E.U. Wurlitzer Music and Sound was a musical instrument retailer and part of the greater Boston music scene from 1890 through 1999. The store moved in the mid-1960s from its Bedford Street location to 360 Newbury Street (on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue), and then settled at 180 Massachusetts Avenue. Several other stores around New England were also opened. [1] In early 1999 the company went bankrupt and closed its seven stores. [2]
A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have been used for ritual, such as a trumpet to signal success on the hunt, or a drum in a religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications.
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States, as well as the 21st most populous city in the United States. The city proper covers 48 square miles (124 km2) with an estimated population of 694,583 in 2018, making it also the most populous city in New England. Boston is the seat of Suffolk County as well, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. As a combined statistical area (CSA), this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.
In the summer of 1999 the location at Massachusetts Avenue was reopened as Gordon LaSalle Wurlitzer Music by its new owner, Mark Gordon, who owned and operated six stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He had purchased the rights to the Wurlitzer name, the wurlitzer.com internet domain, original Boston phone number, and the store's customer mailing list in U.S. Bankruptcy Court earlier that year. He also rehired many of the former employees of the store. [2]
Gordon continued running the store through 2004, when the building which housed the storefront was bought by Berklee College of Music to be demolished and rebuilt as student dormitories. Currently, the E.U. Wurlitzer name now only refers to the Wurlitzer Music of Boston website.
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including rock, hip hop, reggae, salsa, heavy metal and bluegrass. Berklee alumni have won 294 Grammy Awards, more than any other college, and 95 Latin Grammy Awards. Other notable accolades for its alumni include 19 Emmy Awards, 5 Tony Awards and 5 Academy Awards.
Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, as a Bloomingdale's department store chain affiliate. As of 2015, Macy's was the largest U.S. department store company by retail sales. As of February 2019, there were 584 full-line stores with the Macy's nameplate in operation throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Macy's Herald Square, at Herald Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, acts as the company's flagship store. The company had 130,000 employees and earned annual revenue of $24.8 billion as of 2017.
Back Bay is an officially-recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and the area was fully built by around 1900. It is most famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes—considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States—as well as numerous architecturally significant individual buildings, and cultural institutions such as the Boston Public Library. Initially conceived as a residential-only area, commercial buildings were permitted from around 1890, and Back Bay now features many office buildings, including the John Hancock Tower, Boston's tallest skyscraper. It is also considered a fashionable shopping destination and home to several major hotels.
Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street, near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the business district and Harvard University surrounding that intersection, which is the historic center of Cambridge. Adjacent to Harvard Yard, the historic heart of Harvard University, the Square functions as a commercial center for Harvard students, as well as residents of western Cambridge and the inner western and northern suburbs of Boston. These residents use the Harvard station, a major MBTA Red Line subway and bus transportation hub.
Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east-to-west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entrance to the Mass Pike westbound at Mass Ave. Newbury Street is a destination known for its many retail shops and restaurants.
Lord & Taylor is a luxury department store in the United States, and the oldest department store in the country. Headquartered in New York City, it is a subsidiary of the oldest commercial corporation in North America, the Canadian retail group Hudson's Bay Company ("HBC"). As of January 2012, there were 46 stores in operation. By late August 2019, 38 stores were in operation; the flagship store in Manhattan and several other locations were closed in 2019.
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Tower Records is an international retail music franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records filed for bankruptcy and liquidation. Tower.com was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings.
Shaw's and Star Market are two American grocery store chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 154 total stores. 133 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; while Star Market operates 21 stores in Massachusetts, most of which are in or near Boston. Until 2010, Shaw's operated stores in all six New England states and as of 2017 Shaw's remained the only supermarket chain with stores in five of the six after it sold its Connecticut operations. The chain's largest competitors are Hannaford, Market Basket, Price Chopper, Roche Bros., Wegmans, and Stop & Shop. Star Market is a companion store to Shaw's; Shaw's having purchased the competing chain in 1999.
Euromarket Designs, Inc. is a chain of 122 retail stores in U.S., Canada and other 8 countries, based in Northbrook, Illinois, specializing in housewares, furniture, and home accessories. Its corporate name is Euromarket Designs, Inc. The company is wholly owned by Otto GmbH, based in Germany.
Fopp is a British chain of retail stores selling music, film, books and other entertainment products in the United Kingdom. It is owned by HMV.
The culture of Boston, Massachusetts, shares many roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the Eastern New England accent popularly known as Boston English. The city has its own unique slang, which has existed for many years. Boston was, and is still, a major destination of Irish immigrants. Irish Americans are a major influence on Boston's politics and religious institutions and consequently on the rest of Massachusetts.
Emerald Square is a shopping mall in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. It was developed by New England Development and The Pyramid Companies and opened in 1989; it is currently managed and partially owned by Simon Property Group.
Lechmere was a New England retail store that closed in 1997. It had 24 stores located throughout New England, New York as well as a location in Metro- Atlanta, Georgia offering electronics and appliances.
Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, was a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms.
Regency Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Racine, Wisconsin. The mall has a gross leasable area of 872,409 square feet (81,049.4 m2). It features 110 retail spaces and is anchored by Burlington Coat Factory and Dunham's Sports. Located at the junction of state highways 31 and 11, the building is surrounded by several freestanding stores and restaurants, including a Target department store.
Johnnie's Foodmaster, more commonly known as simply Foodmaster, was a chain of supermarkets in the Boston Metro Area. It had its headquarters in Chelsea, Massachusetts and all stores were located in the state. On November 18, 2012, all ten stores closed, with six leases being transferred to Austin, Texas–based Whole Foods Market, and two to Quincy–based Stop & Shop; the future of the remaining locations was unknown at the time of closure.
Hannaford is a supermarket chain based in Scarborough, Maine. Founded in Portland, Maine, in 1883, Hannaford operates stores in New England and New York. The chain is now part of the Ahold Delhaize group based in the Netherlands.
Roche Bros. Supermarkets, Inc. is a chain of supermarkets based in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The company's stores are primarily located in the Boston Metro Area. Roche Bros. also operates the supermarket chain Sudbury Farms.