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Boston Stores (California-based department store)

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Boston Stores (California-based department store), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 202543 sources
Boston Stores
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1934
FounderIra Kaufman
Defunct1996
Headquarters
Inglewood, California (until 1990), Carson, California (from 1990)
,
United States
Area served
California, Arizona
Key people
Ira Kaufman (founder), Donald Kaufman (chairman)
ProductsDepartment store merchandise
Number of employees
Approximately 1,000 (1990)


Boston Stores final logo

Boston Stores, frequently referred to as The Boston Store, was a department store chain headquartered in Inglewood, California, located just southwest of Central Los Angeles. The company operated from 1934 until its closure in 1996.

The enterprise was founded by Ira Kaufman, who opened the first location in downtown Inglewood in 1934.[1][2] By 1990, the chain had expanded to 20 stores—14 situated in California and 6 in Arizona—employing approximately 1,000 people. That same year, the corporate headquarters relocated to Carson, roughly 13 miles south of Inglewood.[3]

Numerous unrelated stores named "Boston Store" have existed across the United States. Among them was J. W. Robinson's, which used the Boston Store name during the late 1800s and early 1900s at its downtown Los Angeles sites. Additionally, two distinct "Boston Stores" operated independently in Los Angeles: one in 1925 at 320 S. Broadway within the former Blackstone's Department Store building;Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name and another in 1939 with locations at 331 S. Broadway (formerly the Jacoby Bros. store) and at 4755 Whittier Blvd. in East Los Angeles.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Neither of these were affiliated with the Inglewood-based Boston Stores.

Myers Whittier

In 1972, Boston Stores expanded by acquiring Myers Whittier, a department store located in Whittier. The origins of Myers date back to circa 1905 when brothers Lemuel A. and Wilbert S. Myers established the Myers Dry Goods Company in a modest 25-foot-wide (8-meter) storefront at 109 S. Greenleaf Ave., staffed by five employees.[4]

Around 1911, Myers doubled their retail space by moving into a 50-foot-wide (15-meter) location at 110-2 S. Greenleaf. By 1920, they relocated again to a new 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) facility at 141 N. Greenleaf, which was further expanded in 1922 to 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2).[4]

The company’s fourth and largest site opened in 1955 in Uptown Whittier, encompassing 42,000 sq ft (3,900 m2) and providing parking for 90 vehicles.[4][5] At this point, the store was rebranded as "Myers Whittier".Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

Following Boston Stores’ acquisition of Myers Whittier in 1972, the original branding was initially retained. The company even launched a new outlet called "Myers Whittwood" on May 2, 1974, located within the Whittwood Center mall.[6] However, by 1976, both Whittier locations adopted the "Boston Stores" name.[1]

Wineman's

Main article: Wineman's

In 1984, Boston Stores took over Wineman's, a department store chain originally established in Ventura and Oxnard, but since 1924 recognized as a prominent anchor within the bustling Pacific Boulevard retail corridor in Huntington Park. This area was the premier shopping destination in the southeastern suburbs of Los Angeles from the 1930s through the 1950s.[7][8] Although the company aimed for extensive growth during the early 1920s, it ultimately consolidated to a single Huntington Park location by the late 1920s. Renewed expansion efforts took place starting in 1969, leading to growth throughout Southern California between 1969 and 1983.[9][10][11] Following the acquisition, Boston Stores rebranded multiple Wineman's locations under its own name:

  • The flagship store at Huntington Park, located at 6351 Pacific Boulevard, originally opened in 1935 with approximately 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2). From the 1930s to the 1950s, Pacific Boulevard was recognized as the busiest retail district in the southeastern Los Angeles suburbs. The store saw expansions in 1940, 1957, and again in 1966—growing from a modest 25-foot frontage in 1924 to an extensive 150-foot facade by 1966.[12]
  • In Placentia, a location at 110 E. Yorba Linda Boulevard spanning 26,400 square feet (2,450 m2) was inaugurated on October 19, 1973.[13]
  • The Mission Viejo branch opened around September of 1975 within the Mission Viejo Village Center.[14][15]
  • A location also existed in Corona.

Moore's (Lompoc)

In 1990, Boston Stores acquired Moore's Department Store located in Lompoc.[16]

Historic expansion

The Boston Stores chain experienced significant growth throughout Southern California and Arizona, marked by the following milestones:

California stores established before 1986 Template:Sort under

Opening Date Closing Date City Address Square Feet Square Meters Remarks References
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Inglewood Downtown: 100 S. Market St. Planned interior redesign by Chaix and Johnson; store ceased operations around February 1962 [17][18][1][2]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Hawthorne 345 S. Hawthorne Blvd. at 131st St. Renovation overseen by Burke, Kober and Nicolais architects; re-opened March 1965 featuring updated façade and air conditioning [19]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Inglewood Crenshaw-Imperial Plaza Template:Nts Template:Nts Expanded in November 1967; designed by Chaix and Johnson architects [20][21]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Seal Beach Rossmoor Center Template:Nts Template:Nts Largest location in the chain [22]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Fullerton Orangefair Mall Template:Nts Template:Nts Two-story building; fifth store launched in the chain [23][24][25]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Anaheim East Anaheim Shopping Center Template:Nts Template:Nts Sixth store opened within the chain [26][27]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
(acquisition)
Originally established as Myers in 1955
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Whittier Uptown: 6557 Greenleaf at Bailey Avenue The building was inaugurated as Myers Whittier department store on November 17, 1955. Boston Stores acquired it in 1972 and rebranded it as Boston Stores in 1976. As of 2024, the premises serve as medical offices. 33°58′52″N 118°02′16″W / 33.9811355°N 118.0377288°W / 33.9811355; -118.0377288[28]

[29][25][4][5]

  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Whittier Whittwood Center Launched as a Boston Stores branch under the Myers Whittwood brand.[6] Converted to Boston Stores branding in 1976.[1]
  1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
 Inglewood (Downtown:315 S. Market St.) Returned to Downtown Inglewood after a hiatus of fifteen years with an opening in December of that year.

[18]

Template:Dts 18 September 1981 abbr=yes Diamond Bar, California Diamond Bar Diamond Bar Towne Center [30]
Hemet, California Hemet Diamond Valley Shopping Center [31]
Template:Dts March 26,1983 abbr=yes Victorville, California Victorville Hi Desert Plaza (Bear Valley at Hesperia) Marked as the fifteenth store upon its inauguration.

[32]

Converted from Wineman's stores in 1984

  • Huntington Park location initiated in 1935 and shuttered by 1986
  • Mission Viejo store situated at Mission Viejo Village Center opened circa September of 1975[33][34]
  • Placentia location at Placentia Town Center launched in 1973

Template:Col-start Template:Col-break California stores launched from 1986 onward By December of 1985, Boston Stores operated thirteen outlets within California alongside six locations across Arizona.[35] Subsequent openings included:

  • Lancaster approximately opened in 1986[36]
  • Ridgecrest around the year of 1987
  • Pomona opened near to the year of 1988 but closed circa1990
  • Poway at Poway Plaza covering approximately Template:Cvt 17800 sq ft sqm, inaugurated on September16,1988 as the seventeenth outlet within the chain[37]
  • Camarillo located at Camarillo Village Square opened on November25,1988[38]
  • Lompoc at118 W. Ocean Street commenced operations on November2,1990; previously Moore's Department Store[39][40]
  • Oceanside at Mission Marketplace launched on September12,1991[41]

Template:Col-break Template:Col-break Arizona outlets

  • Flagstaff at Cedar Pines Shopping Center active as of1985[42]
  • Glendale operational by1985[43]
  • Maryvale also open by1985[43]
  • Mesa active by1995
  • Prescott active by1995
  • Sun City operational since approximately1986

Template:Col-end By1986, Wineman's stores located in Corona, Garden Grove, and Monrovia were no longer featured in promotional materials.[36]

Decline and liquidation

For many years, the chain emphasized moderately priced national labels such as Hart, Schaffner and Marx, which it described as "quality leadership brands." Its business approach focused on operating smaller, more intimate stores typically ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet, although some locations like Rossmore were larger. These stores were strategically situated in neighborhood shopping centers or in areas that were relatively distant from or underserved by major malls and traditional department stores.

In 1984, Chairman Donald Kaufman orchestrated a leveraged buyout of his father, Ira Kaufman. Alongside this, the company expanded by acquiring other retail chains including Wineman's and Malcolms. It also invested $1 million in a new computerized inventory and cash register system. These moves significantly increased the company’s debt burden throughout the 1980s. In a conversation with the Torrance Daily Breeze, Donald Kaufman acknowledged that the business experienced substantial financial losses in 1985 but showed signs of improvement by 1986. During this period, several store closures took place, such as those at Orangefair in Fullerton and Crenshaw-Imperial Plaza in Inglewood.

Moreover, by the mid-1980s, local junior department stores faced considerable challenges as large shopping malls had proliferated across most parts of Greater Los Angeles. This expansion limited the availability of attractive markets where these smaller stores could thrive.

In 1992, Boston Stores filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This led to the closure of some locations. Ultimately, all remaining outlets were liquidated by 1996.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named myers
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named obit1
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lompoc
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named fourth
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named myers1955
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named whittwood
  7. ↑ "6351 Pacific Boulevard, Huntington Park". LoopNet.
  8. ↑ Burns, Melinda (September 4, 1983). "Street Rebounds as Shoppers Return: Pacific Blvd in Huntington Park Recovers From Decade of Decline". Los Angeles Times. p. Southeast Edition p.1.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Sheila (October 22, 1969). "From This Corner". Arcadia Tribune.
  10. ↑ "Advertisement for Wineman's". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1980.
  11. ↑ "Wineman's Department Store celebrates 50th anniversary". Daily News-Post (Monrovia CA). March 12, 1974. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Wineman's have a success story". Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA). October 21, 1969.
  13. ↑ "Interest in Monrovia Continues: Wineman's Department Store Expands Again". Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA). October 5, 1973. p. 9. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Wineman's Will Open in Mission Viejo". The Los Angeles Times. 3 November 1974. p. 110. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  15. ↑ "The New Wineman's Dept. Store Mission Viejo Open in September (classified ad)". The Los Angeles Times. 21 August 1975. p. 178. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  16. ↑ "Boston Store buys Moore's Lompoc". The Lompoc Record. 10 July 1990. p. 7. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  17. ↑ "Boston Store Will Redesign Interior". The Los Angeles Times. 3 December 1961. p. 200. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Template:Cite news :title Boston Returns after 15 Years :url=http://newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-boston-returns-aft/55825638/:access-date 27 March 2024:work The Los Angeles Times:date 12 December 1976:pages 82
  19. ↑ "Boston Store-Hawthorne in ad for Boston Stores". The Los Angeles Times. 21 February 1965. p. 165. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  20. ↑ "Charity Day event opens new store". Southwest Topics-Wave. 26 October 1961. p. 11. Retrieved 27 March 2024. Chaix and Johnson, arch., 30,000 sqft
  21. ↑ "New Shop Added at Plaza Store". The Los Angeles Times. 19 November 1967. p. 145. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  22. ↑ "Break Ground Today for New Boston Store". Independent. 10 February 1963. p. 54. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  23. ↑ "Boston Stores Grand Opening Fullerton #5". The Register. 8 October 1968. p. 32. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  24. ↑ "Boston Store Fullerton Grand Opening". The Los Angeles Times. 9 October 1968. p. 7. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Boston Store to open two new Orange County units". The Los Angeles Times. 28 April 1968. p. 406. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  26. ↑ "Boston Stores Grand Opening Anaheim". The Register. 11 November 1968. p. 32. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  27. ↑ "Boston Stores Anaheim opening". The Los Angeles Times. 13 November 1968. p. 9. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  28. ↑ "6557 Greenleaf, Whittier CA". Google Maps. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  29. ↑ "Vacant Stores: Biggest Problem in Village Today". East Review. 15 February 1981. p. 4. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  30. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores Diamond Bar Grand Opening:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-boston-stores-diam/144183568/:access-date 26 March 2024:work The Los Angeles Times:date 16 September 1981:pages 61
  31. ↑ Template:Citation:title Directory of Shopping Centers in the United States:date1992 :volume4 :page263 :publisher National Research Bureau :quote Diamond Valley Shopping Center Hemet CA...Boston Dept. Store GLA:16,000
  32. ↑ Template:Cite news:last1 Pilcher:first1 Helen R.:title Boston Store opens next Saturday:url https://newspapers.com/article/daily-press-boston-store-opens-next-satu/144233726/:access-date27 March2024:work Daily Press:date20 March1983:pages13
  33. ↑ {{cite news:title The New Wineman's Dept. Store Mission Viejo Open in September (classified ad):url https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-the-new-winemans/144227367/:access-date27 March2024:work The Los Angeles Times:date21 August1975:pages178}}
  34. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Wineman's Will Open in Mission Viejo:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-winemans-will-ope/144227063/:access-date27 March2024:work The Los Angeles Times:date3 November1974:pages110
  35. ↑ {{cite news:title Shoppers will have to rush after Thanksgiving (Boston stores had nineteen locations as of November24,1985):url https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-breeze-shoppers-will-have-to-r/144187185/:access-date26 March2024:work The Daily Breeze:date24 November1985:pages113}}
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores Seeks Port of Call (page2of2):url https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-breeze-boston-stores-port-of-c/55844041/:access-date26 March2024:work The Daily Breeze:date30 November1986:pages56
  37. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Poway tries on its first upscale department store:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-advocate-poway-tries-on-its-first/144181407/:access-date26 March2024:work Times-Advocate:date16 September1988:pages15
  38. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores Camarillo Grand Opening ad:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/camarillo-star-boston-stores-camarillo-g/144181931/:work Camarillo Star:date23 November1988:pages8
  39. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores Lompoc Grand Opening:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-ynez-valley-news-boston-stores-lom/144180009/:access-date26 March2024:work Santa Ynez Valley News:date1 November1990:pages22
  40. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores seeks Chapter11 bankruptcy protections in court:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lompoc-record-boston-stores-seeks-ch/55830349/:access-date26 March2024:work The Lompoc Record:date1 November1992:pages1
  41. ↑ {{cite news:title Boston Stores Grand Opening Oceanside, Mission Marketplace September12,1991:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/north-county-times-boston-stores-grand-o/144185534/:access-date26 March2024:work North County Times:date11 September1991:pages7}}
  42. ↑ Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores Flagstaff advertisement:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-daily-sun-boston-stores-flagstaf/144180494/:work Arizona Daily Sun:date13 February1985:pages12
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Template:Cite news:title Boston Stores Glendale Maryvale Arizona advertisement:url https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-boston-stores-glendale/144180779/:access-date26 March2024:work Arizona Republic:date7 August1985:pages121

Template:History of Retail in Southern California

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