H. P. Wasson and Company

H. P. Wasson & Co.

File:Wasson's Department Store Logo.png
Company type	Department store
Industry	Retail
Founded	1874 (1874)
Founder	Hiram P. Wasson
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Closure following business decline after ownership transition
Headquarters	Indianapolis, Indiana
Number of locations	7 (peak in 1967)
Area served	Central Indiana
Products	men's, women's and children's apparel, footwear, jewelry, cosmetics, bedding, housewares, and home furnishings.
Template:Infobox NRHP

H. P. Wasson and Company, commonly referred to as Wasson's, was a department store chain headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, established by Hiram P. Wasson. The company's main store—known as the H. P. Wasson & Company Building—was constructed in 1937 and is recognized on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

History

The origins of the company trace back to 1874 when Hiram P. Wasson acquired the Bee Hive Drygoods Store, later rebranding it as H. P. Wasson and Company in 1883. Following the deaths of Hiram P. Wasson in 1910 and his son Kenard Wasson in 1912, ownership transferred to Gustave A. Efroymson along with his brother-in-law Louis P. Wolf. Over time, the chain expanded to seven locations, with its flagship outlet situated at 2 West Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis.

Gustave A. Efroymson served as company president from 1912 until 1930.

In 1930, a second store was established on Monument Circle, occupying the former Morton Hotel site. On June 1, 1969, a fire severely damaged the second floor entirely and portions of the third floor at this Monument Circle Annex location.

Post-Korean War, Wasson's embraced expansion into emerging suburban retail developments by opening stores within outdoor shopping centers during the late 1950s and early 1960s around suburban Marion County. Subsequently, enclosed malls appeared both within Marion County and neighboring communities such as Kokomo, Anderson, and Bloomington where branch stores were launched. Originally open-air centers like Eastgate and Kokomo were eventually enclosed.

In 1963, Louis C. Wolf assumed the presidency following Walter E. Wolf's retirement; Walter continued as CEO. Tragically, Louis C. Wolf died at age 40 in August 1967 piloting a single-engine Cessna during a hunting trip in Alaska. Later that year in October, his family sold the company to Chicago-based Goldblatt's. The death of Louis C. Wolf halted further growth initiatives.

Richard L. Glasser was named president and CEO in September 1967 while Walter E. Wolf Sr. remained chairman of the board.

At acquisition time in 1967, Wasson's operated seven stores—including three located within Indianapolis-area shopping centers and additional outlets in Kokomo, Anderson, and Bloomington malls.

Goldblatt's acquisition proved unsuccessful due to differing target markets: Wasson's appealed primarily to middle-class consumers whereas Goldblatt's focused on discount retailing. Under Goldblatt's management, product quality declined notably; furthermore, no new store openings or relocations to emerging regional malls occurred.

Facing significant losses, Goldblatt's sold the downtown store along with surrounding Monument Circle properties to Melvin Simon and Associates for $2.25 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted) in December 1979 and began shuttering stores throughout the Indianapolis area.

In September 1980, Goldblatt's announced plans to close its Anderson and Bloomington locations alongside other outlets by January 1981 as part of cost-cutting measures amid three consecutive years of financial deficits.

The Bloomington store at College Mall ceased operations in January 1981; it had originally opened in 1965 as one of the mall’s anchor tenants.

File:Wasson's-Goldblatt's Transition Logo.png

Wasson's-Goldblatt's transitional branding

On February 27, 1981, Goldblatt's declared that the final remaining Wasson's outlet—the Kokomo store—would close the following day. This Kokomo location was among the first stores opened outside Marion County when the Kokomo Mall debuted in 1963 and represented Wasson's initial expansion beyond its home county.

Building

The nine-level flagship located at 2 West Washington Street, designed in the Art Moderne style, was transformed into a combined retail and office space during the early 1980s. This primary store was the work of the prominent Indianapolis architectural firm Rubush and Hunter and constructed by the William P. Jungclaus Company in 1937. A notable characteristic of the Washington Street store was its absence of windows on the upper floors, made possible by the introduction of fluorescent lighting which eliminated the need for natural light. In 1997, this Washington Street property was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The former Wasson's annex situated on Monument Circle was destroyed by fire in 1969 and later replaced with a park. In 1998, the site became home to a new headquarters building for Emmis Corporation.

Wasson's Credit Union, inaugurated in October 1923, holds the distinction of being Indiana's first credit union as well as the earliest in the Midwest region.

Among Wasson's competitors were L. S. Ayres, L. Strauss & Co., and William H. Block.

See also

• List of Art Deco architecture in Indiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Center Township, Marion County, Indiana

External links

• J.G. Industries, Inc.
• Template:Usurped