Desmond's (department store)

Desmond's Department Store

File:Desmond's on South Broadway, Los Angeles.jpg
Industry	Retail
Founded	1860s (exact year unclear)
Headquarters	California

File:Desmond's advertsement in Los Angeles Daily News 1869-11-26 p2.jpg

Advertisement for Desmond's newly opened hat shop in the Los Angeles Daily News, November 1869

File:Desmond's Tower at 5514 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036.jpg

Former Desmond's location on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile

File:DesmondsWestwood1925.jpg

Desmond's Westwood branch circa 1925

Desmond's was a department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, ranking second oldest after Harris & Frank among local retail chains. Founded in the 1860s by Daniel Desmond as a hat retailer at the intersection of Los Angeles and Commercial streets, it operated until the chain ceased business in 1981. However, Desmond's, Inc. persisted as a corporate entity specializing in liquidating other retail chains. Locations in Northridge and West Covina remained operational until their closures in 1986, while the Palm Springs store endured into the early 2000s.

Single-store locations

Daniel Desmond’s brother Cornelius was engaged as a hatter in San Francisco from approximately 1864 through to 1879, occasionally collaborating with their other brother Jeremiah. Their shop occupied various locations including Bush and Sansome (1860s), beneath the Cosmopolitan Hotel (1869), under the Grand Hotel (1870s), and possibly at Montgomery and Market streets.

The precise date Daniel Desmond arrived in Los Angeles and opened his first store is contested:

• In anniversary celebrations, Desmond's department store consistently cited its founding near the Los Angeles Plaza in 1882, a date also referenced by the Los Angeles Times.
• Conversely, the Historical Society of Southern California records his arrival as October 14, 1868.
• The earliest newspaper references to Mr. Desmond in Los Angeles appear in November 1869 when both the Los Angeles Star and Daily News reported on his "new hat shop" opening at Los Angeles and Commercial streets, leaving uncertain whether this was his initial or subsequent establishment.

In approximately 1862—during the second year of the American Civil War and sixteen years after California became part of the United States—Daniel Desmond journeyed to California aboard a clipper ship navigating around Cape Horn, Chile, as no transcontinental railroad existed then. At that time, Los Angeles' population was under 4,500.

Reportedly occupying only a few square feet at its inception with Daniel as its sole employee, the store catered to popular fashions such as tall plush "toppers" favored by dandies and broad-brimmed flat-crowned "fiesta" hats preferred by Californio gentlemen known as dones. Daniel also served as a member of the volunteer fire department.

Advertisements from 1869 promoted Desmond’s as the only dedicated hat retailer in Los Angeles, addressing a previously unmet demand.

By 1870, Daniel Desmond joined other prominent merchants relocating to the Temple Block (Los Angeles) area on Main Street.

In 1882, he moved to number 4 North Spring Street (present-day address: 104 N. Spring), spearheading a migration of retailers to what became a new commercial hub around First and Spring streets. According to a 1937 Los Angeles Times article, this district attracted socialites from San Francisco down to Baja California. The store was situated within the Nadeau Block.

In approximately 1890—coinciding with Los Angeles' introduction of horse-drawn streetcars—Desmond relocated again to its fourth site within the Bryson Block, located at 141 S. Spring Street at Second Street’s northwest corner; an area considered rural just ten years prior.

At the turn of the century in 1900, Desmond’s moved to its fifth venue at Third and Spring streets inside the Ramona Block, which also housed the Hotel Ramona.

By 1906, it shifted across Third Street to occupy the Douglas Building at 301 S. Spring Street—its sixth address—establishing itself among Los Angeles' largest retail enterprises. Around this period, it gained recognition throughout Southern California for offering an extensive selection of premium men's apparel.

In 1915, Desmond’s inaugurated its seventh location: a newly constructed two-story building at 553 S. Spring Street where it expanded product lines to include women's and boys' departments. This structure was razed in 1924 to make way for the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank.

In September of 1924, Desmond’s established its eighth and final single-store location at 616 S. Broadway—a street renowned for numerous department stores including The Broadway, May Company California, Fifth Street Store, Silverwoods, Bullock's, N. B. Blackstone, and Eastern Columbia. This flagship operated until closing in 1981.</ref>

Downtown Los Angeles flagship store locations

Address	Opening date	Closing date	Current use
"Near Los Angeles Plaza"	circa 1862?	circa 1869?
Brick building on Los Angeles St. near Commercial St.	November 1869	1870
Temple Block (corner of Spring, Main and Temple)	1870	1882	demolished
4 N. Spring St. at First (now known as 104 N. Spring)	1882	1890	demolished
Bryson Block,141 S. Spring St., NW corner Second St.	1890	1900	demolished
Ramona Block, Third/Spring Streets	"1900"	"1906"	"demolished"
"301 S. Spring St."	"1906"	"1915"
"543 S. Spring St.", SE corner Spring Street Arcade	"1915"	"1924"	"Clayton's Public House"
"616 S. Broadway"	"September 15, 1924"	"1972"	"Renovated in 2018; currently serves as office space with restaurant and rooftop bar."

Downtown locations

Desmond's began expanding its presence with branch outlets starting in 1927, opening a store at Seventh and Hope. Additionally, it maintained a branch within the Spring Arcade at 543 Spring Street, adjacent to the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank on Spring Street, which was situated on the site of Desmond's original flagship store.

Expansion into suburban markets

Key branch locations

Opening Date	Closing Date	City or Area	Address	Branch Number	Designers	Additional Details
1927	1934	W. 7th St.	Roosevelt Building, 717 W. 7th St. at Hope	3rd branch	Alexander Curlett and Claude Beelman	Approximately 7,500 sq ft (700 m2). Currently houses the restaurant Shoo Shoo Baby.
1929	late 1980s	Miracle Mile	5500 Wilshire Blvd.	4th branch	Designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood	Located in the Wilshire Tower building alongside Silverwoods. Now converted into The Desmond on Wilshire residential apartments. Underwood was renowned for his nature-inspired designs of national park lodges.
March 1930		Westwood	1001 Westwood Blvd., southwest corner of Weyburn Avenue	5th branch	Designed by John and Donald Parkinson	Original construction cost $200,000. Expanded in 1940 into a $300,000 "tropical Mediterranean-style" facility, doubling its size. Presently operates as a CVS Pharmacy.
August 21, 1931		Long Beach	140 E. Broadway at Locust	6th branch		Acquired the Dodd & Hillis clothing store to establish this location.
1934		W. 7th St.	Second Union Oil Building, 617 W. 7th St.		Alexander Curlett and Claude Beelman	Initially 22,500 sq ft (2,090 m2) in size (1934), expanded to 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m2) by 1937 in a $400,000 investment. Currently a Walgreens location.
November 14, 1936	2005	Palm Springs	Palm Springs Plaza			Long operated as a seasonal store.
March 1953		Crenshaw District	Broadway-Crenshaw Plaza	7th branch	Burke, Kober & Nicolais	Two floors totaling approximately 30,000 sq. ft., recognized as the largest specialty store within the shopping center.
June 1, 1955		Pasadena, California	440 S. Lake Ave.	8th branch	Burke, Kober & Nicolais	Eighth Southland location.
September 17, 1958		Santa Ana, California	Santa Ana Fashion Square	9th branch
April 30, 1962		Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles	Sherman Oaks Fashion Square	10th branch		Approximately 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2).
April 30, 1962		West Covina	Plaza West Covina	11th branch
October 16, 1962		Whittier, California	Whittwood Town Center	12th branch		Around 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) in size.
August 28, 1964		Ventura, California	Buenaventura Center	13th branch	Burke, Kober & Nicolais	Approximately 18,500 sq ft (1,720 m2).
November 1964		Lakewood, California	Lakewood Center	14th branch		Roughly 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m2) in area.
March 1966		Torrance, California	Del Amo Center	15th branch	Burke, Kober & Nicolais

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Gallery

• Daniel Desmond
  Daniel Desmond
• 1903: turreted Hotel Ramona featuring Desmond's signage
  1903: turreted Hotel Ramona featuring Desmond's signage
• Desmond's Spring Street location (1915–1924)
  Desmond's Spring Street location (1915–1924)
• Depiction of multiple Desmond's branches from a 1937 advertisement
  Depiction of multiple Desmond's branches from a 1937 advertisement

Ownership

In 1921, Ralph R. Huesman acquired the store from the heirs of the Desmond family. Five years later, his nephew Fred B. Huesman joined the company. Fred succeeded Ralph as president in 1944 and maintained that role until 1973, when he transitioned to chairman. During the early 1960s, ownership of Desmond's transferred to New York-based Cluett Peabody & Company.

1977–1981 and epilogue

A consortium formed by Bond Clothing Stores and Harold Kapelovitz purchased the chain in 1977, with Kapelovitz assuming operational control of Desmond's.

From 1977 through 1982, the company shuttered all but four of its California outlets.

Concurrently, Desmond's expanded into various locations throughout the Western United States:

• Arizona
• Colorado: Mesa Mall, Grand Junction
• Iowa: Southern Hills Mall, Sioux City
• Montana
• North Dakota (two stores): Dickinson and Bismarck (the latter spanning 6,000 square feet, inaugurated in 1980; closed in 1986)
• Texas (three stores): Austin, Midland, Odessa
• Wisconsin

The Northridge and West Covina locations remained operational until 1986.

Kapelovitz later sold the Palm Springs La Plaza location to Frank Gross and Stanlee McNeish; this store retained the Desmond's name until ceasing operations in 2005. Separately, a "Desmond's Big and Tall" outlet in Palm Desert Town Center continued beyond that date.

Desmonds, Inc. post-1981

Following the closure of the Desmond's retail chain, Desmond's Inc. persisted as a corporate entity. In 1985, it acquired San Diego-based Walker Scott, which it liquidated in 1986. Additionally, Desmond's Inc. was engaged to oversee the liquidation process for Babbitts department store located in Flagstaff, Arizona during 1987.

External links

• Image depicting the second Union Oil Building located at 617 W. 7th St., featuring Desmond's advertisement painted on the building’s eastern facade. After 1934, the 7th & Hope branch operated within this building, having relocated from the Roosevelt Building at 717 W. 7th St., situated one block to the west.
• Collection of photographs showcasing every Desmond's store as of December 1935
• Image of Desmond's Long Beach location from 1931

References

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