B. Forman Co. was a retail store in Rochester, New York, specializing primarily in high-end women's clothing. Once the largest store of its kind between New York and Chicago, the company, founded by Benjamin Forman in the first decade of the twentieth century, closed in 1994. B. Forman Co., along with McCurdy & Co., created Rochester's Midtown Plaza, one of the first enclosed Downtown malls in the United States.[citation needed]
Benjamin Forman, founder of B. Forman Co., was born August 29, 1874. His passport application of 1921 lists his birthplace as "Lemburg, Austria" and his father as Abraham Forman. His birthplace is likely Lviv, now located in the western part of Ukraine but, in the 19th century, in the Austrian Empire. Various United States Census reports list his native language as Yiddish. His 1921 passport application lists him as having immigrated to the United States October 10, 1891.[1][2][3][4]
Early tailor shop
According to a Democrat and Chronicle story in 2016, Forman moved from New York to Philadelphia, Ithaca and Syracuse before arriving in Rochester in 1902.[5] Forman does not appear in the Rochester City Directory until 1904.
Vienna Tailors, described as "mammoth ladies' tailoring establishment" at 255 E. Main Street, Rochester, by the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper in 1902, had been founded by A. Edelberg who, upon retirement, turned the business over to Noah Kahn.[6][7]
Benjamin Foreman was associated with the tailor shop at 255 East Main Street, Rochester, by 1903. An advertisement for "The Vienna Tailors" listed the proprietors as Lessen, Foreman, and Rocker.[8] The same advertisement warned: "Do not confound us with the persons who formerly ran a business here under our name. Don't be deceived, there is but one place of our name in each city, and that is conducted by the undersigned who guarantee satisfaction or no sale." The 1903 Rochester City Directory lists the partners as M. Lessen, B. Forman and I. Rocker; Max Lessen is listed as living in Syracuse and Isadore Rocker as living in Ithaca.[9]
This tailor shop was renamed B. Forman a year later.[10] He moved his shop, "B. Forman's, Ladies' Tailor", to the second floor of 42 North Clinton Avenue April 1, 1906, next to the new Sibley, Lindsay & Curr department store.[11][12]
B. Forman Store
Mr. Forman opened a new ready-to-wear store at 50 South Clinton Avenue in 1911.[13] A store advertisement claimed that "every garment will be properly fitted by Mr. Forman personally. The same supervision that is exercised in the made-to-measure department will also be exercised in the ready-to-wear department."[14] Later that year, Foreman purchased a building lot next door (46 South Clinton Street) and announced plans to construct a three-story retail store, 38 feet fronting Clinton, and extending back to Cortland Street, 197 feet deep.[15] The new store, now called "B. Forman Co." opened August 22, 1912.[16] The South Clinton block was, until then, primarily lined with residential houses.[17][18]
Benjamin Forman's first wife, Dorah, died in December 1915.[19] He married his second wife, Raye Greenberg, two years later.[20] They moved from 15 Harper Street to 224 Edgerton Street that same year.[21] Raye Foreman died March 20, 1944.[22] When he died, Benjamin Forman was survived by a third wife, Belle Friedman Forman.[23]
Saks & Co. and Gimbel Brothers of New York City attempted, unsuccessfully, to entice Forman to come to New York in a management role in 1923.[24]
B. Forman Co. was a founding member of a trade association, the retail Research Association. Other members included Abraham & Straus of Brooklyn, L. S. Ayers of Indianapolis, L. Bamberger of Newark; Filene's of Boston, Joseph Horne Co. of Pittsburgh, Hudson Company of Detroit, Hutzler Brothers of Baltimore, Rike-Kumler Company of Dayton, Strawbridge & Clothier of Philadelphia, and Wm. Taylor Sons of Cleveland.[23][25]
In 1925, Benjamin Forman opened "Camp Forman", a 22-acre vacation and recreation center for employees of the company, in Pultneyville, New York.[26] The property became the first public park of Wayne County, New York, in 1955.[27]
There was a major expansion of the store in 1925, including a six-story office tower in the back end of the store.[23][28]
B. Forman expanded the South Clinton store again in 1941, taking over half of the lot to the north that was the previous location of the Lyceum Theater. This expansion increased the sales area by 40%. The Clinton Avenue frontage of the store was remade in limestone, to harmonize the new and old frontage.[29][30]
The store expanded again ten years later, taking over the other half of the old Lyceum lot. The store then fronted 200 feet on Clinton Avenue. The store featured some 50 individual 'shops', with separate buyers, each with a different theme. There were twelve separate 'shops' for dresses alone. The store was reported in the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper to be the largest woman's specialty store between New York City and Chicago, the first store in the country to install escalators, and the first in Rochester to be fully air conditioned.[31]
Benjamin Forman died March 23, 1951, at his apartment in the Sheridan Hotel, 111 East Avenue.[23]
Edward Forman, Benjamin's oldest son, had taken over as President of the company in 1946. He was born in 1899, served in France during World War I, and joined the B. Forman staff in 1924. He died, unexpectedly, on a trip to New York City January 13, 1953.[32] He was then succeeded as president by his brother, Maurice Forman. Another brother, attorney Frederick Forman, served as Treasurer.[31] Leo Mans, a French immigrant, served as Display Director from 1917 to his death in 1955.[33]
Retail expansion
The store began expanding with branch locations in the 1950s. A children's clothing store was created at Monroe Avenue and Glen Ellen Way, in suburban Brighton and a 40,000 sq. ft. store was built at Culver Ridge Plaza, Irondequoit, New York[28] The Irondequoit store opened March 5, 1957.[34]
The most bold venture of the B. Forman Co. was the creation of an indoor shopping mall in Downtown Rochester. Announced in September 1958, this was a joint venture of B. Forman and McCurdy's Department Store. The rear of both downtown stores were near each other, off of Cortland Street. The Midtown Plaza project enclosed Courtland, creating a two-story indoor mall, with the two stores now facing each other inside the mall. Early tenants, in addition to B. Forman Co. and McCurdy's, included Wegmans, Lincoln Rochester Bank (now Chase Bank), the United States Postal Service and Trailways, as well as several national and local chain stores.[35] The mall opened April 10, 1962.[36]
B. Forman Co. announced two additional stores for suburban Rochester in early 1967, one at Pittsford Plaza, Pittsford, New York[37] and the other at Long Ridge Plaza (now Greece Ridge) in Greece, NY[38] The small Young World store on Monroe Avenue, Brighton, was closed and its retail operation moved to the new Pittsford Plaza store in 1968 [39] The Pittsford store opened March 5, 1968.[40] The Greece store, in Long Ridge Mall (now Greece Ridge) did not open until September 15, 1971.[41]
End of Forman family ownership
Forman family ownership of the company came to a bitter end in 1967. After the death of Benjamin and Edward Forman, the company was equally owned by Maurice and Frederick Forman. Fred died, unexpectedly, in 1963 at age 57.[42] His half interest in the company was inherited in trust by his widow, Sally (Bresler) Forman and their son, Jay W. Gilbert.
Differences between Maurice Forman and his brother's widow broke out into the open when she filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the company.[43] Creditors of the Fred Forman Estate, including Maurice Forman, filed a petition opposing the dissolution on the grounds that funds might not be sufficient to pay $850,000 in estate debts. The petition noted that B. Forman Co. had offered to purchase the interest of Fred Forman for $1,425,000 twice. Mrs. Forman contended the value of her husband's interest in the company was $2.2 million[44][45][46] Charges and counter-charges were made between the warring parties, including a hearing at Surrogate's Court April 1967 [47] The bitter dispute was resolved when McCurdy's purchased the stock of the B. Forman Co. in 1968. The company continued to operate as an autonomous operation of the McCurdy company.[48]
In 1969, for the first time in its history, a non-family member took over as President of B. Forman Co., Joseph E. Morressy. Maurice Forman became Chair of the B. Forman board.[49] Morressy succeeded Maurice Forman as board chair in 1974, and Pete C. Merrill, a Vice President of McCurdy's, was named new President of B. Forman Co.[50]
Under Merrill, the company launched a new concept of creating a mini-store, called "B. Forman II", the first of which opened in Irondequoit Shopping Plaza May 1977,[51] and the second in Perinton Square Mall October 1, 1979.[52] The Irondequoit B. Forman II apparently closed the summer of 1981, as it was listed in Forman ads through July, but not by September.[53] The "B.Forman II" name was last used in advertising for the Perinton Square store in April 1983 [54]
The last Rochester area B. Forman Co. store opened at Marketplace Mall October 1982.[55] The company then looked outside of Rochester, acquiring two stores in Syracuse from Flah's.[56] Two years later, the company bought the Flah company, acquiring seven more stores in New York State: three in Albany, and one each in Schenectady, Poughkeepsie, Middletown and Kingston.[57][58][59]
Contraction and closing
Pete C. Merrill retired as President of B. Forman Co. in 1987.[60] He was replaced by Larry W. Hinkle, who resigned four years later. Gilbert K. 'Ken' McCurdy, Executive Vice President of McCurdy's, stepped in as interim President.[61] Bernard Zindler was brought in as president in April 1992.[62] He reported to McCurdy & Co. President and CEO Thomas E. Dokter.[63] Zindler resigned as President January 1994.[64]
B. Forman Co. last new store opened at the Carousel Center in Syracuse in 1990.[65] B. Forman Co. unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the Bonwit Teller store in Buffalo's Galleria Mall in 1990.[66]
However, the company faced serious problems and closed five stores in 1992, the Long Ridge, Greece and Culver Ridge, Irondequoit stores as well as former Flah stores in Colonie, Poughkeepsie and Middletown.[67] A year later, the company announced the closing of three more stores, including the small B. Forman II store at Perinton Mall as well as the Kingston and Carousel Center stores.[64]
McCurdy & Co. borrowed $4.5 million in January 1994 from the City of Rochester, citing a need for working capital, and giving a mortgage on the McCurdy Midtown building as security.[68] And in July 1994, McCurdy's and B. Forman Co. closed. It was announced that four McCurdy locations would be sold to the May Company, and all B. Forman C. stores would be closed.[65] The going-out-of-business sale at McCurdy's and B. Forman started a few days later.[69] The B. Forman stores were closed by the end of August.[70]
An announcement of an intention to relaunch a 'hybrid' B. Forman store in Midtown Plaza in November 1994, backed by Rochester developer E. Anthony Wilson and investors he recruited, was announced in September.[71] Merchandise was to be provided by Bonwit Teller.[72] A hiring announcement was printed in October.[73] and the new store opened Nov. 25.[74] The 'new' B. Forman store closed fourteen months later.[75] A few months later, the discount store Peebles took over the Midtown space, the location where Benjamin Forman had started his ready-to-ware business in 1911.[76]
Barnes & Noble took over the former Pittsford Plaza B. Forman Co. building in 1995.[77] The B. Forman building at Midtown Plaza was demolished starting Oct. 18, 2010.[78]
Related Research Articles
Brighton is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 37,137 at the 2020 census.
Pittsford is an incorporated town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a privately held American supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Gates, New York, and was founded on January 30th, 1916 in Rochester, New York.
The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) is a New York State public-benefit corporation which provides transportation services in the eight-county area in and around Rochester, New York. Currently, RGRTA oversees the daily operation of eleven subsidiaries under the parent company of the RGRTA, including paratransit services. In 2022, the combined system of eleven subsidiaries had a ridership of 8,732,800, or about 31,800 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2022.
Wilmorite Properties, Inc is a commercial real estate company based in Chili, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York.
New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a 126.01-mile-long (202.79 km) northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 in the Southern Tier village of Owego, Tioga County. Its northern terminus is at a junction with East Main Street in the city of Rochester, Monroe County. Between the two endpoints, NY 96 passes through the city of Ithaca and the villages of Waterloo, Victor, and Pittsford. NY 96 is signed north–south for its entire length, although most of the route in Ontario County travels in an east–west direction.
New York State Route 153 (NY 153) is a 3.03-mile (4.88 km) long north–south state highway located in the eastern suburbs of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at NY 96 in the village of Pittsford. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with NY 441 in the town of Penfield. Over the course of its routing, NY 153 passes through the towns of Pittsford, East Rochester, Perinton, and Penfield. NY 153 connects to Interstate 490 (I-490) twice in East Rochester by way of NY 31F and West Commercial Street.
The Mall at Greece Ridge is located in Greece, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, and managed by Wilmorite Properties. It contains 119 stores and restaurants in the main concourse. The mall is anchored by the traditional chains Macy's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Burlington, a free-standing Target, and a Regal theater. Junior anchor stores include Barnes & Noble, Michaels, Old Navy, and local stalwart Ruby-Gordon.
Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York-based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, also housed its headquarters and featured an elegant executive dining room on the top floor.
McCurdy's was a Rochester, New York-based department store. Founded in 1901, the company was acquired by May Department Stores in 1994, but as a result of an antitrust settlement due to both McCurdy's and May's Kaufmann's stores being the predominant anchors in the area shopping malls, its stores were divested to The Bon-Ton Department store chain.
Midtown Plaza is a city district that is redeveloped for various uses. It used to be an indoor shopping mall in downtown Rochester, New York, the first urban indoor mall in the United States.
Skyview on the Ridge is a future redevelopment of a shopping mall located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester. The mall opened in 1990 as Irondequoit Mall, featuring anchors McCurdy's, Sibley's, J. C. Penney, and Sears.
George Bradshaw Kelly was an American politician from New York. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1937 to 1939.
Park Plaza Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in the Midtown neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally opened in 1960 as Park Plaza Shopping Center, an open-air shopping center, the mall is home to two Dillard's flagship stores and merchants including H&M, Talbots, and Eddie Bauer. The structure contains 545,800 square feet (50,710 m2) of retail space, although Dillard's owns 284,165 square feet (26,399.8 m2) of that area for its flagship stores.
The Rochester metropolitan area, denoted the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area by the United States Census Bureau, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of six counties in Western New York, anchored by the city of Rochester, New York. Many counties are mainly rural with various farming communities scattered throughout the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 1,090,135. The Rochester MSA is the 3rd largest MSA in New York state.
Bond Clothing Stores, Bond Clothes, Bond Clothiers, or Bond Stores, was a men's clothing manufacturing company and retailer. The company catered to the middle-class consumer.
The Marketplace Mall is a shopping center managed by Wilmorite and located on Hylan Drive in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester.
PAETEC Headquarters was a building proposed and approved for construction in Rochester, New York. It was to serve as the new headquarters for the Rochester-based telecommunications company, PAETEC Holding Corp. Its original proposed height was 40 floors, with a LEED-certified rooftop garden and was originally slated for completion in 2012. The proposed PAETEC building would have sat on the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Clinton Avenue, taking advantage of both the refreshed (abated) skeletal structure of the former Seneca Building and adjacency to an enormous underground parking facility (1600+spaces) and truck tunnel. In addition to reusing the Seneca structure, PAETEC revealed plans at an RDDC luncheon in June 2010 that detailed the construction of a semi-transparent NOC on the north side of the building with viewing lines for pedestrians into its command center, additional office space on the south side of the structure, as well as retail on the first floor.
Downtown Rochester is the economic center of Rochester, New York, and the largest in Upstate New York, employing more than 50,000 people, and housing more than 6,000.
Sibley's, Lindsay and Curr Building is a historic commercial building located at Rochester in Monroe County, New York. It was designed by noted Rochester architect J. Foster Warner and built for Sibley's in 1904. The original wing of the building was constructed in 1906 as a five-story, Chicago school style skeletal steel building sheathed in brown Roman brick with deeply set Chicago style windows, topped by a clock tower with Baroque and Renaissance style details. Additions were made to the building in 1911 and 1924, including a 12-story tower section.
References
↑ 1900 U.S. Census, 95 Seventh Street, Manhattan Borough, NY, retrieved from ancestry.com
↑ 1910 U.S. Census, 15 Cumberland Street, Rochester NY, retrieved from ancestry.com
↑ 1930 U.S. Census, 111 East Avenue, Rochester NY, retrieved from ancestry.com
↑ US Passport Applications for Benjamin Forman, dated Oct. 19, 1921 and retrieved from Ancestry.com
↑ "Whatever Happen to... B. Foreman?", by Alan Morrell, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 2/6/2016
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.
