Harveys (department store)

Harveys

File:Harveys Department Store Logo.png
Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1942
Defunct	1988 (1988)
Fate	Acquired
Successor	Peebles
Headquarters	Nashville, Tennessee
Products	Clothing and housewares
Owner	Fred Harvey (1942–1960) Fred Harvey Jr. (1960–1988)

Harveys was a department store chain primarily recognized for its flagship location in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

The inaugural Harveys store was established by Fred Harvey in 1942 at the intersection of 6th Avenue North and Church Street in Nashville. This site had previously housed Lebeck Brothers/Denton & Company, a prominent Nashville retailer since the 1870s during the post-Reconstruction era. When Lebeck Brothers ceased operations, Fred Harvey utilized the property to launch his department store. Over time, Harveys expanded to occupy the entire block along Church Street between 6th and 5th Avenues. Notably, the store introduced Middle Tennessee's first escalators and featured interior decor that included several carousel horses salvaged from Glendale Park, a local amusement venue that closed during the Great Depression. The store also gained fame for its elaborate Christmas displays and its sponsorship of an annual Nativity scene in Centennial Park.

In 1960, Harveys was among several downtown Nashville retailers targeted by sit-in protests conducted by local college students opposing racially segregated lunch counters. The establishment officially ended segregation at its lunch counters on May 10, 1960.

Following two decades of prosperous operation at the downtown site, Harveys branched out with suburban locations. Branch stores were inaugurated at Madison Square Shopping Center in Madison, Tennessee in 1962 and at 100 Oaks Shopping Center in Nashville in 1967. Additional outlets were launched in various Middle Tennessee cities such as Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, along with stores in Kentucky cities including Madisonville and Hopkinsville, Kentucky. One location also opened in Dyersburg, situated in West Tennessee. By the 1980s, however, the rise of suburban shopping malls contributed to dwindling patronage at Harveys’ downtown Nashville store. Consequently, the original flagship was shuttered in January 1984 and subsequently demolished to create a parking facility. In the late 1980s, plans were announced for an additional suburban store on Lebanon Road in Hermitage. Before this new location commenced operations, the entire Harveys chain was acquired by Peebles, a retailer based in Virginia, in 1988.