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Formerly | John Shillito Company |
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Retail |
Founded | 1830 |
Defunct | 1986 |
Fate | Stores were converted to the Lazarus nameplate |
Successor | Lazarus/Macy's |
John Shillito & Co. (commonly known as Shillito's) was Cincinnati's first department store. In 1817, John Shillito (November 1808-September 1879) [1] arrived in Cincinnati (from Greensburg, Pennsylvania). The nine-year-old lad was soon working for the Cincinnati business Blatchley & Simpson. In 1830, he left to form a partnership with William McLaughlin, selling dry goods. A year later, McLaughlin left the company, and was replaced with Robert W. Burnett and James Pullen.
The firm of Shillito, Burnett & Pullen outgrew its first location, and in 1833 moved to the other side of Main Street between 4th and 5th Streets. In 1837, John Shillito bought out his partners and moved to larger quarters on the north side of 4th Street. He gained sole ownership of the store in 1842. [1]
In 1857, John Shillito acquired property on the other side of the street, and built a five-story department story, the largest such building in the city. It was designed by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin, the son of his first partner. When the company vacated the building in 1879, the space was occupied by a competitor, The McAlpin Company. By 2018, the building had been converted into a condominium dwelling, ‘’The McAlpin’’. [1]
In spite of its impressive size, the Fourth Street store was not enough to contain the business after two decades. Shillito again used architect McLaughlin to erect an L-shaped six-story building with basement and sub-cellar [2] on the SW corner of Race and Seventh Streets, moving his store there in 1879. [1] The building's iron interior structure was considered fireproof. It was gas-lit throughout and sported a 58-foot diameter skylight dome. Two passenger elevators supplemented the building's marble staircases (there were also two freight elevators). The business used over a thousand employees. [3]
John Shillito died soon after opening his latest building, and his son Stewart Shillito then ran the company. When Stewart Shillito died in 1925, the company was sold to the Lazarus Company, but the Shillito name remained. Branch stores were built at new outlying suburban malls: Tri-County Mall (1960), Western Woods (1963), Beechmont Mall (1969), Oxmoor Mall (Louisville, Kentucky, 1971), Fayette Mall (Lexington, Kentucky, 1971), Florence Mall (Florence, Kentucky, 1977) and Jefferson Mall (Louisville, 1979). [4]
The Shillito name was merged with corporate sibling Rike's to form Shillito-Rike's in 1982; the name was dropped altogether in 1986 in favor of Lazarus. [5] On 6 March 2005, the Lazarus name was dropped and stores now operate under the Macy's brand name.
The 1990 film A Mom for Christmas, was shot at the store representing the fictional Millimans department store set out in the film.
The landmark Shillito's department store building has been converted into the Lofts at Shillito Place luxury apartments. [6] It is a contributing property to the Race Street Historic District. When the building was renovated in 1998, the developer was surprised to uncover the atrium space with the original octagonal skylight, which was then updated with energy-efficient materials. At present there are 96 loft-style apartments on seven floors and office space on the main floor. [7]
From its early days, the Shillito company motto was "Truth Always - Facts Only". John Shillito maintained his image as honest, and also dedicated himself to improving the Cincinnati civic experience.
By the 1880s, the John Shillito Company was distributing 24-page sales booklets, with stories of humorous or informative visits to the store. [8]
The company was an early embracer of the African-American community. In 1946, it was the first department store to give credit, offer employment, and advance African-Americans in management positions. The Cincinnati store's restaurant was the first to serve all patrons. [9]
Macy's, Inc. is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's. Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the next year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took over Macy's, the old department store chain originally founded in 1858 by American entrepreneur Rowland Hussey Macy. Despite Federated's long history of preserving regional nameplates, its acquisition of the May Department Stores Company in 2005 marked the end of those nameplates. By the following year, both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands had replaced them nationwide. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007, an acknowledgment of the old store's venerable name.
Salem Mall was a shopping mall in Trotwood, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was built in 1966 by The Rouse Company and originally featured Rike's and Sears as its main anchor stores. Expansion in 1981 added a new wing of stores and JCPenney, while further renovations in that same decade included a food court. Rike's was later dual-branded as Shillito-Rike's and then renamed to Lazarus The mall began to lose stores throughout the 1990s, including both Lazarus and JCPenney, the former of which was torn down for The Home Depot. After an extended period of decline, the mall closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2006. Sears, which was excluded from the demolition, remained operational until it closed in 2013. In 2022, it was announced that a large portion of the mall would become the new site of The Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center.
Dayton Mall is a shopping mall in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Dayton. The mall's anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's. Junior anchors are Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW, Guitar Center, H&M, Kirkland's, LensCrafters, Morris Home Furniture, Ross Dress for Less, and Ulta Beauty. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Elder-Beerman and Sears. Located ten miles (16 km) south of downtown Dayton, just north of the junction of Interstate 75 and Interstate 675 between the suburbs of Centerville and Miamisburg, the mall has attracted millions of visitors since its grand opening in 1970. The mall was formerly owned by Washington Prime Group, a Columbus-based firm, which acquired the complex in 1997; it is managed and leased by Spinoso Real Estate Group.
F&R Lazarus & Company was a regional department store with its retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio. For over 150 years, Lazarus was influential in the American retail industry, particularly during the early 20th century as a founding partner in Federated Department Stores, and continued until the nameplate was retired on March 6, 2005, in favor of Macy's.
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company, it eliminated the A&S brand. Most A&S stores took the Macy's name, although a few became part of Stern's, another Federated division, but one that offered lower-end goods than Macy's or A&S did.
The Rike-Kumler Company was an American department store in Dayton, Ohio. In 1959, Rike's became part of the Federated Department Stores conglomerate. In 1982, Federated merged Rike's with its Cincinnati unit, Shillito's, in order to form Shillito–Rike's. In 1986, Federated merged Shillito–Rike's into the Columbus-based Lazarus chain, which, in 2005 was consolidated with most other Federated chains under the Macy's brand.
McAlpin's was a Cincinnati-based department store founded in 1852 as Ellis, McAlpin & Co. McAlpin's opened their landmark downtown location on Fourth Street in 1880, taking over a building from their competitor Shillito's. In 1954, McAlpin's became the first Cincinnati department store to open a suburban site, in the Western Hills Shopping Center.
The William H. Block Company was a department store chain in Indianapolis and other cities in Indiana. It was founded in 1874 by Herman Wilhelm Bloch, an immigrant from Austria-Hungary who had Americanized his name to William H. Block. The main store was located at 9 East Washington Street in Indianapolis in 1896. The company also identified itself as The Wm. H. Block Co., and Block's.
Castleton Square is an enclosed shopping mall in the Castleton neighborhood on the northeastern side of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Built by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation and Homart Development Company in 1972, it is owned and managed by Simon Property Group. It is the largest mall in the state of Indiana, and has remained so since its construction. The center's original anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, Lazarus, and Woolworth. Expansions in 1990 and 1998 added to the total number of anchor and inline stores, while also adding a food court. The anchor stores are JCPenney, Forever 21, H&M, AMC Theatres, Dick's Sporting Goods, Macy's, and Von Maur; the former location of Sears has been vacant since 2018. Overall, Castleton Square consists of over 130 inline stores.
Oxmoor Center is a Louisville, Kentucky shopping mall located at 7900 Shelbyville Road in eastern Louisville.
Tri-County Mall, originally Tri-County Center, was a shopping mall located on State Route 747 just south of Interstate 275 in the city of Springdale, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Originally known as Tri-County Shopping Center, it opened in 1960 and has been expanded several times in its history. The original shopping center was an open-air property featuring H. & S. Pogue Company (Pogue's) and John Shillito Company (Shillito's) as the anchor stores. An enclosed wing anchored by Sears was added in 1969, followed by the enclosure of the rest of the mall. Shillito's was later known as Shillito-Rike's, Lazarus, Lazarus-Macy's, and then just Macy's; Pogue's was consolidated with L. S. Ayres and then converted to JCPenney. A mall expansion begun in 1990 and finished in 1992 added a second level of stores and McAlpin's as a fourth anchor store. The mall underwent a slow decline in the 21st century, owing mainly to the center's age and increased competition, and lost all of its anchors. Both JCPenney and Dillard's relocated to newer shopping centers in the 2010s, while Sears closed in 2018 and Macy's closed in 2021. The mall itself closed on May 15, 2022. It is owned by MarketSpace Capital and Park Harbor Capital.
Jefferson Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Louisville, Kentucky, the largest city in Kentucky. The mall is located near the intersection of Interstate 65 and Outer Loop in southern Louisville. Jefferson Mall is the only major mall in southern Jefferson County, and the only of Louisville's six regional shopping centers serving the south and west county; the others are located in the east county.
The H. & S. Pogue Company was a Cincinnati, Ohio based department store chain founded by two brothers, Henry and Samuel Pogue. They came from County Cavan, Northern Ireland, to Cincinnati and worked in their uncle's dry goods store. They later were able to buy him out and H. & S. Pogue Dry Goods Company was established in 1863 at 111 West Fifth Street. Brothers Thomas, Joseph, and William Pogue would eventually join the enterprise.
Kenwood Towne Centre is a shopping mall northeast of Cincinnati, at the corner of Montgomery and Kenwood Roads, adjacent to Interstate 71.
Fayette Mall is a regional shopping mall in Lexington, Kentucky, located at 3401 Nicholasville Road in southern Lexington. It is the largest mall in the state of Kentucky. The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Dillard's. The mall is among the largest shopping malls in the southeastern United States, boasting just under 200 stores plus a large food court.
Florence Mall is an indoor shopping mall in Florence, Kentucky, United States. Built in 1976 by Homart Development Company, the mall originally featured Sears, Shillito's, Pogue's, and JCPenney as its four anchor stores. The mall features over 100 stores and a food court. Another notable feature of the mall is the Florence Y'all Water Tower on the mall property; this water tower originally bore the mall's name, but was altered prior to the mall's opening. The mall's anchor stores are JCPenney and two locations of Macy's, with the former location of Sears being vacant. Florence Mall is owned and managed by Namdar Realty Group.
James W. McLaughlin was a Cincinnati, Ohio architect. He studied to be an architect working under famed James Keys Wilson. He fought in the American Civil War serving in the Union Army. During the late 19th century, he became a popular builder in Cincinnati. In 1870 he helped organize the Cincinnati chapter of the American Institute of Architects; that year, he was selected as a Fellow of the AIA, serving on its board.
Northgate Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Northgate, Ohio.
Anderson Towne Center is a shopping mall in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1969 as Beechmont Mall, it originally included John Shillito Company (Shillito's) and Mabley & Carew as its major anchor stores, with Gold Circle joining in 1980. Each anchor store changed names twice during the original mall's history: Shillito's became Rike Kumler Co. (Rike's) and then Lazarus, Mabley & Carew became Elder-Beerman and then Parisian, while Gold Circle became Hills and then Kmart. Between 2002 and 2003, the center was demolished except for the Lazarus and Kmart buildings, and renamed to Anderson Towne Center. Following the conversion of Lazarus to Macy's at that point and the closure of Kmart in 2013, the center's present anchor stores are Macy's, Kroger, Sky Zone, and Crunch Fitness.