In this section, will provide a revealing and informative look into the national and regional department store chains of America's mid-20th century years. There are sure to be several omissions, as every single store chain, division and detail cannot be included due to space restrictions. Hopefully, the most important players will be mentioned.

After the 1846 opening of Alexander Turney Stewart's Marble Dry Goods Palace, in New York City, the American department store grew into a massive industry. It advanced tremendously with the formation of national department store holding companies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The first, May Department Stores, could trace its beginnings to a single mercantile which opened, in Leadville, Colorado, in 1877. By the turn of the century, stores in St. Louis and Cleveland had been acquired and the company was beginning to operate with a national focus. Competing retail-based holding companies emerged. These included Mercantile Stores, Associated Dry Goods, City Stores, Hahn/Allied Stores, Federated Stores and Broadway-Hale Stores.

A map showing the home offices of America's major department store holding companies.
Click on image for a larger view.

MERGED MERCHANDISERS

AND HOLDING COMPANIES

By the late 19th century, independently owned and operated department stores had been established in major -and minor- cities across the nation. The next logical step, it seemed, was to create so-called "holding companies," which would exist only to own outstanding stock in a number of these mercantiles.

Several different store operations, in various cities and states, could be managed in this manner. This reduced the risks associated with retailing in general and made expansions into other markets feasible and much less expensive.

By the mid-20th century, there were seven massive merchandising holding companies in operation in the United States. By the 1980s, changes in the retail industry began to effect the operation of these companies...with several tumultuous corporate buyouts and reorganizations taking place over the ensuing years.

It started when Canadian financier Robert Campeau completed a hostile takeover of Allied Stores, in November 1986. Meanwhile, executives at Macy's arranged a buyout of that company. Following this, they fought a bitter battle with Campeau for Federated Stores. Campeau emerged victorious in April 1988.

Unfortunately, debt obligations for Campeau's series of takeovers were too large to be covered. The end result was that 250 profitable department store divisions had been bankrupted. Campeau was ousted from Federated Stores in August 1990. The board then went about picking up the proverbial pieces and putting the company back into solvency. Macy's filed for bankruptcy in 1992. Federated Stores acquired the struggling Macy's chain in January 1994.

Federated embarked on a massive department store rebranding campaign on August 1, 2003. During the first stage, known as Project Hyphen, several store nameplates had a "-Macy's" added; examples being "Burdines-Macy's," "Bon-Macy's," "Rich's-Macy's" and "Lazarus-Macy's". Project Star completed this process on March 6, 2005. The -Macy's subheading was dropped. All store divisions would be known, henceforth, as simply Macy's.

In August 2005, Federated acquired its primary competitor, May Department Stores, taking in regional divisions such as Famous-Barr, Kaufmann's, Hecht's and Meier & Frank. Chicago's veritable Marshall Field & Company had been bounced between several owners by this time. First there had been BATUS (British-American Tobacco), in 1982, the Dayton Hudson (later Target) Corporation in 1990 and May Department Stores in 2004.

As a result of the Federated-May merger of 2005, May stores received Macy's nameplates on September 9, 2006. Alas, there was just one major department store holding company left; Federated Stores, which morphed into Macy's Inc. on June 1, 2007. In the 2020s, the eight-division organization oversees the operation of 450 stores.

In the following section is a list of the seven major merchandising holding companies and some of the regional stores that they contained under their corporate umbrellas. In brackets [ ] are the years that said stores were created or acquired. In italic are the founding member stores of each holding company.

MAY DEPARTMENT STORES COMPANY

-400 stores in thirty-six states-

*May Company Colorado [1877], Denver, CO *Famous Dry Goods Company, St. Louis, MO [1892] *Hull & Dutton Company (May Company Ohio) [1898], Cleveland, OH *William Barr Dry Goods Company [1911], St. Louis, MO *M O'Neil Company [1912], Akron, OH *Hamburger & Sons (May Company California) [1923], Los Angeles, CA *Bernheimer-Leader Stores (May Company Baltimore) [1927], Baltimore, MD *Kaufmann's [1946], Pittsburgh, PA *Strouss-Hirshberg [1948], Youngstown, OH *T S Martin & Company [1948], Sioux City, IA *May-Daniels & Fisher (May D & F) {a merger of May Company Colorado and Daniels & Fisher} [1957], Denver, CO *Hecht Company [1959], Arlington, VA *May-Cohens [1959], Jacksonville, FL *G Fox & Company [1965], Hartford, CT *Meier & Frank Company [1966], Portland, OR

MERCANTILE STORES COMPANY, INCORPORATED

[A 1914 reorganization of the H B Claflin Company]

-101 stores in seventeen states and one Canadian province-

*Castner-Knott Company [1914], Nashville, TN *The Jones Store Company [1914], Kansas City, MO *JB Bacon Dry Goods [1914], Louisville, KY *Hennessy Company [1914], Butte, MT *Joslin Dry Goods [1914], Denver, CO *Lion Dry Goods [1914], Toledo, OH *George McAlpin Company [1914], Cincinnati, OH *Root Dry Goods [1914], Terre Haute, IN *JB White & Company [1914], Augusta, GA *MacDougall Southwick Company [1914], Seattle, WA *People's Store [1914], Tacoma, WA *Lazarus Store, Incorporated [1914], Wilkes-Barre. PA *Montgomery Fair [1914], Montgomery, AL *The Right House [1914], Hamilton, ON *Glass Block [1944], Duluth, MN *C J Gayfer Company [1950], Mobile, AL *O J DeLendrecie Company [1955], Fargo, ND *Crew-Beggs [1956], Pueblo, CO

ASSOCIATED DRY GOODS CORPORATION

[A 1916 merger of United Dry Goods and Associated Merchants Company]

-109 stores in twenty-eight states-

*William Hengerer Company [1916], Buffalo, NY *Lord & Taylor [1916], New York, NY *Stewart Dry Goods [1916], Louisville, KY *Hahne & Company [1916], Newark, NJ *JN Adams Company [1916], Buffalo, NY *JW Robinson Company [1955], Los Angeles, CA *The Diamond [1956], Charleston, WV *Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company [1957], Rochester, NY *Erie Dry Goods Company-The Boston Store [1959], Erie, PA *H & S Pogue Company [1962], Cincinnati, OH *M Goldwater & Sons [1963], Phoenix, AZ *Stix, Baer & Fuller Company [1966], St. Louis, MO *Denver Dry Goods (The Denver) [1966], Denver, CO *Joseph Horne Company [1972], Pittsburgh, PA *LS Ayres & Company [1972], Indianapolis, IN *Robinson's of Florida [1973], St. Petersburg, FL

CITY STORES COMPANY

-Thirty-nine stores in nineteen states-

*B Lowenstein & Brothers, Incorporated [1923], Memphis, TN *Maison Blanche Department Stores [1923], New Orleans, LA *Loveman, Joseph & Loeb [1923], Birmingham, AL *Kaufman-Straus Company [1924], Louisville, KY *Lit Brothers [1928], Philadelphia, PA *RH White Corporation [1944], Worcester, MA *Richard Store Company [1946], Miami, FL *Wise, Smith & Company [1948], Hartford, CT *Lansburgh & Brother [1951], Washington, D.C. *CityMart [1962], Boston, MA *Hearn's [1958], New York, NY *Wolf & Dessauer Company [1966], Fort Wayne, IN

ALLIED STORES CORPORATION

[A 1935 reorganization of Hahn's Department Stores]

-155 stores in twenty-eight states-

*The Bon Marche [1928], Seattle, WA *LS Donaldson Company [1928], Minneapolis, MN *Jordan Marsh & Company [1928], Boston, MA *Titche-Goettinger Company [1928], Dallas, TX *The Golden Rule [1928], St. Paul, MN *Meyer's Company [1928], Greensboro, NC *Herpolsheimer Company [1928], Grand Rapids, MI *CF Hovey Company [1928], Boston, MA *Rollman & Sons [1928], Cincinnati, OH *O'Neil & Company [1928], Baltimore, MD *Quackenbush Company [1928], Patterson, NJ *A Polsky Company [1928], Akron, OH *Morehouse-Martens Company [1928], Columbus, OH *James Black Dry Goods Company [1928], Waterloo, IA *Rudge & Guenzel Company [1928], Lincoln, NE *LH Field  Company [1928], Jackson, MI *FN Joslin Company [1928], Malden, MA *Muller Company, Limited [1928], Lake Charles, LA *AE Troutman Company [1928], Greensburg, PA *Louis Samler, Incorporated [1928], Lebanon, PA *Welbar Company [1928]. Columbus, OH  *Wright-Metzer Company (Troutman Company) [1928], Connellsville, PA *Smith-Kasson Company [1928], Cincinnati, OH *Maas Brothers [1929], Tampa, FL *Joske Brothers Company [1932], San Antonio, TX *Pomeroy's [1934], Pottstown, PA *Dey Brothers & Company [1936], Syracuse, NY *CM Guggenheimer Company [1937], Lynchburg, VA *Paris of Montana [1937], Great Falls, MT *CC Anderson Stores Company [1937], Boise, ID *George B Peck Company [1939], Kansas City, MO *Heer's, Incorporated [1940], Springfield, MO *B Gertz & Company [1941] , New York, NY *The Bon Marche [1943], Lowell, MA *BH Levy Brothers & Company [1944], Savannah, GA *Fisher & Company [1945], Tacoma, WA *Barnes-Woodin [1945], Yakima, WA *AM Jensen Company [1946], Walla Walla, WA *William Laubach & Sons [1946], Easton, PA *The Fashion Company [1948], Columbus, OH *Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company [1949], Cleveland, OH *Stern Brothers [1951], New York, NY / Paramus, NJ *The Palace [1952], Spokane, WA *New Castle Dry Goods Company [1952], New Castle, PA *Wren's [1952], Springfield, OH *DM Read Company [1953] Bridgeport, CT *Kennington's [1954], Jackson, MS *Cain-Sloan Company [1955], Nashville, TN *Jordan Marsh of Florida [1956], Miami, FL *Missoula Mercantile [1959], Missoula, MT *Mabley & Carew Company [1960], Cincinnati, OH *The Fair [1961], Fort Worth, TX *William H Block Company [1962], Indianapolis, IN

FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES

-400 stores in thirty-three states-

*F & R Lazarus & Company [1929], Columbus, OH *John Shillito Company [1929], Cincinnati, OH *William Filene & Sons [1929], Boston, MA *Abraham & Straus [1929], New York, NY *Bloomingdale's [1930], New York, NY *Halliburton's [1947], Oklahoma City, OK *The Boston Store [1948], Milwaukee, WI *Sanger Brothers [1951], Dallas, TX *Fedway Stores [1952], California-New Mexico-Texas *Foley Brothers Company [1953], Houston, TX *WM Burdine & Son [1956], Miami, FL *Rike Kumler Company [1959], Dayton, OH *Goldsmith's [1959], Memphis, TN *Levy Brothers [1960], Tuscon, AZ *A Harris & Company [1961], Dallas, TX *Bullock's-I. Magnin [1965], Los Angeles, CA *M Rich & Company [1976], Atlanta, GA

BROADWAY-HALE STORES, INCORPORATED [1950]

CARTER-HAWLEY-HALE STORES, INCORPORATED [1975]

BROADWAY STORES, INCORPORATED [1992]

-Forty-five stores in five states and one Canadian province-

*Hale Brothers Company [1950], Sacramento, CA *Weinstock-Lubin & Company [1950], Sacramento, CA *The Broadway Department Stores [1950], Los Angeles, CA *Marston Company [1961], San Diego, CA *Neiman-Marcus [1969], Dallas, TX *Emporium-Capwell Company [1969], San Francisco, CA *Bergdorf Goodman [1972], New York, NY *Holt-Renfrew & Company [1972], Montreal, QC *John Wanamaker & Company [1978], Philadelphia, PA *Thalhimer Brothers Company [1978], Richmond, VA

Alexander Turney Stewart's Marble Dry Goods Palace initiated a retail revolution in mid-19th century Manhattan. A second Stewart store, the Iron Palace, opened, at Broadway and 10th Streets, in 1862. 

This store was located in an area that became known as the "Ladies' Mile." It extended along Broadway and Sixth Avenue, between 9th and 23rd Streets, and comprised the commercial epicenter of the city. Stores had been built here by Lord & Taylor (1870), B. Altman (1877) and R.H. Macy & Company (1879). 

Rowland Hussey Macy's first commercial emporium in New York had opened on October 28, 1858. It would eventually surpass all other Big Apple-based retailers. As Mr. Macy was building his empire, other department store chains had opened across the frontier. This began to fulfill a merchandising manifest destiny. The more important of these players were...

*Gimbel Brothers (1887), Milwaukee [divisions formed in Philadelphia, New York City and Pittsburgh]

*John Wanamaker & Company (1876), Philadelphia

*Kaufmann's (1871) [Founded by Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann], Pittsburgh

*William Filene & Sons (1881), Boston

*Marshall Field & Company (1881), Chicago

*Dayton Company (1902) [Founded by George Draper Dayton], Minneapolis

*F & R Lazarus (1851) [Founded by Simon Lazarus], Columbus (OH)

*W M Burdine & Son (1896), Miami (1898)

*Woodward & Lothrop (1887) [Founded by Samuel Walter Woodward and Alvison Mason Lothrop], Washington, DC

*Foley's (1900) [Founded by Pat and James Foley], Houston

*Morris Rich Dry Goods (1867), Atlanta

*Belk Department Stores (1888) [Founded by William Henry Belk], Charlotte

*The Bon Marche (1890) [Founded by Edward Nordhoff], Seattle

*The Emporium (1896) [Founded by Adolph Feiss], San Francisco

*The Broadway (1896) [Founded by Arthur Letts], Los Angeles

*Denver Dry Goods Company (1894) [The Denver], Denver

Lower Manhattan's Marble Dry Goods Palace, known today as the Sun Building. In 1846, it opened as what can be considered America's first department store. The success of the venture led several mid-19th century retailers to set up shop nearby, creating the Ladies' Mile of merchandisers along Broadway and Sixth Avenues.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Dmadeo"

The man who started it all, Rowland Hussey Macy (1822-1877). On October 28, 1858, he opened the first R.H. Macy & Company store at Fourteenth Street and Sixth Avenue, in Manhattan. In his early years, he spent time as a whaler and received a tattoo of a red star on his hand. Said star became part of the Macy's trademark.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Pionic"

By the turn of the century, the Macy's enterprise had outgrown its original Manhattan location. A new store was built at Broadway and 34th Street (Herald Square), that was dedicated in November 1902. The photo above shows said store as it appeared in 1908. The structure would be expanded to over 1 million square feet in 1924.
Photo from Library of Congress

R. H. Macy & Company acquired several American department store chains between 1924 and 1947. These were operated via six corporate divisions. In 1947, there was Macy's New York {greater New York City}, LaSalle & Koch {Toledo, Ohio}, Davison-Paxon Company (a.k.a. Davison's) {Atlanta, Georgia}, L. Bamberger & Company (Bamberger's) {Newark, New Jersey}, Macy's San Francisco and Macy's Missouri-Kansas {Kansas City, Missouri}. 

The Gimbels Brothers enterprise began with a Milwaukee store, opened in October 1887. A second division was established in Philadelphia in March 1894, when Haine & Company was acquired and rebranded. Gimbels' Philadelphia flagship is seen above, as the store appeared at the turn of the century.
Photo from Library of Congress 

Expansion of the Gimbels conglomerate continued into the early 20th century. A New York division got underway with a Manhattan store, dedicated in September 1910. The fourth and final operation was established in 1925 in Pittsburgh, with the acquisition and rebranding of the Kaufmann & Baer Company.   

A topographic depiction of the major Manhattan-based merchandisers of the 20th century. Macy's initiated the exodus from the previous century's Ladies' Mile retail district, in Lower Manhattan, in 1902. New York City retail moved uptown!

The mega Macy's flagship at Manhattan's Herald Square (Broadway and 34th Street). The sign proudly proclaims it as the world's largest store. That it was between 1924 and 2009. In that year, the 2,172,000 square foot buying behemoth was bested. A 3 million square foot store was opened by Shinsegae, in Busan, South Korea.
Photo from Wikipedia / Mike Strand

With the two major Big Apple-based chains covered, we move on to other prominent "carriage trade" department stores of the Northeast. Perhaps a bit of clarification is necessary. The term "carriage trade" originated in the late 19th century. It was used in reference to upper-crust clientele who arrived at an establishment in their own private carriage (with members of the working class making the trip in a streetcar). 

Ten major Nor'easter department store chains are featured on our first two logo and store layouts.

A map of northeastern stores, showing major regional chains that operated during the mid-20th century.

Abraham & Straus (a.k.a. "A & S") opened a freestanding store in Hempstead (village), Long Island in February 1952. It encompassed 3-levels and 225,000 square feet, with free parking for 1,000 autos. Among the store's many features was its upscale Garden Room Restaurant.

Drawing from Federated Department Stores, Incorporated Annual Report 1950

Wayne, New Jersey's Willowbrook Mall was officially dedicated in September 1969. A second stage opened in August 1970. Stern Brothers (a.k.a. Stern's) anchored the addition with a 2-level (225,000 square foot) store.   

Photo from Allied Stores, Corporation Annual Report 1970

Queen's-based Gertz extended their Long Island coverage with a new store in Sunrise Mall, in Nassau County. The first operational tenant in the complex, Gertz welcomed first shoppers in August 1972.

Photo from Allied Stores, Corporation Annual Report 1973

Boston's William Filene & Sons (Filene's) traced its beginning back to 1881. The flagship store seen above was dedicated in 1912 and expanded in the late 1920s.
Photo from Library of Congress / Carol M. Highsmith

John Wanamaker's first store -the Grand Depot- opened in conjunction with the nation's Centennial celebration, in Philadelphia, in 1876. It was housed in an abandoned railroad station that had been rehabilitated into a retail store.
Photo from the Pennsylvania State Archives

The opulent Grand Court of Wanamaker's Center City Philadelphia flagship was completed in 1911. The massive structure was reputed to be one of the most beautiful department stores in the world.
Photo from Library of Congress / Carol M. Highsmith

Philly's Lit Brothers came into being in 1891. Promoted as "A Great Store In A Great City," Lits was a moderate-price alternative to competitors John Wanamaker and Strawbridge & Clothier. The Lits chain was shuttered in 1977.

Photo from Library of Congress / Carol M. Highsmith

The Hecht's chain originated in Baltimore, in 1857. Samuel Hecht, Junior opened a used furniture store that gradually expanded into a full-line mercantile. This grand, Beaux Arts ["bowz-arts"] structure was completed in 1926.

Photo from the BG&E Collection / Baltimore Museum of Industry

Glosser Brothers, another Keystone State concern, operated out of Johnstown between 1906 and 1989. A discount division, known as Gee Bee, was quite successful during the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Its final stores closed in 1993. 

Photo from Library of Congress

Kaufmann's hailed from Pittsburgh, with the first store opening its doors in 1871. A move to the downtown Golden Triangle was completed in 1877. By the mid-20th century, the chain was established as the preeminent Steel City merchandiser. Seen above is a November 1892 newspaper advert that promotes boy's and men's apparel...all priced between 3 and 5 dollars.

Advert from Kaufmann's Department Stores

McCurdy & Company (a.k.a. McCurdy's) was a Rochester, New York institution between 1901 and 1994. In the late 1950s, McCurdy's formed a joint venture with the B. Forman Company, a Rochester-based ladies' wear retailer. Together, they built the iconic MIDTOWN PLAZA shopping mall (1962). Above we have a December 1924 ad for "Rochester's Christmas Store."

Advert from McCurdy & Company

  

G. Fox & Company was formed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1847, by brothers Gerson and Isaac. Gerson eventually bought out his brother's interest. By the mid-20th century, G. Fox was the Nutmeg State's dominant retailer. The chain was dissolved in 1993, when its stores were rebranded by Boston-based Filene's. The newspaper ad above, from May 1930, announces the chain's 83rd anniversary sale.

Advert from G. Fox & Company

Reading, Pennsylvania's Boscov's was founded -in 1918- by Solomon Boscov. The chain expanded in the 1960s and opened its first out-of-state location in 1982. Boscov's went through bankruptcy proceedings between August 2008 and September 2009. However, in the 2010s and 2020s, the chain was expanding operations. The first Connecticut store opened in October 2015. Its 2nd Floor is depicted in the drawing above. 

Our next section covers major department stores of America's Heartland, including the veritable Marshall Field & Company, which hailed from The Windy City.

The logos and lifelines of four major Midwestern department store chains. 

An accompanying map of the preeminent Midwestern department stores of the mid-century.

Like New York' City's R.H. Macy, Chicago's Marshall Field (1834-1906) created a massive retail empire. At its peak, Marshall Field & Company extended from Ohio to the Dakotas and from Wisconsin to Texas. The chain was a Windy City institution. 

Photo from Wikipedia / "Bain"

The origins of Marshall Field & Company can be traced back to 1852. However, the first appearance of the (quote-unquote) "Marshall Field's" nameplate was in January 1881, when Mr. Field bought out his final senior partner. At the time of this 1910 photo, Marshall Field & Company was operating out of a State Street flagship store, which had been completed in 1902.

Photo from Library of Congress

  

Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company, another prominent Windy City retailer, traced its beginnings back to 1854. The chain was founded by Scotsmen Samuel Carson and John T. Pirie. Robert Scott bought into the business in 1890. Operations moved into the store depicted above in 1904. It had been built -in 1888 and '89- for the Schlesinger & Mayer Company. 

Drawing from Library of Congress

This Hoosier State store was established in January 1872. Lyman Skinner Ayres acquired controlling interest in the Indianapolis mercantile operated by N.R. Smith & Company. 2  years later, he was the sole owner. The L.S. Ayres & Company heading first appeared in February 1874. A newly-built store (seen above) was dedicated in October 1905. It was expanded in 1915, 1929, 1945, 1947 and 1953. 

Photo from https://images.indianahistory.org / Indiana Historical Society

The Dayton Dry Goods Company was the brainchild of George Draper Dayton. He built a 6-story structure in downtown Minneapolis. The primary tenant, the Goodfellows Dry Goods Company, opened in June 1902. Dayton bought the company and changed its name to the Dayton Dry Goods Company in May 1903. Soon after, this art nouveau newspaper ad was published. 

Advert from the Dayton Dry Goods Company

Herpolsheimer's, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, opened a new flagship store in 1949. The stunning, Late Moderne-style store encompassed 340,000 square feet.

Drawing from Allied Stores Corporation Annual Report 1948

Over in Detroit, the J.L. Hudson ("Hudson's") chain was the Motor City's preeminent department store. Their first branch, at Southfield, Michigan's Northland Center mall, opened early in 1954. Eventually housing over 500,000 square feet, it would be the largest suburban department store ever built.

Down in Dayton, Ohio, the Rike-Kumler Company ("Rike's") chain expanded, suburban-wise, in the years between 1961 and 1971. The fourth branch, at Montgomery County's Dayton Mall, rang up its first sale in October 1969.

Cincinnati's McAlpin Company originated in 1852. Founded by George Washington McAlpin, the chain dedicated its first shopping center branch in November 1954. A Middletown, Ohio location had been launched in July 1951. This store moved to a new shopping center in October 1958. Middletown's McAlpin's relocated again in February 1975. At first a freestanding structure, it became an anchor of Towne Mall in February 1977. The plan above depicts the store as it was configured at that time.   

F & R Lazarus, the preeminent Columbus, Ohio mercantile, originated with a men's emporium opened -by Simon Lazarus- in 1851. Sons Fred and Ralph expanded the business and devised several innovations. These included the nation's first department store escalators and the first air-conditioning of a department store. The downtown flagship, seen above, is decorated for the 1955 yuletide season.

Photo from https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org / Ohio Memory-Ohio History