J.W. Knapp Company

Last updated

J.W. Knapp Company
Knapp's
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Department store
PredecessorJewett & Knapp
Founded1893;131 years ago (1893)
Founders
  • Joseph W. Knapp
  • Frank W. Jewett
DefunctOctober 17, 1980 (1980-10-17)
FateClosed by bankruptcy of parent company; Purchased by J.C. Penney
Headquarters,
United States
Number of locations
4 (3 Lansing area, 1 Jackson)
Areas served
Lansing and Jackson
Owner

The J.W. Knapp Company, more commonly known as "Knapp's", was a chain of department stores in mid-Michigan based in Lansing, Michigan.

Contents

History

In 1893, Joseph W. Knapp, a salesman originally from Hillsdale, Michigan opened a dry-goods, coat, and carpet store in Albion, Michigan in partnership with Frank W. Jewett, called Jewett & Knapp. [1] By 1897, the store had relocated to 123 N. Washington Avenue [2] in Lansing, occupying 6,000 sq ft (560 m2) of space [3] at the site of a former dry-goods store. [1]

In 1908, Jewett and Knapp sold the business to Frank Lackey, who renamed the store "J.W. Knapp Company". [1] Knapp remained in charge of company operations, with Lackey as a silent partner. [4] Knapp's billed itself in advertising of the day as "Lansing's Busy Reliable Store". [5]

The same year, the business moved to 220–226 South Washington St. By 1918, Knapp's had incorporated a specialty gift store into its business, the "Kenilworth Gift Shop" in partnership with Kenilworth Studios of Chicago, and involved an extensive advertising campaign. [6] In 1923, Knapp supplied the latest current fashions to costume participants in a musical revue at Michigan Agricultural College in nearby East Lansing. [7] In 1928 the store was expanded and renovated for $15,000 to help it compete with the rival F.W. Arbaugh Company. [3] The new South Washington store featured a pneumatic cash transportation tube system. [8]

In 1937, Knapp's commenced construction of a new building, completed in 1939, at 300 S. Washington, on the site of the Hotel Downey, which was demolished to make room for the new store, [3] and the still earlier Lansing House hotel and saloon. [9] The store expanded by the 1940s to cover a full city block. [1]

In the 1950s, the company was sold to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which owned a collection of department stores in mid-Michigan, including Smith-Bridgman in Flint; D.M. Christian Company in Owosso, and Robinson's in Battle Creek. Knapp's opened a smaller branch in East Lansing in the early 1960s; this store was later closed, and a newer Knapp's was built as one of the anchor stores of Meridian Mall in Okemos when it opened in 1969. Two additional mall-based locations, at Lansing Mall in Lansing, and Westwood Mall in Jackson, were acquired in 1972 from Grand Rapids-based Wurzburg's.

Extensive television advertising on WJIM Channel 6 made Knapp's known throughout mid-Michigan. [1]

In 1970 the L.S. Good Co. of Wheeling, West Virginia bought all of the Mott Foundation divisions; L.S. Good Co. declared bankruptcy in 1980, and all of the former Mott Foundation nameplates were shuttered. [10] The three mall-based locations were all sold to JCPenney, while the downtown Lansing location had been permanently closed by the parent company weeks prior.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Central Railroad</span> Railway company in the United States of America

The Great Lakes Central Railroad is an American shortline railroad, operating in the state of Michigan. It was originally called the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway, which was formed on August 26, 1977, to operate over former Penn Central lines from Millington to Munger, and from Vassar to Colling. TSBY's name was derived from the three counties it operated in: Tuscola, Saginaw and Bay.

Felpausch was a grocery store chain based in Hastings, Michigan, United States. The first store opened in Hastings in 1933, and the chain operated primarily in the southwestern quadrant of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Its 20 locations were sold to Spartan Stores, who largely converted them to Family Fare and D&W Fresh Market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meridian Mall</span> Shopping mall in Michigan, United States

Meridian Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Okemos, Meridian Township, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuler Books & Music</span> Bookstore

Schuler Books is an independent bookseller with four locations across the U.S. state of Michigan. Along with new and used books, Schuler stores feature an extensive gift section, magazines, print on demand services, event spaces, and a café.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Michigan Railroad</span> Privately owned railroad in Michigan

The Mid-Michigan Railroad is a railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates 39.8 miles of track in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lansing Mall</span> Shopping mall in Michigan, United States

Lansing Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Delta Charter Township, Michigan, United States, just outside Lansing, the state capital of Michigan. Opened in July 1969, the same year as its crosstown competitor Meridian Mall, Lansing Mall consists of 830,052 square feet (77,114.4 m2) of gross leasable area, with approximately 60 stores and restaurants, as well as a food court. Its original anchor stores were Wurzburg's, Federal's, and Montgomery Ward. Only three years after opening, Wurzburg's and Federal's were replaced by J.W. Knapp Company (Knapp's) and Robert Hall Village respectively. In 1979, the Robert Hall space was then vacated as part of an expansion project that also added a new mall wing ending in Hudson's, while J. C. Penney replaced Knapp's a year later and Mervyn's joined in 1987. The mall's anchor stores remained unchanged between then and the first decade of the 21st century: Hudson's was renamed to Marshall Field's, which itself later became Macy's, while the bankrupted Montgomery Ward and Mervyn's were replaced with Younkers and a Regal Entertainment Group movie theater. Following the closures of Macy's and Younkers, the mall's only operational anchor store is J. C. Penney. Other major tenants include Dunham's Sports, Barnes & Noble, a food court, and a 12-screen movie theater. The mall is managed and owned by Kohan Retail Investment Group and Summit Properties USA.

The Ionia and Lansing Rail Road is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan in the 1860s and 1870s. The company incorporated on November 13, 1865; the investors hailed primarily from Lansing, Ionia and Portland. The original charter called for a 34-mile (55 km) line from Ionia to Lansing; on January 13, 1869 this was amended with a much grander vision: a 125-mile (201 km) line from Lansing to the mouth of the Pentwater River at Pentwater, on the shores of Lake Michigan.

The Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway is a defunct railroad incorporated in January, 1886. The railroad offered service between Ashley, Michigan and Muskegon, Michigan starting on August 1, 1888. The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada took control the same day, but the company did not merge with the Grand Trunk Western Railway until 1928.

Michigan United Railways (MUR) was an interurban which owned and leased numerous lines in the state of Michigan during the early twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway</span> Electric interurban railway in Michigan

The Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway was an electric interurban railway which briefly operated independently in central Michigan during the early 20th century. It was the site of a failed attempt to introduce alternating current to the interurban scene.

The Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan at the turn of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J.W. Knapp Company Building</span> United States historic place

The J.W. Knapp Company Building is a historic five-story, 190,000-square-foot (18,000 m2) Streamline Moderne building in Lansing, Michigan, United States. Designed by Orlie Munson of the Bowd–Munson Company, which also designed several other Art Deco landmarks in Lansing, including the Ottawa Street Power Station, it was constructed by the Christman Company in 1937 through 1938. The curvilinear look of the streamlined structure comes from huge plates of concrete faced with enamel, called "Maul Macotta", a copyrighted product of the Maul Macotta Company and prismatic glass brick windows. Alternating horizontal bands of yellow macotta and glass block are interrupted by vertical blue macotta pylons, rising from the building's four principal entrances. The pylons are pierced by windows. The entrance portals, display window aprons, and decorative banding are dark blue macotta. Red, yellow and blue spandrels, incorporating the letter "K" as a design element, decorate the entrance portals.

Westwood Mall is an enclosed shopping mall serving the community of Jackson, Michigan. It opened in 1972 and the mall's anchor stores are JCPenney and Walmart. There is 1 vacant anchor store that was once Younkers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herpolsheimer's</span> American department store in Michigan

Herpolsheimer's was a department store company headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Yankee was an American discount department store chain begun in Flint, Michigan. Partners Joseph Megdell and Wilbert Roberts opened their first store in 1948 to sell military surplus under the name U.S. Surplus. By 1964, it had become a discount chain with 21 stores throughout southeastern Michigan, primarily around Flint. Many of its locations were paired with local supermarket chain Hamady Brothers. Some larger stores, including those in Lansing and Bay City, were called Yankee Stadium.

The Northern Central Michigan Railroad (NCMR) was a railroad line in the U.S. state of Michigan. The line ran from Lansing to Jonesville, then returned north from Jonesville to Albion and Eaton Rapids before closing the loop in Lansing. The NCMR had a short life as an independent company, becoming part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway in 1871 and then consolidating with the New York Central Railroad in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lansing Downtown Historic District</span> United States historic place

The Lansing Downtown Historic District is a primarily commercial and office historic district located in downtown Lansing, Michigan. The district stretches along the east side of Capitol Avenue from Ionia Street to Lenawee Street, and along both sides of Grand Avenue between Michigan and Washtenaw, with additional structures along Kalamazoo Street between Walnut and Grand and along Lenawee Street between Washington and Walnut. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "J.W. Knapp Company Was Located Here A Century Ago", Albion Evening Recorder August 11, 1997 p.4
  2. ""Clothing the Family - Lansing 1897", Michigan State Historical Museum". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 MacLean, James & Whitford, Craig, Lansing: City on the Grand 1836-1939 p 27
  4. Arthur, Lansing Unimited American Book-Stratford Press, 1947 p.165
  5. Advertisement, Moderator-Topics(Lansing, MI), (May 5, 1910) Vol XXX No. 34 p 681
  6. "The Kenilworth sales plan", Grand Rapids Furniture Record (Grand Rapids, MI) (September, 1918) p 118
  7. Widder, Keith Michigan Agricultural College: The Evolution of a Land Grant Philosophy MSU Press, 2005 ISBN   0-87013-734-4, ISBN   978-0-87013-734-1 p 315
  8. ""Cash carriers - references E-L" Cash Carriers". Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  9. Garrett, Robert, "Saving their husbands, one saloon at a time", Lansing City Pulse (July 5, 2006)
  10. "Christian's padlocked", Argus-Press (Owosso, MI) (October 17, 1980) p. 1