Henry C. Lytton & Co., nicknamed The Hub and Lytton's, was a department store chain headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The first store opened on State Street in 1887 and the last store closed in 1986.
Henry Charles Lytton first opened a store in Ionia, Michigan, but it proved unprofitable. Later forays in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana provided Lytton with enough capital to open a store in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The store, which he nicknamed The Hub, opened in 1887 on the corner of Jackson and State Streets in the Otis Building. It specialized in mass-produced menswear, a rarity at the time. [1] [2]
In 1913, the store moved across the street into a new eighteen-story skyscraper known as the Lytton Store Building. Designed by Marshall & Fox, The Hub used the lower eight floors and both basements. The store then began to sell sporting goods. Lytton retired in 1917 and his son George took over. Henry would return to the head of the company in 1933 when George died. In 1934, Lytton opened a store at the Century of Progress world's fair. [3] By the late 1930s, The Hub had branches in Evanston, Illinois; Oak Park, Illinois; and Gary, Indiana. The company grossed $19 million (~$226 million in 2023) in 1946. [4] Also that year, the company name was officially changed to Henry C. Lytton & Co. to commemorate Lytton's 100th birthday. Lytton remained president until his death in 1949 at age 102. [5]
The chain was purchased by Thomas Raffery, the former head of Venture Stores, and Matthew Kallman, formerly of Stix Baer & Fuller, in 1983. The firm, then consisting of twelve stores, went bankrupt the next March. Nine of its branches were then dissolved to raise money to maintain the flagship store on State Street. [6] The company went out of business in 1986. Wieboldt's, another Chicago department store chain bought the Lytton's name as well as their remaining inventory. [7] They had planned to relaunch Lytton's but never happened as Wieboldt's also filed for bankruptcy and subsequently ceased operation in 1987. The store building is now owned and used by DePaul University and is part of the Loop Retail Historic District.
Meijer Inc. is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan, which is a part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering the modern supercenter concept in 1962. About half of the company's 259 stores are located in Michigan, particularly in its birthplace of West Michigan; the others are in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin. The chain is ranked by Forbes as the 14th-largest private company in the United States, and is the country's 23rd-largest retailer by revenue as of 2023.
Marshall Field & Company was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc, acquired it in 2005. Its founder, Marshall Field, was a pioneering retail magnate.
Gimbel Brothers was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the company moved its operations to the Gimbel Brothers Department Store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It became a chain when it opened a second, larger store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1894, moving its headquarters there. At the urging of future company president Bernard Gimbel, grandson of the founder, the company expanded to New York City in 1910.
The Near South Side is a community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, just south of the downtown central business district, the Loop. The Near South Side's boundaries are as follows: North—Roosevelt Road ; South—26th Street; West—Chicago River between Roosevelt and 18th Street, Clark Street between 18th Street and Cermak Road, Federal between Cermak Road and the Stevenson Expressway just south of 25th Street, and Clark Street again between the Stevenson and 26th Street; and East—Lake Michigan.
State Street is a large south-north street, also one of the main streets, in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. Its intersection with Madison Street has marked the base point for Chicago's address system since 1909. State begins in the north at North Avenue, the south end of Lincoln Park, runs south through the heart of the Chicago Loop, and ends at the southern city limits, intersecting 127th Street along the bank of the Little Calumet River. It resumes north of 137th Street in Riverdale and runs south intermittently through Chicago's south suburbs until terminating at New Monee Road in Crete, Illinois.
Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods, based in Providence, Rhode Island.
H. C. Prange Co., sometimes shortened to Prange's, was an American department store chain begun by H. C. Prange in 1887 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At its peak, it operated stores in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. It also operated discount stores under the Prange Way name in the former two states, although this division was sold off in the 1990s. Prange's was dissolved and most of the stores converted to the rival Younkers chain after sale in 1992.
Lakehurst Mall was a shopping mall in Waukegan, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall officially opened in 1971. The mall's anchor stores were JCPenney, Wieboldt's, and Carson Pirie Scott. After Wieboldt's closed in 1986, its former location was divided between Montgomery Ward and Dunham's Sports. The mall declined in the 1990s, closed in 2001, and was demolished in 2004.
Carson Pirie Scott & Co. is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. It was sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still operated under the Carson name. The entire Bon-Ton collection of stores, including Carson's, went into bankruptcy and closed in 2018. Bon-Ton's intellectual property was quickly sold while in bankruptcy, and the new owners reopened shortly afterwards as a BrandX virtual retailer.
Von Maur, Inc. is an American department store chain based in Davenport, Iowa. Founded in 1872, the chain operates over 36 locations across the United States, primarily in the Midwest.
L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fashions, the Tea Room, holiday events and displays, and the basement budget store. As urban populations shifted to the suburbs, Ayres established branch stores in new shopping centers in several Indiana cities. Ayres also acquired retail subsidiaries in Springfield, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky. Ayr-Way, the Ayres discount store subsidiary, became the first discount store launched by a full-line department store. By the end of the 1960s Ayres had become a diversified merchandising business with retail department stores, a chain of discount stores, specialty clothing stores, a home furnishings showroom, and a real estate holding company. A long-time Ayres slogan, "That Ayres Look", promoted the company as a fashion leader, and by 1972 it had become the oldest continuous retail slogan in the United States.
Brentano's was an American bookstore chain with numerous locations in the United States.
P.A. Bergner & Co. is an upscale Midwestern department store in the United States, that was established in 1889. The chain is now an online retailer operated by BrandX.com, Inc. The flagship store was located in Peoria, Illinois at The Shoppes at Grande Prairie.
Goldblatt's was an American chain of local discount stores that operated in Chicago, Illinois, as well as Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Founded in 1914, the chain grew to more than twenty stores at its peak, gradually closing some stores in the 1990s and selling others to Ames before finally closing completely in 2000.
The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp., commonly known as Elder-Beerman, was an American chain of department stores founded in 1883 and whose last stores closed in 2018. The chain, based primarily in the Midwestern United States, was composed of 31 stores in eight states at the time of its liquidation in 2018, and peaked around 2003 with 68 stores and $670 million in annual sales.
Wieboldt Stores, Inc., also known as Wieboldt's, did business as a Chicago general retailer between 1883 and 1987. It was founded in 1883 by storekeeper William A. Wieboldt. The flagship location was at One North State Street Store in Chicago.
The Plaza, formerly known as Evergreen Plaza, was a shopping mall in Evergreen Park, Illinois, United States. It was legally organized by Arthur Rubloff, who is also credited with coining the phrase "Magnificent Mile" describing the upscale section of Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River to Oak Street. Rubloff secured the funding for the Evergreen Plaza from the Walgreen family who lived nearby in Beverly, Chicago. The Evergreen Plaza operated from 1952 to 2013. It featured over 120 stores, as well as a food court. The mall closed in 2013 and became an outdoor shopping center. Anchors include Whole Foods Market, and Burlington Coat Factory.
Kroch's and Brentano's was the largest bookstore in Chicago, and at one time it was the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the United States. The store and the chain were formed in 1954 through the merger of the separate Kroch's bookstore with the former Chicago branch of the New York-based Brentano's bookstore. The chain was closed in 1995 after suffering financial losses from increased competition.
Randhurst Village is a shopping center located at the corner of Rand Road and Elmhurst Road in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The shopping center took its name from combining the names of these two roads.