Harzfeld's

Harzfeld's

Company type	Public (from 1959)
Industry	Retail
Founded	1891
Founder	Siegmund Harzfeld and Ferdinand Siegel
Defunct	1984
Fate	Closed
Headquarters	Kansas City , United States
Area served	Kansas City metropolitan area, Missouri, Oklahoma
Key people	Siegmund Harzfeld (founder and first president), Lester Siegel, Sr., Lester Siegel, Jr. (third president)
Products	Upscale women's and children's clothing
Number of employees	65 (at closing of Country Club Plaza store)

Harzfeld's was a department store chain headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, focusing primarily on upscale women's and children's clothing.

History

Established in 1891 under the name "Parisian Cloak Company" by Siegmund Harzfeld and his associate Ferdinand Siegel, the business saw Harzfeld as its initial president. Leadership later passed to Lester Siegel, Sr., son of Ferdinand Siegel. In February 1966, Lester Siegel, Jr. assumed the role of the company's third president.

Harzfeld's transitioned to a publicly held company in 1959, with its common stock available on the local over-the-counter market. The retail group Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc. acquired the chain for $3 million in 1972. Following Garfinckel's acquisition by Allied Stores in 1981, Harzfeld's became part of Allied's portfolio. The department store ceased operations in 1984.

Flagship store

The Parisian Cloak Company's original establishment was located at 1108 and 1110 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1913, it relocated to the intersection of Main Street and Petticoat Lane and adopted the Harzfeld's name. This flagship location was designed by renowned architect John McKecknie originally as an office structure. Over time, the store expanded into an adjacent building, extending its footprint from Main to Walnut Streets. After its closure in 1984, this flagship site was incorporated into the Town Pavilion development.

A notable feature of the store was a mural commissioned in 1947 and executed by artist Thomas Hart Benton. Known as "Achelous and Hercules", this artwork was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., following the store’s shutdown.

Branch stores

Harzfeld's inaugurated its first branch outside Kansas City in 1929 at Columbia, Missouri, targeting students from nearby institutions such as the University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College. On April 10, 1954, the brand opened its initial Kansas City branch at Country Club Plaza. This expansion continued with a second Kansas City location established in 1958 within the Blue Ridge Mall. Additional growth included a 1963 opening at Corinth Square and a fifth outlet launched at Metcalf South Shopping Center in 1967. After acquiring two Gus Mayer stores in Oklahoma in 1974, these were rebranded as Harzfeld's locations.

The 10,000 sq ft (929 m²) Corinth Square branch closed on August 8, 1984, subsequently becoming a Wooten Drugs outlet; Metcalf South also shuttered that day. The Tulsa location was converted into a Brooks Brothers store. The Downtown Kansas City shop was closed and incorporated into redevelopment efforts. Meanwhile, the Country Club Plaza site was transformed into a Bonwit Teller later that same year.

Chronology of Harzfeld's Locations

Store	City	Address or mall	Opened	Closed	Notes
Downtown Kansas City Flagship	Downtown Kansas City	1111 Main St.	1913	1984	Now part of Town Pavilion
Lawrence KS	Lawrence KS		1923
Columbia MO	Columbia MO		1929 / 1949
Country Club Plaza	Kansas City	Country Club Plaza	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	87,000 sq ft (8,083 m2), had 65 employees at closing; converted to a Bonwit Teller with about 100 staff.
Blue Ridge	Kansas City MO	Blue Ridge Mall	1958	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	41,000 sq ft (3,809 m2); subsequently taken over by Jones Store Co.
Corinth Square	Prairie Village KS	Corinth Square	1963	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Converted into Wooten Drugs.
Metcalf South	Overland Park KS	Metcalf South Shopping Center	1967	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Taken over by Jones Store Co. after closing.
Tulsa	Tulsa OK	Utica Square	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting		Former Gus Mayer store; converted to a Brooks Brothers.
Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City	Penn Square Mall	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting		Size approximately 12,096 sq ft (1,123.8 m2); formerly a Gus Mayer location.

External links

• Official Harzfeld's website, maintained by Joe & Michele Boeckholt (accessed September 13, 2008).