Jump to content

City of Paris (Los Angeles)

From Alfawiki
City of Paris
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
PredecessorS. Lazard & Co.
Founded1852
FounderSolomon Lazard and Maurice Kremer
Defunct1897
SuccessorNone
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
United States
Area served
Los Angeles, California
Key people
Solomon Lazard, Maurice Kremer, Timoteo Wolfskill, Eugene Meyer, Constant Meyer, Nathan Cahn, Leon Loeb, Emmanuel L. Stern, Cahn, Loeb
ProductsDry goods, department store merchandise


File:City of Paris department store Los Angeles 1890s.jpg
Stern, Cahn & Loeb's City of Paris department store located at 105-7 North Spring Street (renumbered post-1890 as 205-7 Spring), photographed between 1883 and 1890

City of Paris—initially known as S. Lazard & Co.—was a dry goods retailer that evolved into Los Angeles' first department store, active from the 1850s until 1897. The business operated under several names over time: starting as Lazard & Kremer Co., then Lazard & Wolfskill Co., followed by S. Lazard & Co.. Eventually, it adopted the City of Paris name when run by Eugene Meyer & Co. and later by Stern, Cahn & Loeb. It is distinct from the more renowned City of Paris in San Francisco and unrelated to the Ville de Paris in Los Angeles, established by A. Fusenot as an offshoot of San Francisco’s "City of Paris".

History

File:Lazard Kremer LA Star 18521030.png
Advertisement for Lazard and Kremer published in the Los Angeles Star on October 30, 1852
File:Lazard 18530618.png
Spanish-language ad for Lazard and Kremer from the Los Angeles Star dated June 18, 1853
File:RichNewmarkLazardKremer18540921.jpg
Advertisements for Rich and Newmark, alongside Lazard and Kremer in the Los Angeles Star September 21, 1854 edition
File:S. Lazard &Co. Store on Main St. Sometime between 1866-1872.jpg
The S. Lazard & Co. storefront on Main Street, photographed between 1866 and 1872
File:Eugene Meyer & Co. City of Paris Ad in Los Angeles city directory 1878 02.jpg
Advertisement for Eugene Meyer & Co.'s City of Paris in the Los Angeles city directory, 1878

French immigrant Solomon Lazard partnered with his cousin Maurice Kremer to launch a dry goods enterprise named Lazard & Kremer Co. in 1852. Their shop was situated within a series of retail spaces known as Mellus Row (later called the Bell Block or Bell's Row), located at the southeast corner of Los Angeles Street and Aliso Street. In June 1857, after Kremer sold his stake to Timoteo Wolfskill (1835–1909), the business was rebranded as Lazard & Wolfskill Co..[1] Following Wolfskill’s departure on August 13, 1858,[2] the firm continued operations as S. Lazard & Co.

In 1867, Solomon Lazard relocated the business to 53 Main Street, a fashionable address attracting refined Los Angeles women eager to purchase the latest French fashions.[3][4][5][6][7]

Marc Eugene Meyer from Strasbourg, Alsace—father to financier Eugene Meyer, future owner of The Washington Post and president of both the World Bank and Federal Reserve)—joined forces with Constant Meyer and Nathan Cahn (or Kahn) to acquire S. Lazard & Co. from Solomon Lazard in 1874.[8] From that moment forward, they operated under the name Eugene Meyer & Co., branding their store as the City of Paris.[9] By March 1874, Eugene Meyer & Co. promoted themselves as successors to S. Lazard & Co., conducting business at addresses spanning from 51 to 53 Main Street.[10] The firm was listed in the city directory for 1878 at numbers 53–55 Main Street—across from the St. Charles Hotel—positioned on the west side near the St. Elmo Hotel.[11]

In January of 1879, Leon (Leopold) Loeb—Eugene Meyer's cousin—was incorporated as a partner into Eugene Meyer & Co.[12] Leon Loeb was married into pioneer family Harris Newmark, originally from Löbau (Loebau), Prussia; he was also father to Joseph P. Loeb.

On October 2, 1880, City of Paris under Meyer's leadership relocated to a new premises known as the City of Paris Block at numbers 17–19 Spring Street—just southward from First Street and near where the Nadeau Hotel would be constructed in 1888.[13]

By springtime in 1883, City of Paris shifted again to premises at numbers 105–107 North Spring Street (pre-renumbering; located west side between Franklin Temple just north of Jones Block; after renumbering post-1890: addresses became 205–207 North Spring Street).

In October that same year (1883), ownership changed hands when Marc Eugene Meyer relocated to San Francisco; Emmanuel L. Stern joined as a partner alongside two others forming Stern, Cahn & Loeb.[14] Despite these changes, the business retained its "City of Paris" designation,[15] operating within what was then recognized as Los Angeles’ Central Business District.

Following citywide building renumbering in 1890, advertisements from early 1892 confirm that City of Paris remained at its location but expanded its footprint by acquiring adjacent storefronts on both sides—now occupying addresses between 203 and 209 North Spring Street.[16] Financial difficulties surfaced by 1893; management had transitioned to Stern Brothers after Leon Loeb’s departure.[17] By April 1894 advertisements indicated plans for store closure.[18]

Nonetheless, records show City of Paris still functioned in 1895 within the Jones Block at number 177 North Spring Street,[19] even while prominent department stores began relocating toward South Broadway.

Ultimately, financial insolvency led to the store’s bankruptcy declaration in 1897.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ↑ Consulate general of France, French text based on Guide français de Los Angeles et du Sud de la Californie, F. Loyer and C. Beaudreau (1932), and 1872 Los Angeles City and County Directory Archived 2012-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "The Early Jewish Presence in Los Angeles," Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles
  5. ↑ An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company (1889), page 534, transcribed by Kathy Sedler at ancestry.com
  6. ↑ Francis Dinkelspiel, "A Hard Rain," Jewish Journal, March 31, 2005
  7. ↑ Loyer and Beaudreau, page 53
  8. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ↑ Aaron Smith, Los Angeles City Directory, 1878, Mirror Printing, via Los Angeles Public Library
  12. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Template:History of Retail in Southern California

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=City_of_Paris_(Los_Angeles)&oldid=31554"