We continue our American department store tour in the American Southwest.
Five of the major Southwestern chains are represented in this store history and logo layout.
The four-state map shows the predominant mid-century chains in Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma.
Advert from Foley Brothers
A latter-day Foley's is depicted here. This store opened, at Houston's NORTHWEST MALL, in October 1968.
The Joske Brothers Company (Joske's) was founded by Julius Joske, in San Antonio, in 1873. This newspaper advert from September 1920 features the flagship store, at Alamo Plaza, that was completed in 1887.
Advert from the Joske Brothers Company
Sanger Brothers Dry Goods Company was formed by five siblings in 1868. A Dallas unit opened in 1872, which became the most profitable of six branches. The Dallas flagship, seen above, was completed in 1910. As previously mentioned, Sanger's and Dallas' A. Harris Company merged in 1961.
Photo from University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History / Dallas County Community College District
El Paso's White House Department Store chain evolved from the City of London store, in Juarez, Texas. This mercantile had been founded -by Felix Brunschwig- in 1880. It was shuttered in 1890, with the business moving to El Paso. The first White House store welcomed shoppers in September 1890. The building seen here opened in 1914 and was expanded in 1917, 1923, 1928, 1946 and 1951.
Photo from Library of Congress / Carol M. Highsmith
A Phoenix-based Boston Store was dedicated in 1897. "The Boston Store" was a generic name for a dry goods emporium of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Most were independently owned and operated. The proprietors of the Phoenix unit were Nathan and Isaac Diamond. Their store was renamed Diamond's in 1947, as part of a 50th anniversary celebration. An unrelated, Southern California-based Boston Store operated in Phoenix between 1973 and 1995.
Adverts from N. Diamond & Brother / Diamond's
Photo from the Scottsdale Historical Society
