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Become Part of the Store Family

From its flagship store on Market Street in the heart of Philadelphia, Strawbridge & Clothier strove to meet the needs of its customers for over a century. Built on a foundation of integrity and character, the store and its founders, Justus Strawbridge and Isaac Clothier, made sure the customer was always right and the price just. The department store later branched out to nearby New Jersey and Delaware in the mid to late Twentieth Century. At the time of its sale in 1996, Strawbridge & Clothier was the oldest department store in the country with continuous family ownership.

Author Margaret Strawbridge Butterworth charts the history of Philadelphia’s Strawbridge & Clothier through vivid stories from past employees and customers alike as she invites readers to join the “store family./p>

or more than 150 years, Marshall Field's reigned as Chicago's leading department store, celebrated for its exceptional service, spectacular window displays, and fashionable merchandise.

Few shoppers recalled its origins as a small dry goods business opened in 1852 by a New York Quaker named Potter Palmer. That store, eventually renamed Marshall Field and Company, weathered economic downturns, spectacular fires, and fierce competition to become a world-class retailer and merchandise powerhouse. Marshall Field sent buyers to Europe for the latest fashions, insisted on courteous service, and immortalized the phrase "give the lady what she wants." The store prided itself on its dazzling Tiffany mosaic dome, Walnut Room restaurant, bronze clocks, and a string of firsts including the first bridal registry and first book signing.

Relive the history of Hudson's department store, a fixture in downtown Detroit , when retailing was an event and the department store ruled the shopping scene and was a Detroit icon.

The J. L. Hudson Company redefined the way Detroiters shopped and enjoyed leisure time. Many Detroiters share memories of times spent shopping and enjoying spectacular events sponsored by Hudson's. A solid and lofty icon built by businesspeople who believed in their passion, Hudson's defined Detroit's downtown, creating trends and traditions in consumer culture that still resonate with us today. Now and in the future, as Hudson's boxes, shopping bags, and artifacts are discovered in closets, attics, basements, and flea markets, many will remember that it was once as solid a civic fixture as the City-County Building or the Detroit Public Library.

Affectionately called "Woodies" by loyal Washingtonians, the beloved department store Woodward & Lothrop stood at the heart of downtown for over a century.

Crowds flocked to the flagship store on the F Street shopping corridor to find better service and the season's fashions. The store and its employees shared in the best moments in the lives of Washingtonians, from the elaborate holiday window displays to the Wedding Service department that helped countless brides choose their china patterns. For weary shoppers, the Bake Shop and seventh-floor Tea Room offered city favorites such as Wellesley Fudge Cupcakes and Chicken Pot Pie. Department store historian Michael J. Lisicky brings readers back to the store's golden age, chronicling the enterprise that made it a retail giant and the missteps that brought the store to its much lamented closing in 1995. Through interviews with store insiders, vintage images and a selection of recipes, Lisicky reveals the magic and the memories behind Woodward & Lothrop. With an introduction by Tim Gunn, American fashion icon and television personality.

It's a conveinent-store giant in the Mid-Atlantic region today, but Wawa's history dates back to its days as an iron manufactuer over 200 years ago.

Founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865, Wawa has roots in the manufacture of cast-iron water pipes and decorative lampposts. Using the resources and surplus water power from the iron business, the family opened a cotton mill and began producing cotton piece goods, including Red Star diapers. The first Wawa milk plant opened in 1902 and by the late 1950s, the Wawa Dairy had expanded its home delivery business to include over 145 routes. The first Wawa Food Market opened on April 16, 1964. Today, the company is familiar to many as a chain of 545 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that offers a wide selection of fresh foods, coffee, and gasoline. Wawa contains vintage images documenting the evolution of the company as it adapted to changing economic and social conditions. From the early days of iron manufacture to the opening of the first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania, Wawa brings to life the many facets of one of America's top privately owned companies.

Anyone who has waited in a Christmas line for the Walnut Room's Great Tree can attest that Chicago's loyalty to Marshall Field's is fierce.

Dayton-Hudson even had to take out advertising around town to apologize for changing the Field's hallowed green bags. And with good reason--the store and those who ran it shaped the city's streets, subsidized its culture and heralded its progress. The resulting commercial empire dictated wholesale tradeterms in Calcutta and sponsored towns in North Carolina, but its essence was always Chicago. So when the Marshall Field name was retired in 2006 after the stores were purchased by Macy's, protest slogans like "Field's is Chicago" and "Field's: as Chicago as it gets" weren't just emotional hype. Many still hope that name will be resurrected like the city it helped support during the Great Fire and the Great Depression. Until then, fans of Marshall Field's can celebrate its history with this warm look back at the beloved institution.

Join Letitia Stuart Savage on a journey to a time of leisurely shopping for the latest fashions complete with a side of Mile High Ice Cream Pie from the Tic Toc Restaurant.

In 1871, Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann created a classic Pittsburgh institution. The business grew from a small store on the South Side to a mammoth clothing house downtown that outfitted the community. The removal of the original freestanding clock upset customers, so Kaufmann's added its iconic version in 1913. A redesign of the store's first floor attracted national attention in the 1930s. While most Pittsburghers remember and celebrate the downtown store, others recall the suburban branches - miniatures of the expansive flagship store.

A tender and meticulously compiled exploration of the Sandusky shopping experience as it once was

The Sandusky Mall was the iconic shopping hub for locals who grew up in the 1970s and '80s. Kids visited the Circus World toy store, shopped for local amusement park souvenirs at Cedar Point Gifts, and fawned over the kittens and puppies at Petland. Teens scarfed Scotto's Pizza or a tasty treat at Baskin Robbins before taking in the latest feature at the Mall Cinema. Many others pumped quarters into the games at Goldmine or browsed the collection at Musicland.

Gathering more than 200 images, the original floor map, and the history of every store at every location, author Chris Bores delivers a trip down memory lane as well as never-before-told stories of the scandals and struggles--and the triumphs--that made the Sandusky Mall the place to be.

Learn the exciting story of the rise and fall of Gimbels, one of America's most beloved department stores.

In 1842, Adam Gimbel opened a small storefront in Vincennes, Indiana and unknowingly set forth the groundwork for an American retail icon. His "fair trade" practices encouraged him to leave Vincennes and open up "the largest store ever" in 1887 in the city of Milwaukee. After getting his Milwaukee on firm ground, Adam Gimbel left for Philadelphia, his wife's hometown, with his seven sons and opened the "world's largest store" in 1894. Like every major department store, Gimbels began to follow its customer into the suburbs, and the family became less involved in the running of the store. With sales and profits falling, Gimbels was purchased by British-American Tobacco. The company struggled to right itself in the challenging and changing retailing world. It built a new controversial flagship store in Philadelphia but it failed to draw its traditional shopper. By June 1986, Gimbels was going out of business and the 36 Gimbels stores located from Philadelphia to Milwaukee permanently shut their doors

Author and historian Anthony Sammarco reveals the fascinating history of Boston's beloved Jordan Marsh.

Jordan Marsh opened its first store in 1851 on Milk Street in Boston selling assorted dry goods. Following the Civil War, the store moved to Winthrop Square and later to Washington Street between Summer and Avon Streets. The new five-story building, designed by Winslow & Wetherell, unveiled the novel concept of department shopping under one roof. It attracted shoppers by offering personal service with the adage that the customer is always right, easy credit, art exhibitions and musical performances. By the 1970s, it had become a regional New England icon and the largest department store chain in the nation.

Hess's Department Store was a unique department store that with a combination of style and showmanship became a shopping legend for almost 100 years.

Founded in 1897 in Allentown by brothers Max and Charles Hess as a dry goods store, it became the downtown heart of Pennsylvania's third-largest city for much of the 20th century. The Hess family was from Germany, and it was Max Hess Sr. who realized the Germans in Pennsylvania had limited access to quality dry goods; with his sons' backgrounds in the retail industry, and a higher quality of merchandise, particularly Hess's French Room, filled with the most in vogue fashions from France. The department store entered its golden age under by Max Hess's son, a showman for merchandising who embraced the life of a department store mogul, living in a giant mansion and rubbing shoulders with celebrities such as Bob Hope and Zsa Zsa Gabor. From the single store in Allentown to more than 80 by the 1990s, it seemed that Hess's was unstoppable, but a national recession and increased retail competition would eventually sink the titan of Pennsylvania retail. Through a series of photographs, many from private collections and seldom seen, Hess's Department Storebrings the glory days of Hess's to life again.

For over a century, the J.L. Hudson's Department Store was more than just a store - it was a Detroit icon and a world-class cultural treasure.

At 25 stories, Hudson's was the world's tallest department store, and was at one time home to the most exceptional offerings in shopping, dining, services, and entertainment. The store prided itself on stocking everything from grand pianos to spools of thread. In addition to regular department store fare, the original Hudson's store featured an auditorium, a circulating library, dining rooms, barber shops, a photo studio, holiday exhibits, a magnificent place called Toytown, and the world's largest American flag. As a legendary symbol of urban and entrepreneurial American history, the J.L. Hudson's Department Store earned a permanent place in Detroit's collective memory. Although "the big store" no longer graces Woodward Avenue, its legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of generations, and in the remarkable photographs that preserve its reign.

From watch catalog to international retail empire, revisit Sears's Windy City history with author Val Rendel and remember how good the "Good Life" once was.

In 1887, Richard W. Sears started a Chicago mail-order house that quickly outpaced its competitors, including Montgomery Ward. For millions of rural Americans over the next hundred years, Chicago was the place where dreams came from. Here, the "World's Largest Store" opened its first retail buildings, debuted its WLS radio station and transformed the global marketplace from the Great Works headquarters complex. Today, Sears has faded from the city of its birth, but many marks of the once-great business remain, from repurposed iconic department store buildings to the Sears kit homes still scattered across the suburbs. The 110-story skyscraper that dominates the skyline will forever be known to locals as the Sears Tower. Sears greatest legacy, however, was the role it played in shaping the lives of generations of Chicagoans.

Shopping has always been big business. Learn all about the golden age of Cleveland's department stores by retail historian Christopher Faircloth.

Originating as simple storefront operations, Cleveland's department stores grew as population and industry in the region boomed throughout the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th. They moved into ever larger and elaborate structures in an attempt to woo the shopping dollars of blue-collar and genteel Clevelanders alike. Stores such as Halle's, Higbee's, May Company, Bailey Company, Sterling-Lindner-Davis, and others both competed with and complemented one another, all the while leaving an indelible mark on the culture of northeast Ohio and beyond. From the humble origins of Halle's horse-drawn delivery wagons to Christmas favorites like Mr. Jingeling and the massive Christmas tree at Sterling-Lindner-Davis - it is all here in crisp, black-and-white images, many of which have not been seen in print for decades.

This book documents the history of Thalhimers department stores, through stories and vintage photographs.

Thalhimers was founded in Richmond in 1842 by German Jewish immigrant William Thalhimer as a humble dry goods store. It expanded over the years to become a 26-store chain across the Southeast under the leadership of William's great-grandson, William B. Thalhimer Jr. It boasted the latest in clothing, shoes, and accessories for the entire family, the most modern of housewares, and gourmet foods and baked goods, including the iconic six-layer chocolate cake. Through decades of dramatic political and social change, Thalhimers stood strong, guided by the overarching philosophies of honesty, integrity, quality, and service. Loyal and devoted employees were the heart of Thalhimers, becoming part of the extended Thalhimer family. Sadly, in 1992, as a result of retail consolidation, the Thalhimer name was dropped and the flagship downtown Richmond store closed. A 150-year legacy ended, leaving behind cherished memories, stories, and images.

Downtown Gary: Millrats, Politics, and US Steel provides a glimpse of the Gary of yesteryear when downtown was the social, cultural, and political center of the community.

Before the era of gigantic shopping malls, big-box stores, and online shopping, the commercial centers of major American cities were located in areas often referred to as downtown. From the 1920s through the 1960s, people from throughout the Calumet Region flocked to the Steel City's popular stores, theaters, and restaurants by car, bus, and the South Shore Railroad. For many, Gordon's, Lytton's, Sears, and Goldblatt's bring back memories of window-shopping, making layaway plans, visiting Santa, and being asked "May I help you?" by courteous employees. Downtown Gary: Millrats, Politics, and US Steel provides a look at the stores, politics, churches, schools, and of course, United States Steel Corporation and the millrats of forgotten Gary.

The story of John Larkin, Buffalo businessman, and his soap company that was one largest mail -order companies in America and left the legacy of Larkinville.

Born at 13 Clinton Street in Buffalo in 1845, John D. Larkin went on to become one of the most successful businessmen Buffalo has ever had. Developing from his experience in the soap industry with his brother-in-law Justus Weller in Buffalo and Chicago, the Larkin Company, established in 1875, became one of the dominant mail-order businesses in America. In 1885, Larkin and his wife's brother, Elbert Hubbard, promoted ""The Larkin Idea,"" which brought the business a national customer base through ""Factory to Family"" direct sales. At the height of the company, 90,000 ""Larkin Secretaries"" established clubs to bring Larkin soap and other products to women in their neighborhoods. This system of secretaries and clubs created an external promotional engine unlike any other previously known. The company closed in 1967, leaving its mammoth footprint in Buffalo's Hydraulic neighborhood, now aptly called Larkinville.

Reminisce with author Bruce Allen Kopytek about a time when these three great department stores dominated Toledo's retail scene and offered their customers anything they could want.

Remember the days when shopping meant white gloves, suits for men and leisurely lunches in tearooms? Toledo, an industrial powerhouse and Ohio's third-largest city, once had it all, and Lamson's, the Lion Store and Lasalle's were where it all happened. Revisit their downtown competitors like Tiedtke's, B.R. Baker, Milner's and Stein's, which also added their own touch to Toledo's life. Through written history, photographs and personal recollections a lost era comes to light--an era when business was personal and local and shopping was more of a cherished event rather than a chore.

Department stores were a midwest institution, none more prominent in downtown Columbus Ohio than F&R Laazarus & Company.

For more than 150 years, F&R Lazarus & Company was the heart of downtown Columbus. Headed by the first family of American retailing with an eye for flair and a devotion to the customer, this uniquely midwestern institution won the hearts and minds of a community. Look to Lazarus draws on the memories of those who worked and shopped in this grand emporium to tell the unlikely story of a love affair between a city and a store. It was a love affair born of the solemn promise You can always take it back to Lazarus, no questions asked.