William H. Block Co.

Last updated
William H. Block Company
Company type Department store
Industry Retail
Founded1874;150 years ago (1874) in Indianapolis
FounderHerman Wilhelm Bloch
Defunct1987;37 years ago (1987)
FateMerged into Lazarus
Headquarters Indianapolis, Indiana
Number of locations
10 (1987)
Area served
Central Indiana
ProductsMen's, women's and children's clothing, footwear, jewelry, beauty products, home furnishings, bedding, china and silver, furniture, toys, books
Parent

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.

Contents

History

In 1910, a new eight-story store was constructed to designs by Arthur Bohn and Kurt Vonnegut Sr. of Vonnegut & Bohn on the corner of Illinois and Market streets. The new store at 50 N. Illinois Street officially opened it doors to the public on October 3, 1911. [1]

To the People of the State of Indiana, and Especially to the Home Folks of Indianapolis, This Magnificent New Store is Dedicated. The Pride of Hoosierdom

— Dedication announcement to the opening of the new Block's store in 1911 [1]

Block was active in the business until his death in 1928, at which time the management of the company was passed to his three sons: M. S. Block, R. C. Block, and E. A. Block. The store was expanded to nearly double in size in 1934. The architect for the 1934 expansion was Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. During the expansion the building's interior and exterior was redesigned in a moderne style, including furnishings, stainless steel escalators, and two-story polished black marble and stainless steel facade entrances. Architectural drawings of the entrances became the trademark logo for the store on gift boxes, print advertisements, and company stationery. A company publication identified the store as, "one of the country's most beautiful department stores". Restaurants located within the Illinois Street store included the Fountain Luncheonette, the Terrace Tea Room, the Men's Grille, and the James Whitcomb Riley Room. Block's was the second largest retail company in Indiana, its primary competitor L. S. Ayres & Co. being the larger. Other competitors included H. P. Wasson and Company and L. Strauss & Co.

The Block's store was located on Market Street across from the Indianapolis Traction Terminal (the largest traction terminal in the United States). From 1900 to the 1930s, the Indiana interurban system brought shoppers by the thousands from smaller central Indiana towns to shop in downtown Indianapolis. The availability of cheap mass transit to downtown Indianapolis greatly increased the customer base from which the Indianapolis department stores were able to draw. Block's, being directly across the street from the traction terminal, was the first department store shoppers would visit. Block's main competitors were located at least a block away on Washington Street. Central Indiana was networked with the most extensive interurban system in the United States. Most small towns were either on the system or a station was located nearby. Interurbans from Indianapolis reached as far as Dayton, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The net result of the interurban system to Block's and its competitors was a customer base that rivaled that of much larger Midwestern and eastern cities, such as Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

In 1954, a small branch store was opened in the Indianapolis neighborhood of Broad Ripple at 724 E. Broad Ripple Avenue [2] [3] and remained there until late 1960, [4] when it was replaced by a branch of Union Federal Savings & Loan. [5] After several name changes and bank mergers, this financial institution is still in operation at the same location as a branch of the Huntington National Bank.

Bloomington expansion

In 1942, during the Second World War, Block's constructed its first branch store outside of Indianapolis in the city of Bloomington at 104 S. Indiana Avenue, just across the street from the campus of Indiana University. It was called as the Block's College Shop. It was so successful that it eventually expanded into adjacent store fronts when those properties became available. By 1955, the store's street address had become 100 S. Indiana Ave. through the last of these expansions.

After College Mall opened on the east side of Bloomington in 1965, business gradually began to move away from downtown Bloomington to the mall or nearby areas. In 1972, Block's opened its second Bloomington store in College Mall in the space currently occupied (in 2013) by Abercrombie & Fitch, Christopher & Banks, and five other stores. This location was across the hall from one of the original anchor stores, Wasson's.

Since both stores combined were small when compared to newer stores that Block's was opening at new malls being developed throughout Indiana, Block's had to wait until Goldblatt's closed its Wasson's store at College Mall in January 1981. After remodeling was completed in August 1981, [6] Block's consolidated the two Bloomington locations into the new 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) store. [7] The store was converted into a Lazarus store in October 1987 [8] and eventually closed in 2003. [9] [10]

After Block's had left the corner of Indiana and Kirkwood avenues, the location was occupied by the Space Port Video Arcade from 1980 until it was forced to leave in 1995 when site was purchased by the University for the construction of Carmichael Center. [11] [12] [13]

Expansion at regional malls and shopping centers

Starting in 1958, Block's opened stores that served as the original anchors at Glendale Shopping Center (1958), Southern Plaza (1961), Lafayette Square Mall (1969), and Washington Square Mall (1974), all in Indianapolis, and also at Tippecanoe Mall (1974) in Lafayette and Markland Mall (1974) in Kokomo. [14]

Block's also opened a store that served as an expansion anchor at the Greenwood Park Mall in 1980 when the original Greenwood Center outdoor shopping center was converted into an indoor shopping mall. [15]

The Glendale [16] and Southern Plaza [17] locations were open air shopping centers at the time they were first opened. Glendale was enclosed in 1969, but Southern Plaza was never enclosed. The other locations were originally designed as enclosed malls.

Ohio expansion

As a cost saving measure, Allied Stores began to merge small department store chains into larger ones during the 1980s. [18] In 1984, Allied Stores merged the single store division Edward Wren Co. [19] in Springfield, Ohio, into the larger Block's store division. The original Wren's store in downtown Springfield was an economically depressed area located far outside of Block's normal advertising area. This store had a hard time trying to compete with the department stores located five miles (8.0 km) away in the Upper Valley Mall that had just opened in 1971. [20] Lazarus quickly closed this particular store after it acquired the Block's chain in 1987 because an existing Lazarus store (formerly a Shillito-Rike's store that Lazarus had acquired the previous year) was located at the Upper Valley Mall.[ citation needed ]

Television station

Block's was a major RCA dealer and in order to sell the newly-invented television receivers in the late 1930s, a local TV broadcast station was needed. Block's acquired some TV broadcasting equipment with a small tower above the main store and went on the air briefly. However, America's entry into World War II suspended this small operation and the equipment was transferred to the local Naval Training Station. In 1947, Block's was granted a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) construction permit for television station WWHB, channel 3. The station's call letters had changed to WUTV by 1949, when Block's tried to sell the permit to radio station WIRE before asking for its cancellation, stating that it did not desire to enter into broadcasting. [21]

Merger

The William H. Block Co. was acquired by Allied Stores in 1962 for $7.5 million (~$57.9 million in 2023) in cash and stock. [22] [23] [24] In 1987, Block's was sold to Federated Department Stores, at which time the Block's name was discontinued and many store locations were rebranded as Lazarus department stores. [25] [26] [27] After having been merged into the Block's operating unit in 1987, the two Herpolsheimer's locations in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area were also re-branded as Lazarus locations. These locations closed for good in 1990. [28]

Lazarus closed the downtown Illinois Street store in 1993. [29] In 2003, the Illinois Street store building's upper seven floors were converted into residential apartments and the ground floor remained retail; the building complex is called The Block.[ citation needed ]

At three mall locations (Greenwood Park, Washington Square, and Lafayette Square) that had both Lazarus and Block's stores, Lazarus liquidated the stock in the former Block's stores and sold the leases for the smaller of the two stores at each location to Montgomery Wards.[ citation needed ]

In total, five Block's locations were immediately closed upon merger. The stores in downtown Springfield and at the open air Southern Plaza shopping Center were also closed. The Springfield location remained vacant for over a decade while the Southern Plaza [30] building was demolished and replaced with a Kroger grocery store.[ citation needed ]

By 2005, none of the former Block's locations still existed to be able to be rebranded as Macy's, the final successor organization to Block's.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Mall</span> Shopping mall in New York, United States

Manhattan Mall was an indoor shopping mall at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. There are entrances to the New York City Subway's 34th Street–Herald Square station and the PATH's 33rd Street station on the second basement level.

Jordan Marsh was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The ownership of Jordan Marsh was transferred between several holding companies during its operation, including Hahn Department Stores in 1928, Allied Stores in 1935, and Federated Department Stores in 1988. The brand was retired and most stores were converted into the New York City-based Macy's in 1996.

Foley's was a regional chain of department stores owned by Federated Department Stores, later owned by May Department Stores (1988–2005) and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. On August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. On September 9, 2006 Foley's and all the regional May Co. stores names were phased out and rebranded as Macy's.

Burdines was an American chain of department stores operating in the state of Florida, headquartered in Miami. The original store opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896 as a carriage-trade shop. Over its nearly 110-year history, Burdines grew into a popular chain of department stores, known as 'The Florida Store,' decorated with palm trees in the center of the store, painted in pink and blue, and other subtropical colors and motifs. In 1956, the stores became a part of Federated Department Stores, Inc., now Macy's, Inc. On January 30, 2004, it was renamed Burdines-Macy's, and a year later, on March 6, 2005, the name Burdines was dropped altogether. The majority of the stores were rebranded as Macy's while a handful closed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich's (department store)</span> Defunct department store chain based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States (1867-2005)

Rich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, which operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's. Many of the former Rich's stores today form the core of Macy's Central, an Atlanta-based division of Macy's, Inc., which formerly operated as Federated Department Stores, Inc.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated Dry Goods</span> American department store chain

Associated Dry Goods Corporation (ADG) was a chain of department stores that merged with May Department Stores in 1986. It was founded in 1916 as an association of independent stores called American Dry Goods, based in New York City.

Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Stores, a holding company founded in 1928. In 1935 Hahn's was reorganized into Allied Stores.

Miller & Rhoads was a Virginia-based department store chain. Throughout its 105-year lifespan, the store played an active role in the Richmond, Virginia community, along with its friendly cross-street rival Thalhimers. The Richmond flagship location was known for its "SantaLand" upstairs attraction, which has since become an attraction at the Children’s Museum of Richmond. Following a series of ownership changes starting in 1967, Campeau Corporation purchased Miller & Rhoads in 1987 and later sold it to Philadelphia developer Kevin Donohoe and store management before closing in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafayette Square Mall</span> Shopping mall in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Lafayette Square Mall is a defunct shopping mall in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Developed in 1968 by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., the mall is locally-owned by Sojos Capital Group. The anchor store is Shoppers World. There are three vacant anchor stores that were once Sears, L. S. Ayres, and Burlington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circle Centre Mall</span> Shopping mall in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Circle Centre Mall is an indoor shopping mall located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Circle Centre Mall was opened to the public on September 8, 1995, and incorporates existing downtown structures such as the former L. S. Ayres flagship store. The mall is anchored by Regal Cinemas and the offices for The Indianapolis Star. The space occupied by former anchor Carson Pirie Scott is vacant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castleton Square</span> Shopping mall in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Read's Department Stores</span> Now-defunct department store chain

Read's Department Stores was a Bridgeport, Connecticut-based retail chain founded in 1857 by D. M. Read. Known for its classy, upscale merchandise, the flagship store was once hailed as New England's largest department store. It expanded to several other locations in the 1950s and 1960s, but these closed progressively through the 1980s and 1990s.

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.

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

College Mall is a regional shopping mall located in Bloomington, Indiana. This is home to Indiana University's flagship campus. The mall's anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods and Target. The mall also features a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and an Ulta Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. P. Wasson and Company</span> American department store chain

H. P. Wasson and Company, aka Wasson's, was an Indianapolis, Indiana, based department store chain founded by Hiram P. Wasson. Its flagship store, the H. P. Wasson & Company Building, was built in 1937 and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eisner Food Stores</span> Supermarkets chain of Illinois and Indiana, United States

Eisner Food Stores was a chain of supermarkets in Illinois and Indiana. It was acquired by The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1957. The Eisner stores were rebranded as Jewel in 1985.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Opening of the Wm. H. Block Company's New Store" . Indianapolis Star . October 3, 1911. p. 11. Alternate Link via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. ↑ "Shopping in Broad Ripple". CONTENTdm Collection. Indiana Historical Society . Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ Polk's Indianapolis (Marion County, Ind.) city directory, 1955. R.L. Polk. 1955.
  4. ↑ Ripian (1960): The Broad Ripple High School Yearbook. Broad Ripple High School. 1960. p.  137 . Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ Polk's Indianapolis (Marion County, Ind.) city directory, 1961. R.L. Polk. 1961.
  6. ↑ Schrader, Bill (August 20, 1981). "Block's grand opening Friday". Bloomington Herald-Times . pp. 1, 6.
  7. ↑ "Additions to mall create new jobs". Bloomington Herald-Times . February 17, 1981. p. 41.
  8. ↑ Werth, Brian (October 29, 1987). "Lazarus to open Sunday". Bloomington Herald-Telephone . p. A7.
  9. ↑ Wall, J.K. (January 17, 2003). "Federated Department Stores to Close Indianapolis Outlet". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News . Archived from the original on November 12, 2012.
  10. ↑ Geller, Lori (January 17, 2003). "Another local store leaving: Financial factors force Lazarus closing". Indiana Daily Student .
  11. ↑ Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (January 30, 1995). "Four-story complex to be erected where Space Port, Nathan Hale's used to be" . Bloomington Herald-Times . Link via NewsBank.
  12. ↑ Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (July 8, 1994). "The game is over if Space Port doesn't find a new home soon" . Bloomington Herald-Times . Link via NewsBank.
  13. ↑ IU Law Update, Winter 1995, vol. 5, Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, Winter 1995
  14. ↑ "Block's to Open Kokomo Store" . Kokomo Tribune . April 1, 1973. p. 4. Alternate Link via NewspaperArchive.com.
  15. ↑ Hillman, Jim & Murphy, John (2010). Greenwood. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   9780738578071. OCLC   491914894 – via Google Books.
  16. ↑ "An anchor's weight". Indianapolis Star . October 30, 2005. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Site History" (PDF). Tri-Land Properties, Inc. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  18. ↑ Barmash, Isadore (May 20, 1985). "Linkup of Allied Joske's Stores Seen". New York Times .
  19. ↑ Mori, Kelly (December 13, 2010). "Renovated Bushnell Building may be tipping point for downtown". Springfield News-Sun .
  20. ↑ Dunham, Tom (2012). Springfield, Ohio: A Summary of Two Centuries. Author House. ISBN   9781477261934. OCLC   857903032 – via Google Books.
  21. ↑ Christopher, Larry (March 28, 1949). "Station Mortality: Economic Pressure, TV Biggest Factors" (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 27. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  22. ↑ "SEC News Digest for July 27, 1962" (PDF). Securities and Exchange Commission . July 27, 1962.
  23. ↑ "Allied Stores Acquires Indianapolis Concern For Cash and Stock" . Wall Street Journal . July 2, 1962. p. 9. ProQuest   132777417.
  24. ↑ "Allied Stores Discloses It Paid Out $7,587.500 For Block Co. Purchase" . Wall Street Journal . November 7, 1962. p. 14. ProQuest   132737724.
  25. ↑ "Allied Stores agreed to sell its Blocks division". Los Angeles Times . April 28, 1987.
  26. ↑ "Allied Stores Selling Blocks Division To Federated". Associated Press . April 27, 1987.
  27. ↑ "Lazarus in agreement to sell Ward's three units in Indianapolis malls. (Federated Department Stores)". Daily News Record . October 23, 1987. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Lazarus get's judge's OK to close Sept. 8". The Grand Rapids Press . August 24, 1990. p. 1. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Lazarus to close Indianapolis unit. (Federated Department Stores Inc. Lazarus)". Daily News Record . June 17, 1992. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016.
  30. ↑ Carlson, Alicia (September 10, 1990). "The South rises again: Southern Plaza puts on a new face. (Focus: South Suburban Growth)". Indianapolis Business Journal . Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.