Old Glamour Houses

Old ,luxe ,elegant department stores have always intrested me. The other day I was thinking of all the grand dames who aren't around anymore ,or are barely hanging on. I thought a trip down memory lane would be fun, and over on Miss Ginger Grant's blog she too posted about retail business and some stores no longer around. It is sort of depressing that some of these gems are gone. You may remember some of them. These are some of the few I was in and are my favorites, What was or is your favorite store?







John Wanmaker's was my families store to shop. We generally shopped the Harrisburg store or the Center City flagship in Philadelphia. It was started in 1861 by John Wanamaker. The flagship was a 12 story ornate building that houses the worlds largest playing pipe organ. Wanamakers was famous for it's Americian and European fashions, honest reputation, incredible architecture and design, and there service. When we went to the Philly store you could be in there all day! The famous Crystal Tea Room was where all the Philly socialites had there lunches held. They even had a epicurian food market! The company was eventually absorded by Hechts and then Macy's. Macy's ,who reduced the flagship to only four floors got criticized for also closing the popular Crystal Tea Room, building in the perimeter walls and covering up lots of the historic design. They did however keep the tradition of the After noon Wanamaker Pipe Organ show going to this day, everyday at noon! If you are ever in Philly you must stop to see and hear it. It's amazing. All the branch stores became a Lord&Taylor or a Macy's.





I.Magnin was a upscale and elegant store founded by Mary Magnin and named after her husband Issac. Magnin's was very luxurious and chic in interior design,architecture and goods. It was the best shopping in San Franscio and was said to offer the best service of any store on both coasts -to date. I can remember when we went to see our family who lived out there at the time. They took us to I.Magnin's ,and I remember being in awe of the store. Ultimately in the early 1980's during the department store junk bond crisis,it was bought out by Bullocks,and then Macy's who closed the flagship and all the branches.



Bonwit Tellers started in 1906 in New York by Paul Bonwit and Ed Teller,and specialized in very high end women's couture and accessories,and then carried apparel for the whole family. The stores were very ornate inside,almost museum like. I can remember shopping with my mother in Bonwit Tellers when I was young,for back to school shopping in Philadelphia. The chandeliers were so big and ornate I hadn't seen anything like them before. In 1989 the company declared bankruptcy and closed it's doors. Donald Trump demolished the lavish flagship in New York City to make room for his Trump Tower,and the Philadelphia store became Alas- a Daffy's.




<Marshall Fields was the crown jewel of Chicago in it's magnificent flagship store and grew to a major chain before being acquired by Macy's in 2005. The flagship was founded by Marshall Field in 1881 and was always a very elegant and grand store catering to the upper middle class. The flagship in Chicago ceased to exist in September 2006 when it became Macy's officially and all the remaining branches were closed down. The day the name change took place a huge crowd grew outside and vowed to never shop there again under Macy's name.



B Altmans was also a very lavish store now shuttered. It was on Fifth Avenue and catered to a very affluent crowd. The Altman family built the "palace of trade",where when complete,took a whole city block,and B.Altmans was the first store to introduce Ready-to Wear goods. After closing their doors,the building now house The Oxford University Press and New York Public Library's Science,Industry and Business Library moved in.




Last Christmas was my the first time to Henri Bendell. What a elegant and chic store. They have been around since 1896 and established by Henri Bendell and is now owned by the Limited Brands. The chic boutique department store with it's gold guiling and Lalique windows is famous for their brown and white stripe shopping bag and their extensive line of cosmetic lines. Bendel was also the first store to bring the designs of Coco Chanel over from Paris,and introduce the concept of boutiques-with in-a speciality store. They too are down to this one store on Fifth Avenue.





If you ever make it to New York and haven't been to Berdorf Goodman you must stop just to see the beauty of the store.Started in in 1899 by Herman Berdorf and Edwin Goodman on Fifth Avenue it was the pinnacle of high Art Deco design and height of elegance and is said to be the the expensive store in the world. It is one opulent store and the displays are just amazing. In 2003 Neiman-Marcus bought Berdorfs in it's slump and now operates it's only store on Fifth Avenue.