Bamberger's

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Bamberger's

File:Bamberger's Department Store Final Logo.png
Company type	Department store
Industry	Retail
Founded	1893 (1893)
Founder	Felix Fuld Louis M. Frank Louis Bamberger
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Rebranded as/replaced by Macy's
Headquarters	131 Market Street Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, housewares
Parent	Macy's (1929–1986)

Bamberger's was a department store chain predominantly operating in New Jersey, with additional locations in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The company's headquarters were situated in Newark, New Jersey.

19th century

During the latter half of the 19th century, Newark emerged as a significant manufacturing center. By 1892, it ranked as the fourth largest city in the United States and was known for producing a diverse range of goods including leather products and jewelry. Additionally, Newark served as an important railway hub and had a substantial Jewish community.

These conditions inspired Felix Fuld, Louis M. Frank, and Louis Bamberger to establish their store on December 13, 1892. They took over the premises formerly occupied by the bankrupt Hill & Craig store on the corner of Market Street and Halsey Street in Newark. Notably, Fuld and Frank were brothers-in-law of Bamberger.

20th century

File:BambergersWOR1922.jpg

Illustration from 1922 showing the Newark flagship store, where Bamberger's launched WOR radio on the sixth floor to boost radio sales

On October 16, 1912, the company unveiled its flagship location at 131 Market Street in downtown Newark. The building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt. Following an expansion in 1929, this historic structure ranked as the sixth largest department store in the nation.

The enormous edifice occupied an entire city block bordered by Market, Washington, Bank, and Halsey Streets, encompassing approximately 1.2 million square feet. The telephone exchange number 565 was dedicated exclusively to Bamberger's operations, offering local direct-dial numbers to many suburban areas of New Jersey for placing orders via their "TeleService". The loading docks were situated deep underground on the fourth basement level, accessible by two large elevators capable of transporting fully loaded 33-foot trucks from Washington Street.

Spanning nine floors plus two basement levels, the store housed over 200 departments. A restaurant was located on the tenth floor. Additionally, Bamberger's maintained its own branch of the Newark Public Library and a United States Post Office within the building. Specialized merchandise included custom linens, engraved jewelry pieces, furs, and other unique items.

In June 1929, ownership transferred to R.H. Macy Co., though the Bamberger's name was retained. Post-World War II years saw efforts to reposition the store toward a more mainstream market. By 1955, the tenth-floor dining area was leased to the private Downtown Club. Customer dining options continued with The Dinette—a counter-style eatery in the first basement—and snack bars located on both the first and fourth floors. Eventually, the lower-level dining space was remodeled into a formal restaurant called the Garden State Tea Room.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bamberger's expanded aggressively across New Jersey and into the Greater Philadelphia area; by the 1980s it also had stores in Baltimore’s metropolitan region. On October 5, 1986, all Bamberger's outlets were rebranded as Macy's New Jersey. Two years later in 1988, Macy's New Jersey merged with Macy's New York to create Macy's Northeast (currently known as Macy's, Inc.).

As North Jersey experienced population growth and suburbanization after World War II, Bamberger's strategically opened branches in various suburban locations such as downtown Morristown, Plainfield, Princeton, East Brunswick (which became an anchor for Brunswick Square Mall in 1970), Garden State Plaza, Livingston Mall, Monmouth Mall, Nanuet Mall, Ocean County Mall, and Menlo Park Mall.

The downtown Newark flagship suffered sales declines following the civil unrest of 1967; consequently, its retail space was reduced and it shifted focus toward value-oriented merchandise. By 1979 evening hours at this location were discontinued. The Newark store continued operating under Macy’s branding until its closure in 1992. The building at 165 Halsey Street has since been repurposed to accommodate telecommunications companies, colocation services, and technology support firms.

WOR radio

The radio station WOR was launched by Bamberger Broadcasting Service in 1922. Its broadcasting studio was situated on the sixth floor of the company's downtown headquarters. During the 1920s, WOR became the first East Coast station to air opera performances as well as morning exercise sessions. The FM counterpart, initially known as W71NY and later W2XOR (currently WEPN-FM), began transmissions around 1940 or 1941. On October 11, 1949, WOR-TV (channel 9) commenced broadcasting, marking it as the final VHF television station to start operations in the New York metropolitan region. That same year, Bamberger was reorganized into General Teleradio, partially due to increased investment from General Tire and Rubber. The station's signal was transmitted from the WOR TV Tower in North Bergen, New Jersey until 1953, after which it moved to the Empire State Building. In 1952, General Tire purchased General Teleradio from Macy's and combined it with the Don Lee Network, establishing General Tire's broadcasting division.

See also

• List of department stores converted to Macy's
• List of defunct department stores of the United States