Chaney's

Chapman Building located at 110 E. Wilshire at Spadra (currently Harbor), site of a Chaney's outlet during the 1950s–1960s

Chaney's was a Southern California-based department store chain. Originating with Harold Oaks Chaney, an Ohio native, who established a dry goods shop in Lennox, California in 1924, he subsequently launched his inaugural department store in Hawthorne, California, situated southwest of Los Angeles. Additional branches were introduced throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

By 1961, Chaney had divested his stores, leaving only two outlets bearing the Chaney's brand in Inglewood and Hawthorne. At that point, Ted Revere had become Chaney’s business partner. The Chaney family had relocated to Siskiyou County in Northern California, where Harold Chaney assumed control of Weed Mercantile, a local establishment in Weed, California. Ted Revere took charge of managing the two remaining stores, which were rebranded as "Revere's".</ref>

Chronology of Store Openings and Closures

Year Opened	Year Closed	Location	Address	Additional Information
1926 or 1930	1960s	Hawthorne	317 N. (now 12329 S.) Hawthorne Blvd.	Situated opposite the future site of Hawthorne Plaza shopping center
circa 1940	circa 1949	Gardena	920 Gardena Blvd.	Established around 1940. Paul Jacobs served as store manager until 1948 before transferring to the new Torrance location. Sold approximately in 1949 and renamed Gardena Department Store.</ref>
circa 1948	unknown	Torrance	1269 Sartori St.	Opened around 1948 with Paul Jacobs as manager; took over lease from a former J. C. Penney that began operations in 1929.
1948	1949	Newhall	Spruce Street	Purchased from Horton Department Store in 1948. Elwood McCain managed in 1949. Sold within a year and converted to a branch of Hubbard's Dry Goods based in Los Angeles.</ref>
1950s?	1960s?	Fullerton	Wilshire at Spadra (Chapman Building)	Previously operated as a branch of Famous Department Store
by 1957 or earlier	1958 or later	Sunland	8316–8330 Foothill Blvd.	Advertised during 1957–1958. Formerly Alexander's by 1963. After closing Chaney's, the location became Empire Silk Store and later housed Ken's Stationers (1958–after 1965) along with Sears Appliance and Catalog store (from March 1964 to at least 1971). Later known as California Surplus Mart in the 1980s.
1957	unknown	Inglewood	Crenshaw & Imperial	Located within Crenshaw-Imperial Shopping Center. Opened in 1957 with Jim Fruchey as store manager.

Harold Chaney

Harold Oaks Chaney
Born	(1903-05-19) May 19, 1903 Canby, Iowa
Died	July 8, 1985(1985-07-08) (aged 82) Mount Shasta, California
Occupation(s)	Founder and proprietor of retail stores
Years active	Over 50 years
Organization(s)	Chaney's, Weed Mercantile
Known for	Proprietor of Chaney's department stores across Greater Los Angeles and later Weed Mercantile in Siskiyou County, California

Harold Oaks Chaney (1903–1985) became a notable figure within Hawthorne’s business sector. He served as president of the local Kiwanis International chapter in 1942, and by 1950 was appointed lieutenant governor for the newly established 19th division. Chaney played a key role in founding the Hawthorne Community Hospital, spearheaded fundraising efforts for community chests throughout Centinela Valley and the Greater Los Angeles area, and actively contributed to the Boy Scouts of America. In recognition of his civic contributions, the Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce honored him as Citizen of the Year in 1961.

External links

• Vintage photograph of Chaney's Fullerton location
• Image showing Chaney's store in Fullerton
• Photograph of Chaney's Fullerton branch
• "Harold Oaks Chaney" profile on FamilySearch