Zukor's

Zukor's was a U.S. chain of women's clothing stores, specializing in dresses. The company was part of a broader trend of dress shops that catered to middle-class and upper-middle-class women, offering stylish, ready-to-wear fashion at accessible prices. ^[1]

Benjamin Zukor established the business in 1914 in New York City, starting with a modest shop that specialized in women's apparel. Around a year later, Zukor opened a second New York store. ^[1]

West Coast stores that Zukor opened were in order: ^[1]

• Seattle, c. 1927
• Long Beach, California
• Oakland, California, c. 1929, 1311 Washington Street, expanded in 1934 at a cost of $75,000 (equivalent to $1,708,209in 2023).

and between 1929 and 1934 in: ^[1]

• Bellingham, Washington
• Portland, Oregon
• Sacramento at 812 K Street ^[2]
• San Francisco
• San Jose, California
• San Diego
• Los Angeles (2 stores, including one at 611 S. Broadway, opened in February 1931, ^[3] moving two doors down in 1940 to the H. Jevne & Co. Building at 601–5 S. Broadway)
• Spokane, Washington (1929, Mohawk Building, moved to the Jamieson Building in 1935. Closed c. 1967) ^[4]

By 1934, the Oakland Tribune described the chain as a five-million-dollar "national institution" that had "served millions of patrons". ^[1]

The chain opened its fourteenth West Coast store in Fresno, California in 1936 at 1018 Fulton Street at a cost of $50,000 (equivalent to $1,097,842in 2023). ^[5]

References

1. "Zukor's Expands in Modernization Program". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. March 20, 1934. pp. 8–9.
2. "Zukor's Women's Clothing Store". Sacramento Rooms Digital Collections. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
3. "Zukor's to Open New Dress Shop". Los Angeles Times. February 21, 1931. p. 20.
4. "Then and Now: Bernards and Zukor's". The Spokesman-Review. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
5. "Zukor's Women's Apparel Store Will Open Saturday". The Fresno Bee. August 20, 1936. p. 5.