Forbes & Wallace
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Founder | Alexander B. Forbes, Andrew Brabner Wallace |
| Defunct | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Springfield, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut |
| Products | Department store goods |
Forbes and Wallace was a department store chain headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Founding and Development
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The establishment of the Forbes and Wallace store dates back to 1873, when partners Alexander B. Forbes and Andrew Brabner Wallace built it at the intersection of Main and Vernon (currently Boland) Streets in Springfield, Massachusetts. After Forbes retired in 1896, Wallace assumed full ownership.
By 1905, the store had expanded to occupy eight floors across six adjoining buildings, encompassing an entire city block. During this period, Forbes & Wallace earned recognition as Springfield's premier retail destination.
Growth and Branches
From the 1940s through the early 1970s, Forbes & Wallace managed several additional department stores throughout Massachusetts and New York State under their original brand names. In Massachusetts, operations included McCauslan Waklen in nearby Holyoke and McCallum's in Northampton. The former McCallum's site later became Thornes Marketplace, a thriving indoor mall that opened in the late 1970s after the space was vacated. The Boston Store in downtown North Adams, Massachusetts was also part of the Forbes & Wallace portfolio. In New York State, Forbes & Wallace operated Wallace's department store located in downtown Schenectady, with branches in Kingston and Poughkeepsie; this chain ceased operations in 1975.
Additionally, Forbes & Wallace maintained a roughly 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) retail location at Fairfield Mall in Chicopee, Massachusetts—currently occupied by Home Depot. Alongside the now-defunct Two Guys, these two stores served as anchor tenants for this discount mall. The Forbes & Wallace outlet at Fairfield Mall closed during the mid-1970s and was succeeded by the now-defunct Caldor. Similarly, Two Guys shuttered its store at the opposite end of the mall, later replaced by the also-defunct Bradlees.
Facing stiff competition from the newly established Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, Fairfield Mall experienced a prolonged decline, ultimately closing in 2001 before being demolished. The site has since been redeveloped into a successful shopping plaza featuring Home Depot, Staples, Sleepy's, a party supply retailer, among others. This plaza is anchored on what was formerly Bradlees' side of the mall by a Wal-Mart Supercenter and surrounded by restaurants including Friendly's, Applebee's, and a 99 Restaurant.
Forbes & Wallace also operated branch locations at Springfield’s Eastfield Mall and launched a smaller store at Manchester Parkade in Manchester, Connecticut. The Eastfield Mall branch catered primarily to Springfield’s affluent eastern and southeastern suburbs and enjoyed considerable popularity. Conversely, the Manchester outlet struggled due to its placement within a small shopping center distant from Forbes & Wallace’s usual market area and faced strong competition from established Hartford department stores such as G. Fox & Co. and Sage-Allen Co.
Following the closure of Worcester-based Denholm & McKay Company in 1973, Forbes & Wallace briefly took over Denholm’s former space at Auburn Mall in Auburn, Massachusetts.
Closing
By 1970, a skybridge linked the store to the newly erected 30-story Bay State West building. Bay State West featured a retail concourse that also connected to Steiger's, another prominent private department store in Springfield. The Forbes & Wallace store ceased operations in 1976, after which the buildings stood empty until their demolition in 1982.
The site where the store once stood was redeveloped with the construction of Monarch Place in 1987.
See also
- Steiger's, a former department store with a main location in Springfield, Massachusetts