Liberty House (department store)

Last updated
Liberty House
FormerlyHackfeld's Dry Goods (1849-1852)
B. F. Ehlers (1852-1898)
H. Hackfeld & Co. (1898-1918)
Industry Department store
Founded1849;174 years ago (1849)
FounderHeinrich Hackfeld
Defunct2001;22 years ago (2001)
FateAcquired by Federated Department Stores; merged into Macy's West
Headquarters,
United States
Number of locations
45-50 (at its peak)
Number of employees
4,200 (at its peak)
Parent Amfac (1918-1988)
JMB Realty (1988-2001)

Liberty House, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, was a department store and specialty store chain with locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands and on Guam, as well as several locations on the United States mainland.

Contents

History

Tracing its antecedents to Hackfeld's Dry Goods formed by German trader Heinrich Hackfeld in 1849, in 1852 the retail location was renamed for Hackfeld's nephew, B. F. Ehlers. Hackfeld continued to maintain an interest in the store, while he concentrated on his trading, shipping and real-estate interests. In 1881, Paul Isenberg (1837–1903) became half partner in the business. In 1898 the Hackfeld and Isenberg family interests in Hawaii were officially reorganized as H. Hackfeld & Co. [1]

In 1918 at the height of World War I, H. Hackfeld & Co. was seized by the American government as alien property (since many of the Hackfeld and Isenberg heirs still lived in Germany), and was sold to a newly formed consortium, American Factors. At the same time the B.F. Ehlers store was renamed The Liberty House in response to anti-German sentiment. With Hackfeld's huge sugarcane plantations and land interests, American Factors (later known as Amfac) became one of Hawaii's Big Five landowners. [2]

In 1969 Liberty House expanded onto the mainland with Amfac's purchase of the Rhodes Western department stores, a long-time consolidator of department stores. The former Rhodes' stores were renamed Liberty House between 1971 and 1974. The mainland operation eventually included stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico and Washington. This expansion culminated with the construction of a new San Francisco flagship store in 1974 at Stockton and O'Farrell streets. Poor results and a scattered footprint caused the rethinking of future investment, and in 1978 Liberty House began winding down the mainland stores, with the remaining ten being sold in 1984.

Liberty House closed nine of its ten California stores in 1984 due to poor sales. The only one not closed at the time was San Mateo Fashion Island in San Mateo, California, which stayed open until 1986. [3]

In 1988 Amfac was acquired in a leveraged-buyout by JMB Realty Corp., a Chicago real estate investment company, under whose ownership Liberty House expanded to Micronesia Mall in Guam in 1994. In 1998 Liberty House filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, under which it closed most of its resort store business, which had totaled over 40 stores at one point. In 2001, after emerging from bankruptcy, the company was acquired by Federated Department Stores and merged into Macy's West. Macy's currently maintains a common law trademark by using the LibertyHouse.com domain which forwards to the Macy's website.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macy's, Inc.</span> American holding company

Macy's, Inc. is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's. Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the following year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took over the department store chain Macy's. With the acquisition of The May Department Stores Company in 2005, the regional nameplates were retired and replaced by the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands nationwide by 2006. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirokiya</span>

Shirokiya (白木屋) was a chain of department stores and other retail establishments founded in Japan and later located in Honolulu under the ownership of Shirokiya Holdings, LLC, a United States-based corporation. The company's last location closed in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomingdale's</span> Luxury department store

Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1930 under then-president Samuel Bloomingdale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Stores</span> American retailer

Broadway Stores, Inc., was an American retailer based in Southern California. Known through its history as Carter Hawley Hale Stores and Broadway Hale Stores over time, it acquired other retail store chains in regions outside its California home base and became in certain retail sectors a regional and national retailer in the 1970s and 1980s. The company was able to survive takeover attempts in 1984 and 1986, and also a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 1991 by selling off most of its assets until August 1995 when its banks refused to advance enough additional credit in order for the company to be able to pay off suppliers. At that point, the company sold itself to Federated Department Stores for $1.6 billion with the acquisition being completed on October 12, 1995.

The Big Five was the name given to a group of what started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century and leaned heavily towards the Hawaii Republican Party. The Big Five were Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., American Factors, and Theo H. Davies & Co. The extent of the power that the Big Five had was considered by some as equivalent to an oligarchy. Attorney General of Hawaii Edmund Pearson Dole, referring to the Big Five, said in 1903, "There is a government in this Territory which is centralized to an extent unknown in the United States, and probably almost as centralized as it was in France under Louis XIV."

Amfac, Inc., formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld and Company, was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1849 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five companies in the Territory of Hawaii. At its peak, it owned 60,000 acres (24,000 ha) of land, and was a dominant sugar company in Hawaii as well the founder of one of its best known department stores, Liberty House. It now owns 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of land in Kaanapali on the island of Maui. Since 2005 it is known as Kaanapali Land, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macy's West</span>

Macy's West is a longtime division of Macy's, Inc., representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, this particular group of Macy's store locations included 258 sites by February 2, 2009, when the company announced plans to consolidate all Macy's divisions into a single division based in New York. The consolidation became effective during the second quarter of 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micronesia Mall</span> Shopping mall in Dededo, Guam

Micronesia Mall, in Dededo at the intersection of Guam highways 1 and 16, is the largest shopping center in the United States territory of Guam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullock's</span>

Bullock's was a chain of full-line department stores from 1907 through 1995, headquartered in Los Angeles, growing to operate across California, Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated as many as seven more upscale Bullocks Wilshire specialty department stores across Southern California. Many former Bullock's locations continue to operate as Macy's.

I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. In the 1970s, under Federated Department Stores ownership, the chain entered the Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, DC, metropolitan areas. Mary Ann Magnin founded the company in 1876 and named the chain after her husband Isaac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Emporium (San Francisco)</span>

The Emporium, from 1980 to 1995 Emporium-Capwell, was a mid-line department store chain headquartered in San Francisco, California, which operated for 100 years—from 1896 to 1996. The flagship location on San Francisco's Market Street was a destination shopping location for decades, and several branch stores operated in the various suburbs of the Bay Area. The Emporium and its sister department store chains were acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1995, and many converted to Macy's locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadowood Mall</span> Shopping mall in Reno, Nevada United States

Meadowood Mall is a one-level, 901,357-square-foot (83,738.8 m2) super-regional mall in Reno, Nevada, managed by Simon Property Group, which owns 50% of it. Meadowood Mall contains 125 retailers and restaurants and it is anchored by Macy's Women, Macy's Men/Home, JCPenney, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Rhodes Brothers was a department store located in Tacoma, Washington, originally established in 1892 as a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma by Albert, William, Henry and Charles Rhodes. In 1903, the brothers would shift into the department store business, opening in the newly built Snell Building at Broadway and 11th Street in the heart of Tacoma's retail core. The store achieved great success, and by 1911, three floors were added to the building, eventually bringing it to 170,000 ft² (15793.52m²), including a tea room and a branch of the Tacoma Public Library. By 1920, even more room was needed and several buildings across the alley were purchased and connected to the main store by a sky bridge. Further additions included a discount annex in 1935, a new men's shop in 1937 and a special vault that could hold 5,000 coats. In 1957, the company opened its first suburban location at the Villa Plaza Shopping Center in Lakewood, Washington. Rhodes also operated a department store in University Village in Seattle in the 1960s. At one time there were signs on highways in Washington that said, "All roads lead to Rhodes," giving the number of miles to the Rhodes store in Tacoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronado Center</span> Shopping mall in New Mexico, United States

Coronado Center is a shopping mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Built in 1965 by the Homart Development Company, a defunct real-estate division of the department store Sears, the mall has undergone several renovations and expansions in its history which have led to it becoming the largest building by area in New Mexico. Its anchor stores include Macy's, J. C. Penney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Round One Entertainment, and Kohl's, with one vacancy formerly occupied by Sears; other major tenants include Barnes & Noble, H&M, Forever 21, The Container Store, The Cheesecake Factory, and Boot Barn. The mall features over 130 stores, including a food court, and is managed by Brookfield Properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Magnin</span> High-end department store

The Joseph Magnin Company was a high-end specialty department store founded in San Francisco, California, by Joseph Magnin, 4th son of Isaac Magnin founder of the I. Magnin department store. Joseph Magnin Co. and I. Magnin Co. were rivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Isenberg</span>

Paul Isenberg was a German businessman who developed the sugarcane business in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayfair Center</span> Shopping mall in California, U.S.

Bayfair Center is a regional shopping mall and power center in San Leandro, California. It was among the first malls in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Anchor stores are Macy's, Target, Kohl's, Staples, Old Navy, PetSmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Cinemark, and 24 Hour Fitness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honolulu Courthouse</span> Demolished building in Hawaii

The Honolulu Courthouse, also known as simply the Court House or the Parliament House, and later known as the Old Courthouse, was a two-story building in Downtown Honolulu that served as the meeting location of the Hawaiian Kingdom's Legislature and Supreme Court between 1852 and 1874. It was also the site of the Legislature's election of William Lunalilo and David Kalākaua as king in 1873 and 1874, respectively. A riot that broke out following the election of Kalākaua caused significant damage to the building and its contents. The Legislature and Judiciary moved out of the Honolulu Courthouse in 1874 and the building was subsequently sold to H. Hackfeld and Company, which used the building for office and warehouse space until it was demolished in 1968 to make room for a new office complex.

Bridgepointe Shopping Center is a shopping mall in San Mateo, California, United States. Opened in 1982 as San Mateo Fashion Island, it was originally an enclosed shopping mall featuring JCPenney, Bullock's, Liberty House, and Montgomery Ward as its anchor stores. Following the closures of Bullock's and Liberty House, the mall went into decline throughout the 1990s, leading to its closure and demolition in favor of a power center. Bridgepointe Shopping Center is owned and managed by CBRE Group. Major tenants of Bridgepointe Shopping Center include The Home Depot and Target.

References

  1. George F. Nellist, ed. (1925). "Isenberg, Paul". The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Honolulu Star Bulletin.
  2. Frederick Bernays Wiener (1982). "German Sugar's Sticky Fingers". Hawaiian Journal of History. Hawaiian Historical Society. 16: 15–47. hdl:10524/462.
  3. "June closing set for Oakland Liberty House store". Oakland Tribune . April 20, 1984. pp. C1. Retrieved October 24, 2021.