experience. It’s where I got a lot of “school clothes”, cologne in high school, and all my Swatch watches when I was in elementary school.

After they closed all their stores a couple years ago, they were bought by a new company and have launched a website, with plans to open new stores across the US.

Phipps, because A Phipps Mattress® Rocks You to Sleep!

Burdines

We would go to Farm ‘N Fleet. You could buy jeans, shoes and blouses as well as hog feed, pitch forks and udder balm.

It was tre chic.

I grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs where the first target was built, so Target was always the cheap go-to for my mom even before it was a national chain.

It was owned by Dayton's, which was the fancy store in Minneapolis, and where Mom would go when she wanted really nice clothes. Dayton's was bought out long ago by Marshall Field's (which was in turn bought out by Macy's), but of course Target is still around.

Abraham & Straus (A&S) and Macy*s. Long Island, New York.

Argersinger's, Britt's and Dunday's Clothiers for Men and Boys for the dressy stuff.

I grew up in east bumfuck, upstate NY, so don't expect anyone to know these stores! They're long gone now anyway

Sanger-Harris

I feel like I already answered this question. Is this thread like 5 years old? As a child when we'd go home to NYC it was Macy's and Alexander's and for better things Lord&Taylor and Bonwits. When we lived in Florida it was Jordan Marsh cause that was the only decent department store for quite a while. In the DC area it was Garfinckle's and probably Woodies and later Bloomingdales when it finally came to the DC area. My mom said Bloomies was lower on the rung than Macy's before it got revitalized in the 1970s. Yes we moved a number of times.

Younker’s - THE fancy department store in Iowa.

It was a small local store that sold mens and womens clothes, shoes, accessories and makeup. Had a beauty parlor. It smelled like powerhouse perfumes, Estee Lauder, YSL, Ungaro, Givenchy, etc., and had great service. Long gone. These types of stores were all over New England and the Mid Atlantic in the small towns/affluent suburbs.

R263, but was it a real deapartment store.

The two closest Woolworths near me were indeed department stores. They were one of the flagship stores in both malls. They had everything from clothing, to shoes, to electronics, school supplies, home decor, a pet department as well as a concession counter up front. They both went to shit by the late 80's and closed down completely by the mid 90's. It was basically like K-Mart in terms of quality.

On that list, Sears.

But Mother preferred local favorites Leh's and Hess's.

I never understood why Sears credit cards were so hard to get. I got turned down for one in my mid-late 20's. My credit score at the time was in the 770-780 range and I only had 3 other credit cards at the time, two completely paid off and one with just a couple hundred balance on it at any given time. I also had a solid salaried job that paid well for my age at the time. Weird. This was back in the early 2000's and I wasn't even interested in getting one, the cashier just offered it to my to apply for, then told me I was declined with several people standing behind me waiting in line. It was humiliating.

Poor. Goodwill or Rescue Mission were staples.

It was Zayre, or Ames (previously Zayre) from time to time.

And very rarely, it was JC Penney, Sears, or Montgomery Ward.

What is chicken? What is pie?

My mom loved Belk, especially for buying us church clothes. Also JC Penney.

Does anyone remember a chain called Miller & Rhoads? My mother and grandmother shopped there frequently for themselves. I think it went under in the 90's.

Famous-Barr

Itchy’s

Pussy Eaters

Assy’s

As far as big box department stores my mother was partial to Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Saks, and Rich's & Davisons, both of which eventually became Macy's, Thank God she didn't live to see the sacrilege of those two fine old Atlanta institutions turn into glorified K Marts.

The Harris Co.