# At this time of year, I get nostalgic for the big ol' multi-story department store **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184 "2019-12-21T17:23:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/21 "2019-12-22T01:30:26Z")
Great memory. Dahntahn (Pittsburgh) had Joseph Hornes, Kauffmans (sp?) & Gimbels multistory dept. stores within walking distance of each other. All with amazing holiday windows. Every year they’d each set up an area for kids to shop w/o their parents, cheap crap but we liked being so grown up. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/22 "2019-12-22T01:39:59Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Are there any department stores that still have elaborate mechanized Christmas displays in their windows? I miss those. When I was a kid, my parents would drive us into Manhattan to see the elaborate department store window displays and to see the big tree in Rockefeller Center. It was all really nice and festive. Later, (early 1990s, I think) I visited the flagship FAO Schwartz store with friends. That was a really cool store. Some of the merchandise was similar or identical to the stuff you could get at Toys R Us, but the presentation was very nice. And some of the stuff was definitely upscale. So instead of generic stuffed animals, they had Steiff bears (for hundreds of dollars). And instead of those cheap plastic pedal-powered ride-on cars, they had little Mercedes cars sized for a toddler (for something like $10,000, though). They did have a really annoying jingle playing constantly in the store. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/23 "2019-12-22T02:17:50Z")
I don’t know that we ever bought much at them (and typing this I actually feel a little guilty about that) but I do miss them. It was always a special treat during December to visit the Big City and roam about looking at all the window displays; and come to think about it we often did the same before the 4th of July. I guess that is part of the resaon for still shopping so much B&M ------- seeing all the displays as I shop and the various little seasonal decorations they sometimes add. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/24 "2019-12-22T02:23:57Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Are there any department stores that still have elaborate mechanized Christmas displays in their windows? I miss those. > > One time when I was a kid, my eldest sister took me shopping in the Loop. We went to Fields and decided to ride the escalator as high as it would go. The floors got more an more recherche as we went until finally we arrived at the anteroom of executive offices, where a pleasant but snooty lady told us we’d come too far. I remember our family taking the El downtown to go to Fields at Christmas. This would have been in the late 50s-early 60s. We’d see the huge Christmas tree in the Walnut Room, check out all the window displays, and if the line wasn’t too long, get to visit Santa. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/25 "2019-12-22T03:50:01Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Macy’s in NY and Strawbridge’s in Philly are still multi-storey dept. stores. Strawbridge & Clothier hasn’t existed in over a dozen years. ☹ Their old building wouldn’t even be recognized as a department store anymore. I believe part of it is now a [Burlington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_(department_store)). [Wanamakers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker%27s) is long gone. The building is still there & is now a three-story Macy’s. with the upper floors being office space. There used to be a monorail all the way around the eighth (or was it ninth?) floor, which was the toy dept(!) where kids could ride & look over _every_ toy they had. Pure. Marketing. Genius! The “[iggle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker%27s#/media/File:WanamakerBuilding1.jpg)” is still there, as is an updated [light](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker%27s#/media/File:Wanamaker_xmas_lights.jpg) [show](https://wanamakerorgan.com/2019/08/the-holiday-light-show/), which was redone (LEDs, Julie Andrews narrating; but otherwise the same) after Macy’s eventually took it over. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/26 "2019-12-22T11:41:29Z")
As a child I would go visit Santa at the local [Frederick & Nelson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_%26_Nelson) department store to get my picture taken. Ever so often we would go downtown and then we would stop at the downtown branch and have Frango milkshakes. We would also visit Bon Marche (since bought out by Macy’s) and Nordstroms (which only has clothes). Frederick & Nelson’s went out of business in 1992 and supposedly someone else makes their Frango candies according to the same recipe. I don’t like them. I was given a recipe for a Frango dessert, which I’ve never made. Some things just aren’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/27 "2019-12-22T12:01:12Z")
Lovely thread. When I revisit my old home of London, I always make a point of visiting Selfridges, which has managed to buck the trend of most by being supremely fashionable and successful. A few years ago, when I was setting up a new home after a gritty break up, I made a point of going to Liberty’s of London which has the most incredible Christmas shop. I spent an Eye-watering amount on baubles to make myself feel better about decorating my tree alone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/28 "2019-12-22T12:25:25Z")
In the UK, a lot of the old-style department stores, especially on small towns and outer metropolitan shopping areas, have gone, or are suffering badly (especially the stuffy and rather limited shops like the fictional “Grace Brothers”, which would have gone under twenty years ago). Some in central London survive as either destinations in their own right, like those mentioned above, or as reliable brands, like John Lewis/Peter Jones or Harvey Nichols. There was a time when revamping themselves as something close to shopping malls was seen as the future but now they’re all struggling to work out how to cope with the cost of running city centre flagship spaces when online shopping cuts out so much of their bread and butter business. I think I read somewhere that that venerable Edinburgh institution Jenner’s (an archetype of what the OP is thinking of) is in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/29 "2019-12-22T12:35:43Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Loved the food halls, or course. That’s what I miss most about them is their dedicated restaurants. Sometimes we’d go to Maas Brothers in Florida just to eat at their in-store restaurant. Before your meal they’d give you a plate with a great variety of mini-breads. Of course, with the rise of the food courts, the days of the dining hall was limited in malls. And they were never crowded outside of the holiday season even outside of malls (and in the holiday season they were so crowded we never went there 🆒) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/30 "2019-12-22T13:14:48Z")
I bought this book last year, [Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati: Reflections & Recipes (American Palate)](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1467137278/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). It’s all about the culture of the department store “tea room,” in Cincinnati anyway, with anecdotes and recipes. (BTW, I’ve never been to Cincinnati.) _It was a different time. Ladies wore gloves, hats and nice attire to luncheons at the Woman’s Exchange. Shillito’s provided a cosmopolitan environment for its patrons, while Mullane’s was the perfect place to sip and socialize. The popular Good Morning Show radio program hosted by charming Bob Braun, and later Nick Clooney, was broadcast from McAlpin’s Tea Room. Women gathered at Pogue’s and Mabley & Carew tea rooms to celebrate birthdays, as well as wedding and baby showers, over dainty tea sandwiches. Author Cynthia Kuhn Beischel brings the Queen City’s bygone downtown tea rooms back to life and shares more than one hundred beloved recipes._ ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/31 "2019-12-22T15:02:53Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Great topic for a thread. > > When I first came to Boston, 50 years ago, there were five big department stores downtown: Jordan Marsh, Filene’s, Raymond’s, Gilchrist’s, and another I’m forgetting. Of course, none remain. Jordan’s was the best, a wonderful Christmas display, a bakery, even a record department not unlike the one depicted in the Marx Bros’ “The Big Store.” My girlfriend and I rode the trolley down there one day from Brighton and brought home a Jelly Roll Morton record. Later I worked in the accounting department at Filene’s, using an adding machine like[this one.](https://i2.wp.com/eriemedia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/addingmachine.jpg?resize=600%2C714&ssl=1) I was by far the youngest and only male in the department. There were two old gals there who had known each other since childhood; one had “stolen away” the other’s sweetheart a million years ago. No love lost, but nevertheless they worked side by side all those years. Random memories… The summer of 1973 my girlfriend worked in Filene’s Basement, a marvelous place. I bought a sweater from her IIRC. I’m not sure I ever went to the rest of the store, I couldn’t afford it. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/32 "2019-12-22T16:45:48Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Are there any department stores that still have elaborate mechanized Christmas displays in their windows? I miss those. > > One time when I was a kid, my eldest sister took me shopping in the Loop. We went to Fields and decided to ride the escalator as high as it would go. The floors got more an more recherche as we went until finally we arrived at the anteroom of executive offices, where a pleasant but snooty lady told us we’d come too far. If you find yourself in Paris in December, [Galeries Lafayette](https://www.sortiraparis.com/interests/shopping-fashion/articles/46482-paris-galeries-lafayette-christmas-windows-and-tree-2019-pictures-and-video/lang/en) has very nice window displays, and also a fantastic display under the dome. And if you go high enough, you’ll find the rooftop bar. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/33 "2019-12-22T22:07:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > When I was a kid in the '50s, there were no department stores in the suburbs, and I remember going downtown, where there were several, with my mom. She wore a hat (with a veil), heels, gloves, the whole bit. We even had lunch in one of the classy department store restaurants, which was all in art deco. Sounds like Halle’s or more likely Higbee’s Silver Grille. I went there a time or two with Grandma. I don’t remember much except eating from real china and glass dishes. > **[Higbee’s Silver Grille](https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2017/02/12/higbees-silver-grille/)** > > Friday the 13th of September, 1935, seemed like an ordinary day at the Higbee department store in Cleveland’s Public Square. Marzipan bon bons were on sale at the store’s first floor candy counter.… Dennis ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/34 "2019-12-22T23:15:08Z")
The Detroit version was Hudson’s > **[Hudson's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s)** > > The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest department store in the world in 1961, and, at one time, claimed to be the second-largest department store, after Macy's, in the United States, by square footage. > Founded in 1881 by Joseph Lowthian Hudson, the store thrived during the record growth of Det... Torn down long ago, and finally new development on the old void. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/35 "2019-12-22T23:23:35Z")
My hometown, Bristol TN/VA, had three on the main downtown drag. Sears had toys on the third floor during the Holiday season, and also had a candy counter. Belk’s had a small toy department, but it wasn’t big enough to keep me occupied long when my Mom dragged me there. H. P. King was the scouting uniform/equipment supplier, so it was halfway interesting. The best part about all three was the mirrors where you could see your reflection from several angles. The mall killed downtown when it was built, but ironically the mall is now closed and downtown has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/36 "2019-12-23T02:23:38Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > One of the highlights of the year when I was a child was going Christmas shopping with my grandmother. We would drive up from San Jose (an unrecognizably different place then) to San Francisco, and walk around looking at the animated Christmas displays in all the store windows, and we’d always have lunch at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. At that time San Francisco was always referred to as The City; it was rather a formal place, and one always dressed one’s best to go there. The climax of the trip was the City Of Paris department store Christmas tree, which rose up four stories inside the atrium of the store. It was purely glorious and very special. My mom used to shop at the City of Paris when she lived in San Francisco in the 40’s. I had some of her old suits for years. She said they cost her $60 whole dollars! I can’t imagine what that is in 2019 money. I was kinda jazzed when I saw _The Conversation_ decades ago, and I noticed that one of Gene Hackman’s stake-outs was on the roof of the City of Paris. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/37 "2019-12-23T03:54:07Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Sounds like Halle’s or more likely Higbee’s Silver Grille. I went there a time or two with Grandma. I don’t remember much except eating from real china and glass dishes. > > [Higbee’s Silver Grille | Restaurant-ing through history](https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2017/02/12/higbees-silver-grille/) > > Dennis I have a copy of the Higbee’s Silver Grille cookbook. My mom would take me down there during the Christmas season and the kid’s meals were served in cardboard stoves with little doors that opened to reveal the dishes that were included in that meal. There was a fountain with a goldfish pond in the middle of the restaurant. [Higbee’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Xw6xu5dCM) (which is now the Horseshoe Casino) [Downtown Cleveland Department Stores](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSkV8SFHjLY) (Higbee’s, Halle’s, Bond, and May Co.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/38 "2019-12-23T04:38:47Z")
There are still remnants of department stores in Canada, most of them have two stories instead of six. I’ve read places like Fifth Avenue are full of empty storefronts as people shop online. And Nordstrom Rack has just opened east of Central Park. I can remember a time, though, when people got excited by beautiful window displays, department store Santa pictures, top floor cafes, bargain basements and snazzy perfume counters. The bigger Canadian cities still have a few fancy places, which recall simpler times. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/39 "2019-12-23T06:24:19Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > As a child I would go visit Santa at the local [Frederick & Nelson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_%26_Nelson) department store to get my picture taken. Ever so often we would go downtown and then we would stop at the downtown branch and have Frango milkshakes. We would also visit Bon Marche (since bought out by Macy’s) and Nordstroms (which only has clothes). The Frederick’s Santa supposedly went to the Bon Marche, which (as you mentioned) got bought out by Macy’s. About a year ago, the top few floors of Macy’s were bought out by Amazon. Early next year, Macy’s will close entirely and the entire building will be turned over to become an Amazon office building, which is kind of a tangible metaphor for American shopping habits. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184/40 "2019-12-23T07:53:26Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I can remember a time, though, when people got excited by beautiful window displays, department store Santa pictures, top floor cafes, bargain basements and snazzy perfume counters. The bigger Canadian cities still have a few fancy places, which recall simpler times. So can I. Eaton’s and Simpson’s in Toronto, both of which faced each other across Queen Street, used to try to outdo each other with windows at Christmas. Nobody ever won, but the windows were fascinating to us kids. And the restaurants! I remember our family going to dinner at Eaton’s Round Room at the College Street location when I was a child. It was a Fancy Restaurant, and I had to be dressed in jacket and tie. I was maybe six years old at the time. Eaton’s Queen Street was a multi-storey department store. It had elevator operators, who would call out the floors: “Third floor, ladies’ wear, men’s and women’s shoes, men’s suits…” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-this-time-of-year-i-get-nostalgic-for-the-big-ol-multi-story-department-store/845184.md?page=3)