Old Time Cincinnati Department Stores (Columbus, Dayton: sale, buying, cinema)

[kjbrill]

The thread on urban development disasters prompted me to reflect on the old department stores which were Cincinnati hallmarks.

I will start with Mabley & Crew, first established in 1877. Over time this gave rise to the Crew Tower the tallest structure in Cincinnati until just recently.

Then there was Rollman's Dept. Store, established in 1867 across the street from Mabley's.

Now toss in McAlpin's, established in 1852, the 4th street store opened in 1880.

Next is H&S Pogue Co., founded in 1863. In my youth this was considered the elite store in Cincy.

Now we go to the John Shillito company, Cincinnati's oldest established in 1832 with the subsequent store at 7th & Race in 1878 which was the largest store under one roof in the country.

When you look at this list, to me it is quite impressive for a city the size of Cincinnati.

Then you have to ask what happened? I remember the first of the suburban shopping malls. The McAlpin's store in Kenwood Plaza was very large, bright, and modern. The downtown store was dark, dank, and dingy.

Then you have Shillitos going first to Lazarus, then Federated, and now to Macy's.

While not directly connected to urban planning, their successes and downfalls have to be related to changing demographics.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

...While not directly connected to urban planning, their successes and downfalls have to be related to changing demographics.

Directly connected to one individual and his influence over government policy in his day: Henry Ford.

[t45209]

For a short period of time, our Shillito's merged with Dayton's Rike's, thus the Shillito-Rikes bags I have somewhere in the attic.

If I am not mistaken, Lazarus owned Shillito's for years, if not decades, before the Shillito name was finally abandoned.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by t45209

For a short period of time, our Shillito's merged with Dayton's Rike's, thus the Shillito-Rikes bags I have somewhere in the attic.

If I am not mistaken, Lazarus owned Shillito's for years, if not decades, before the Shillito name was finally abandoned.

Yes they hung on to Shillito's for quite a while before changing it to Lazarus. Lazarus actually acquired Shillito's in 1928. Currently of course they are branded as Macy's in recognition of that brand's national visibility.

Do you remember Gold Circle? That was Lazarus entry into the discount market.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Yes they hung on to Shillito's for quite a while before changing it to Lazarus. Lazarus actually acquired Shillito's in 1928. Currently of course they are branded as Macy's in recognition of that brand's national visibility.

Do you remember Gold Circle? That was Lazarus entry into the discount market.

Yep, often went to Gold Circle in the old Cassinelli Square in Springdale, and the Gold Circle Mall at Ridge and Highland. We used to go to the old Gold Circle Cinema there. I think I saw the Bad News Bears there, The Prize Fighter (Tim Conway and Don Knotts), and probably the last thing I saw there was Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

[kjbrill]

In my youth Pogues was considered the upper class store. Great quality if you could afford it. When the wife and I were first married, fresh out of college and and not wanting to be mortgaged to the hilt, we found a nice sale at Pogues on bedroom furniture, brand name Henredon. Bought a 5-drawer mens chest and a 3-drawer double womans dresser. Now, 49 years later, those two pieces of furniture are as solid as the day we bought them. All we do is kick ourselves for not extending and buying the matching night stands to help complete the set.

[tylerSC]

Most regional dept stores across the country have now been merged into Macy's. Gone are the days of Rich's, Lazarus, Hecht's, Kaufman's and Burdine's. And Marshall Field's. The few remaining include Belk, Bon Ton, Boscov's and Dillard's. Local names such as Rich's and Lazarus are still very much missed.

[buckeyenative01]

Was McAlpins bought out by Dillards?

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

Was McAlpins bought out by Dillards?

Yes.

And similarly Shillitos was renamed Lazarus and then renamed Macys although basically under the same ownership for years. When the parent company Federated acquired Macys after a period of time they decided that was a stronger brand name association and began rebanding their various divisions as Macys and then the entire corporation as the Macys Group.

Shillito's was founded in 1857 and sold to the F.R. Lazarus Co. of Columbus in 1930. Lazarus was one of the founding partners of Federated Dept. Stores. In 1982 Shillito's was renamed Shillito Rikes in recognition of acquisition of the Rikes stores. In 1986 they were all renamed Lazarus until 2005 when they were again renamed Macys. Federated was very successful at acquisitions, with the largest one in 2005 when they acquired May Department Stores making Federated the largest department store chain in the country. With the May acquision came several well known brand names such as Macys, Marshall Field's in Chicago, Bloomingdales, and several others.

[motorman]

Got a serious question for you, kjbrill, concerning Lazarus--okay? (too tired or lazy to research it myself) Somewhere back the late 90s or so didn't the Lazarus division move to Atlanta (along with some 600-800 jobs)? What, basically, were the details surrounding this sudden and heart-wrenching loss of so many high-paying jobs and a Fortune 500 HQs?