Halle Brothers Co.

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Halle Brothers Company

File:Halle's Department Store Final Logo.png
File:Halle Bldg 2.jpg The Halle Building
Industry	Retail
Founded	1891 (1891)
Founders	Samuel Horatio Halle Salmon Portland Chase Halle
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Liquidation
Headquarters	Cleveland, Ohio , United States
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.

Halle Brothers Co., often known simply as Halle's, was a department store chain headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Throughout its 91-year existence, Halle's specialized in upscale merchandise paired with attentive customer service. Notably, it was Cleveland’s first major department store to establish a branch in the suburbs.

History

Operating from 1891 until 1982, the Halle Brothers Co. was regarded as Cleveland’s premier department store business. The enterprise was founded on February 7, 1891, by siblings Samuel Horatio Halle and Salmon Portland Chase Halle. Their inaugural location was situated at 221 Superior Avenue near Cleveland’s Public Square, where they acquired a hat and furrier shop previously owned by T.S. Paddock. The company was formally incorporated in 1902 under the name Halle Bros. Co. Subsequently, they relocated to the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 4th Street, expanding their offerings to include ready-to-wear apparel.

Expansion

Following multiple relocations and growth phases, the firm constructed its flagship store at 1228 Euclid Avenue by 1910. At a height of 195 feet, it held the distinction of being the tallest department store ever built in Cleveland. Designed by New York architect Henry Bacon, the building was celebrated for its sophisticated yet understated white terra cotta exterior.

In 1927, the company unveiled the $5 million Huron-Prospect Building, establishing a retail hub within what is now recognized as Cleveland’s Theater District.

Halle's earned a reputation as an upscale retailer and was commended for pioneering stores beyond the traditional downtown shopping area surrounding Public Square. By that year, Halle's served customers across western New York, Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, and parts of Indiana.

A hallmark of Halle's was its commitment to personalized service; every new hire received a service pledge emphasizing honesty and integrity:

File:Halle Bldg.jpg

The Halle Building in Cleveland is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places

When expanding its flagship location in 1927, TIME magazine lauded Halle's for contributing to Cleveland’s development into a more cosmopolitan city. It drew comparisons between Halle's and other prestigious retailers such as Lord & Taylor, B. Altman & Co., R.H. Stearns, Marshall Field & Co., Bullock's, and Maison Blanche.

Though the Great Depression caused financial setbacks for the company, post-World War II years saw renewed growth under Walter Murphy Halle’s leadership. Beginning in 1948, suburban branches were developed while a $10 million renovation at Playhouse Square was completed in 1949; this included adding a new service building on Prospect Avenue and expanding with a West Wing addition to the original structure. Over time, the store became favored by Cleveland’s elite clientele—especially during the holiday season when its flagship featured a beloved Christmas icon: an elf named Mr. Jingeling. As promoted through TV and radio jingles reminding children he was "on Halle's seventh floor," Mr. Jingeling served as Santa Claus’s "Keeper Of The Keys." Introduced initially as a one-time promotional character in 1956 to boost toy sales at the department store, Mr. Jingeling quickly became an annual tradition. The original portrayal was by Thomas V. Moviel, an officer with the Cleveland Police Department.

In December 2014, the Willoughby-based K & D Group acquired the Halle Building with plans to convert it into upscale residential apartments. Purchased for $20 million, extensive renovations transformed the structure into luxury living spaces.

File:Halles at Shaker Square Cleveland Ohio.jpg

The former site of Halle's Shaker Square building located at 13000 Shaker Boulevard in Cleveland is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Constructed in 1948 based on designs by architect Robert A. Little, who was related by marriage to Anne Murphy Halle Little.

Gradual Decline

Although the company managed to survive longer than many other department and specialty stores in Cleveland, the 1960s introduced significant challenges for the family-owned business. The shutdown of Sterling-Lindner Co. and Bonwit Teller, both situated directly across from Halle's flagship location downtown, along with the downturn of Cleveland's Playhouse Square theaters, shifted the focus of downtown shopping to Public Square. This area was dominated by competitors Higbee's and The May Company, who benefited from convenient connections to Cleveland's Rapid Transit system. To address this competitive shortcoming, Halle's in 1956 leased several buses from the Cleveland Transit System to offer a complimentary shuttle service between Public Square and Playhouse Square. This initiative was originally intended as a temporary solution pending the completion of a proposed subway beneath Euclid Avenue—a project publicly funded after voter approval in 1953. However, when the subway plan was abandoned—largely due to then-County Engineer Albert S. Porter’s decision favoring freeway development over rail transit—Halle's had no choice but to maintain its shuttle operation.

As other retailers ceased operations and crime increased on Cleveland’s near east side, suburban customers found it increasingly difficult to justify visiting Halle’s downtown flagship store. In early 1969, following The May Company’s lead from 1966, Halle’s introduced its own personal pink charge card featuring a modern block print logo, ending its participation in the shared Charge-A-Plate Associates metal notched charge card system. Shortly afterward, in August 1969, Higbee's issued a beige charge card with their updated logo, effectively bringing an end to all local department stores utilizing Charge-A-Plate Associates cards.

Plagued by an oversized flagship location, the decline of Downtown Cleveland, and excessive expansion into suburban markets, Halle’s was sold to Marshall Field's in 1970. Under new ownership, the company continued to falter, falling behind competitors such as Higbee's and May Company. Efforts to attract a broader customer base through mid-range merchandise were unsuccessful and led to the resignation of President/CEO Chisholm Halle in 1974—the son of Walter Halle and grandson of Samuel H. Halle, who had passed away in 1954. In 1969, during Chisholm Halle’s leadership, The Halle Bros. Co. abandoned its traditional Old English script logo in favor of a simplified block-letter design and shortened its name on printed materials to "Halle's." This rebranding effort was poorly received by Cleveland shoppers nostalgic for the original logo. By late 1969, Halle’s reinstated the Old English script while retaining the abbreviated "Halle's" name on all printed materials. After Marshall Field’s acquisition in 1971, another modernization campaign was undertaken throughout that year, which included retiring the Old English script once again and adopting a new logo consistent with Marshall Field’s branding.

Closure

File:Halle's Department Store.jpg

Halle's location at Town & Country Shopping Center, Columbus, Ohio (originally The Union).

In November 1981, Field's divested Halle's, which then consisted of 15 outlets across Ohio and Pennsylvania, selling it to Associated Investors Corporation. This group was headed by Columbus, Ohio entrepreneur Jerome Schottenstein, who primarily owned the Value City discount retail chain. Initially, the acquisition appeared promising for Halle's future. Schottenstein sought to reassure the community by publishing full-page advertisements pledging to uphold the chain’s longstanding traditions.

Despite these efforts, Associated Investors moved to liquidate the business in 1982, resulting in all stores being either sold or shuttered. Attempts were made to sustain a reduced operation with six suburban locations, but these efforts ultimately failed. A planned store at Randall Park Mall in North Randall, Ohio during the 1970s was eventually abandoned. The retail space remained vacant until the late 1990s when it was repurposed for a multiscreen cineplex.Template:Fix/category

Columbus area stores

The Union Co., operating under Manhattan Industries, was a high-end department store chain with six locations serving the Columbus, Ohio vicinity. In 1980, Manhattan sold this chain to Chicago-based Marshall Field & Co. for $8 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year). Following this acquisition, the stores were rebranded as Halle's.

Cultural references

• The former flagship Halle’s building at Playhouse Square Center was transformed into office space by Forest City Enterprises, incorporating street-level retail and a food court within the former Downstairs Store area. During the late 1990s, this structure served as the primary setting for the fictional Winfred-Louder department store on ABC’s "The Drew Carey Show."
• Cleveland-born actress Halle Berry received her name from this well-known department store.
• The department store also lent its name to the Halle Trophy Race, an aviation competition for women pilots which it initially sponsored.

See also

• List of defunct department stores of the United States

External links

• Entrance to Halle's Severance Center Mall Archived 2007-12-18 at the Wayback Machine