O'Neil's

Last updated
O'Neil's logo. O'Neil's.png
O'Neil's logo.

The M. O'Neil Co. was a regional department store chain based in Akron, Ohio, United States. O'Neil's dominated the Akron and Canton retail markets. Founded in 1877, the store grew to several locations in northeastern Ohio. By the late 1980's, it was owned by May Department Stores, and in 1989 May merged it with its Cleveland division to form May Company Ohio, which was subsequently merged into its Pittsburgh division, Kaufmann's, in 1993. May Department Stores was purchased by Federated Department Stores in 2005, who merged all of its regional chains into Macy's in 2006.

Contents

History

Akron store in 1983 ONeils Akron Ohio.jpg
Akron store in 1983

O'Neil's began in 1877, when Irishmen Michael O'Neil and Isaac Dyas opened a dry goods store at 114 East Market Street. On the death of Dyas in 1892, the store became the M. O'Neil Co. Acquired by May Department Stores for $1 million in 1912, it opened a new store in downtown Akron in 1927 that remained through the late 1980s. [1] It eventually came to operate stores throughout the Akron and Canton areas. In 1989 the main store in downtown Akron was closed, and its remaining locations merged with May Company Ohio. With the merger, the O'Neil's name was retired.

Branch stores in later years were at Summit Mall in Fairlawn, Chapel Hill and Rolling Acres malls in Akron, Belden Village and Mellett (now Canton Centre) malls in Canton, 30th Street Plaza in Canton, Stow-Kent Plaza in Stow, Richland Mall in Ontario, and in Coshocton. Earlier branches included stores in downtown Canton, Lorain, Alliance, Massillon and Mansfield and in the Akron suburbs of Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton and Fairlawn (at Fairlawn Plaza).

The downtown Akron O'Neil's department store featured large display windows along the front and sides of the massive store where seasonal displays were set up for viewing by the public. During the holiday season, large elaborate animated displays of elves in Santa's workshop, nutcrackers, teddy bears, trains and various toys played under Christmas trees. These displays were a main feature of downtown Akron during the holiday season, along with the displays in the windows of O'Neil's rival store, Polsky's, directly across South Main Street.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The May Department Stores Company</span> Defunct retail company acquired by Federated Department Stores in 2006

The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many changes in the retail industry, the company merged with Federated Department Stores in 2005.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaufmann's</span> Department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris Company</span> Former department store chain based in San Bernardino, CA

The Harris Company was a retail corporation, based in San Bernardino, California, that operated a chain of department stores named Harris', all in Southern California. Philip, Arthur, and Herman Harris - nephews of founder Leopold Harris of what was once the large Los Angeles-based chain Harris & Frank – started the company with a small dry goods store in 1905, and the company eventually grew to nine large department stores, with stores in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Kern Counties.

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. In 1987, Campeau purchased Miller & Rhoads and later sold it to Philadelphia developer Kevin Donohoe and store management before closing in 1990.

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

Joske's, founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio, Texas. In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired the company along with the Titche-Goettinger department store of Dallas, and three years later Hahn became part of Allied Stores. Allied was taken over by Campeau in 1986, and Campeau in turn sold the Joske's chain in 1987 to Dillard's. All Joske's stores were then quickly converted into Dillard's locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rike Kumler Co.</span>

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.

The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts, Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant retailer in Southern California and the Southwest. Its fortunes eventually declined, and Federated Department Stores bought the chain in 1995. In 1996, Broadway stores were either closed or converted into Macy's and Bloomingdales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acme Fresh Market</span> Grocery store chain in Ohio, US

The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Company, under the trade name Acme Fresh Market, is a grocery store chain based in Akron, Ohio, that has 16 locations in Summit, Portage, Stark, and Cuyahoga counties of Northeast Ohio. It was established in 1891.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Horne Company</span>

The Joseph Horne Company, often referred to simply as Joseph Horne's or Horne's, was an iconic, regional department store chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was one of the oldest in the country being founded on February 22, 1849, but was often overlooked as it maintained only a regional presence. The chain ceased operations in 1994 after being merged with the Lazarus division of Federated Department Stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolling Acres Mall</span> Demolished mall in Akron, Ohio

Rolling Acres Mall was a shopping mall located in the Rolling Acres area of Akron, Ohio, United States. Built in 1975, it originally included approximately 21 stores, with Sears as the main anchor store. Later expansions added several more stores including anchor stores JCPenney, Montgomery Ward, and O'Neil's, along with a movie theater and food court. Montgomery Ward was converted to Higbee's in 1986, and then to Dillard's in 1992, while O'Neil's became May Company Ohio, Kaufmann's, and then finally Macy's. The fifth anchor store was Target, added in 1995. At its peak, the mall had over 150 stores. It underwent a sharp decline in tenancy throughout the 1990s and into the first decade of the 21st century, resulting in the relocation of Target and closure of Dillard's. Both the mall itself and Macy's were shuttered in 2008, although Sears remained operational until 2011, and JCPenney as an outlet store until 2013. Rolling Acres Mall was publicized after its closure as an example of a dead mall, and non-retail ventures operated out of the former locations of Target, Sears, and Dillard's. The mall was finally demolished in stages between 2017 and 2019 after it had badly deteriorated, except for the former Sears.

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

Summit Mall is a one-story, 850,000-square-foot (79,000 m2) enclosed shopping mall located at 3265 W. Market Street in the Akron suburb of Fairlawn., and with the closing of both Chapel Hill Mall and Rolling Acres Mall, is the only remaining mall in Summit County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May Company Ohio</span> United States historic place

The May Company Ohio was a chain of department stores that was based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AM&A's</span>

Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Company (AM&A's) was a chain of department stores based in Buffalo, New York. It was an institution to generations of shoppers in the Buffalo area. The company remained family owned until its sale to The Bon-Ton in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Read's Department Stores</span> Now-defunt 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, it was once hailed as New England's largest department store.

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">History of retail in Southern California</span> Department stores list in Los Angeles

Retail in Southern California dates back to its first dry goods store that Jonathan Temple opened in 1827 on Calle Principal, when Los Angeles was still a Mexican village. After the American conquest, as the pueblo grew into a small town surpassing 4,000 population in 1860, dry goods stores continued to open, including the forerunners of what would be local chains. Larger retailers moved progressively further south to the 1880s-1890s Central Business District, which was later razed to become the Civic Center. Starting in the mid-1890s, major stores moved ever southward, first onto Broadway around 3rd, then starting in 1905 to Broadway between 4th and 9th, then starting in 1915 westward onto West Seventh Street up to Figueroa. For half a century Broadway and Seventh streets together formed one of America's largest and busiest downtown shopping districts.

References

  1. Fernandez, Robert. "O'Neil's Got Its Start As a Young Man's Fancy; Love of Lace Led Irishman to Open Store." Akron Beacon Journal. 14 December, 1988: A10.