{"id":116,"date":"2010-06-11T15:20:27","date_gmt":"2010-06-11T15:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.phillyhistory.org\/wordpress\/?p=116"},"modified":"2017-01-12T18:36:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T23:36:00","slug":"one-price-and-goods-returnable-center-citys-department-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/2010\/06\/one-price-and-goods-returnable-center-citys-department-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOne price and goods returnable\u201d: Center City\u2019s Department Stores"},"content":{"rendered":"
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During the first half of the nineteenth century, Market Street (formerly High Street) was a mix of residential and commercial, as Philadelphians clung to the Delaware waterfront for sustenance. Successful businessmen such as printer Benjamin Franklin and china maker Benjamin Tucker lived \u201cabove the store\u201d or in houses adjacent to their businesses.i<\/sup> With the coming of the horse-drawn and electric streetcar, however, Market Street became almost exclusively commercial, as many business owners moved to fashionable residential districts to the south and the west.<\/div>\n

Following the Civil War, there was an explosion in manufactured consumer goods, especially clothing and household wares. By 1900, fine furniture, crockery, carpets, tailored suits, and dresses were now available to an expanding (and increasingly discerning) middle class, not just the rich. For residents of neighborhoods like Germantown and West Philadelphia, shopping was no longer just a chore: it was entertainment.<\/p>\n

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A number of Philadelphia entrepreneurs capitalized on this embarrassment of riches by consolidating consumer offerings under one roof. The most famous merchandiser of them all was John Wanamaker, who came up with a simple slogan: \u201cOne price and goods returnable.\u201d Like his contemporary John D. Rockefeller, Wanamaker was a proponent of the \u201cSocial Gospel,\u201d a philosophy that maintained wealth was a tool to further \u201cthe exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.\u201d ii<\/sup> A devout Presbyterian, Wanamaker believed he could uplift his patrons through art, culture, and Christian morality.<\/div>\n

After successfully operating two smaller stores in Center City, in 1875 he purchased the Pennsylvania Railroad\u2019s freight depot at 13th and Market Streets, on the east side of Penn Square. He then refurbished it into a sprawling store with 129 counters. He also made sure his store was on the cutting edge of technology, equipping it with telephones, elevators, electric lights, and pneumatic tubes.iii<\/sup> Wanamaker bet that the unfinished City Hall \u2013being built on what once had been quiet residential square\u2014would transform the area into a booming commercial hub.<\/p>\n

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Wanamaker\u2019s gamble paid off. Not only did the new City Hall shift the commercial heart of the city from Old City to Penn Square, but the new Broad Street Station funneled prosperous suburbanites right onto his store\u2019s front doorsteps. His \u201cGrand Depot\u201d was so lucrative that Wanamaker built an even bigger store on the same site. Designed by Daniel Burnham and unveiled in 1911, the new store was 12 stories high and resembled an Italian Renaissance palazzo on the exterior.iv<\/sup> The interior was a glittering jewel box, encrusted with crystal, marble, and European paintings.v<\/sup> A gigantic pipe organ, originally built for the St. Louis World\u2019s Fair, entertained shoppers as they strolled through the displays.vi<\/sup> The 9th floor Crystal Tea Room, able to seat 1,400 guests, was one of the most beautiful dining establishments in the city. At Christmastime, a sparkling curtain of light cascaded down the walls of the main atrium, eliciting the \u201coohs\u201d and \u201cahs\u201d from generations of Philadelphia children.<\/div>\n

\u201cPious John\u201d Wanamaker was not modest about his own success. Read a plaque in the lobby: \u201cLet those who follow me continue to build with the plumb of honor, the level of truth and the square of integrity, education, courtesy, and mutuality.\u201d vii<\/sup> He was also sometimes credited with one of the most famous quips in advertising history: \u201cRetailers Rule…The customer is always right.\u201d viii<\/sup><\/p>\n

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While Wanamaker\u2019s was the store of choice for Main Line matrons, other department stores catered to Philadelphia\u2019s middle and working class shoppers. Quaker partners Justus Strawbridge and Isaac Clothier founded their less flashy establishment in 1858. In 1930, Strawbridge and Clothier completed their big, but appropriately subdued, neo-classical store at 8th and Market Streets. Pipe organs, catchy slogans, and French salon paintings were not in the \u201cQuaker plain\u201d vein of Strawbridge and Clothier. Rather, the store\u2019s trademark was the \u201cSeal of Confidence\u201d depicting William Penn shaking hands with a Native American. The \u201cCorinthian Room\u201d food court served hot dogs rather than high tea. This thrifty philosophy was appreciated by the store\u2019s clientele. As one long-time Strawbridge patron said, \u201cI\u2019ve been coming here for many years. As long as the merchandise is good quality and it\u2019s decently priced, I plan to keep on coming.\u201d ix<\/sup> At Christmas, the fourth floor boasted a life-sized walk through set of Charles Dickens\u2019 A Christmas Carol<\/span>, complete with actors and Victorian sets.x<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A stone\u2019s throw away from Strawbridge and Clothier stood Gimbel Brothers, which took up the entire 800 block between Market and Chestnut Streets. Like John Wanamaker, founder Jacob Gimbel distinguished himself as a philanthropist as well as a businessman. In 1901, he was appointed president of the new Federation of Jewish Charities, which was charged to assist the thousands of Jewish immigrants fleeing czarist pogroms in Russia and Poland.xi<\/sup> Known to Philadelphians simply as \u201cGimbels,\u201d this store brought the holidays to the streets by sponsoring the city\u2019s annual Christmas Parade. The climax of this popular pageant was Santa climbing a fire truck ladder to the ninth floor of the Gimbel\u2019s store.xii<\/sup><\/p>\n

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Lit Brothers, like Gimbels, was also founded by German Jewish immigrants. Cheaper than most of its competitors, Lit\u2019s slogan was \u201cA Great Store in A Great City.\u201d Lit Brothers flagship at 7th and Market store was created in 1907 by the consolidation of an entire block of cast iron commercial structures.xiii<\/sup> Unlike masonry construction, cast iron allowed designers to create open floor plans, ornate facades, and large windows. \u00a0Lit Brothers\u2019 main holiday attraction was a complete \u201cColonial Christmas Village,\u201d part of which survives at the Please Touch Museum.xiv<\/sup><\/p>\n

Sadly, due to buy-outs and the rise of suburban malls, none of these stores are in business today. Lit Brothers has been converted into a commercial building and Strawbridge\u2019s sits vacant. The original Gimbels was demolished in the 1970s and has been replaced by a parking lot, although its warehouse at 833 Chestnut Street survives as an office building. Macy\u2019s now occupies the original Wanamaker\u2019s building, and happily its new owners have taken excellent care of the historic structure, restoring its 7,000 pipe organ and exquisite interior detailing to their original glory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[i] \u201cPhiladelphia (Tucker) China \u2013 1825-1838\u201d http:\/\/www.oldandsold.com\/articles\/article313.shtml<\/a> Accessed June 5, 2010.<\/p>\n

[ii] Jack B. Rogers, and Robert E. Blade, \u201cThe Great Ends of the Church: Two Perspectives,\u201d Journal of Presbyterian History<\/span> (1998) 76:181-186.<\/p>\n

[iii] \u201cWanamaker\u2019s Department Store,\u201d World Architecture Images, Essential Architecture \u2013 the North East. http:\/\/www.american-architecture.info\/USA\/USA-Northeast\/NT-003.htm<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[iv] Robert Morris Skaler, Images of America: Philadelphia\u2019s Broad Street, South and North<\/span> (Charleston, South Carolina: The Arcadia Press, 2003, p.52.<\/p>\n

[v] \u201cWanamaker\u2019s Department Store,\u201d World Architecture Images, Essential Architecture \u2013 the North East. http:\/\/www.american-architecture.info\/USA\/USA-Northeast\/NT-003.htm<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[vi] Friends of the Wanamaker Organ at Macy\u2019s, Philadelphia: Celebrating the Heritage of a National Historic Landmark, Facts and Figures about the Wanamaker Organ. http:\/\/www.wanamakerorgan.com\/about.php<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[vii] Nathaniel Burt, The Perennial Philadelphian: The Anatomy of an American Aristocracy<\/span> (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press), 1963, p.173.<\/p>\n

[viii] \u201cWanamaker\u2019s Department Store,\u201d World Architecture Images, Essential Architecture \u2013 the North East. http:\/\/www.american-architecture.info\/USA\/USA-Northeast\/NT-003.htm<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[ix] Associated Press, \u201cAt Strawbridge\u2019s, customers seeking value, not nostalgia,\u201d Reading Eagle\/Reading Times<\/span>, July 26, 1996, B7. http:\/\/news.google.com\/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19960726&id=9FQlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=56UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4169,5034439<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[x] Ryan Caviglia, \u201cChristmas in Philly,\u201d The New Colonist, Calendar of Antiques: Your Guide to Antique and Art Events, undated. http:\/\/www.newcolonist.com\/phil_xmas.html<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[xi] Nathaniel Burt and Wallace E. Davies, \u201cThe Iron Age, 1876-1905,\u201d from Philadelphia: A 300-Year History<\/span> (New York, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1982), p.489.<\/p>\n

[xii] Ryan Caviglia, \u201cChristmas in Philly,\u201d The New Colonist, Calendar of Antiques: Your Guide to Antique and Art Events, undated. http:\/\/www.newcolonist.com\/phil_xmas.html<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n

[xiii] Lit Brothers Store, 701-739 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, HABS No. PA-1438. Historic American Buildings Survey\/Historic American Engineering Record. http:\/\/lcweb2.loc.gov\/cgi-bin\/ampage?collId=pphhdatapage&fileName=pa\/pa0900\/pa0971\/data\/hhdatapage.db&recNum=2<\/a><\/p>\n

[xiv] Ryan Caviglia, \u201cChristmas in Philly,\u201d The New Colonist, Calendar of Antiques: Your Guide to Antique and Art Events, undated. http:\/\/www.newcolonist.com\/phil_xmas.html<\/a> Accessed June 8, 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the first half of the nineteenth century, Market Street (formerly High Street) was a mix of residential and commercial, as Philadelphians clung to the Delaware waterfront for sustenance. Successful businessmen such as printer Benjamin Franklin and china maker Benjamin Tucker lived \u201cabove the store\u201d or in houses adjacent to their businesses.i With the coming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-historic-sites"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}