Henry C. Lytton & Co.

Henry C. Lytton & Co.

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail (department store)
Founded	1887
Founder	Henry Charles Lytton
Defunct	1986
Fate	Closed; assets acquired by Wieboldt's
Successor	Wieboldt's (brand and inventory)
Headquarters	Chicago , United States
Area served	Chicago metropolitan area, Indiana
Key people	Henry Charles Lytton (founder and president until 1949), George Lytton (president until 1933), Thomas Raffery, Matthew Kallman (owners in 1983)
Products	Menswear, sporting goods, department store merchandise

File:Lytton's Department Store Logo.png

Lytton's emblem

Template:Use mdy dates Henry C. Lytton & Co., commonly referred to as The Hub or Lytton's, was a department store chain based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its inaugural location debuted on State Street in 1887, with the final outlet closing its doors in 1986.

History

File:Henry Charles Lytton.png

Henry Charles Lytton

Henry Charles Lytton initially launched a retail establishment in Ionia, Michigan, which unfortunately did not yield profits. Subsequent ventures in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana generated sufficient funds for Lytton to establish a store in Chicago’s Loop district. This store, which he dubbed The Hub, opened in 1887 at the intersection of Jackson and State Street within the Otis Building. It focused on offering mass-produced menswear, an uncommon specialty at that time.

In 1913, the store relocated across State Street to occupy a newly constructed eighteen-story skyscraper called the Lytton Store Building. Designed by Marshall & Fox, The Hub utilized the building’s lower eight floors plus both basement levels. Around this period, the store expanded its merchandise to include sporting goods. Henry retired in 1917, passing leadership to his son George; however, Henry resumed control in 1933 following George’s death. In 1934, Lytton operated a retail outlet at the Century of Progress world’s fair. By the late 1930s, The Hub had established branches in Evanston, Illinois, Oak Park, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana. In 1946, the company reported revenues of $19 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted for inflation). That same year, to honor Henry Lytton’s centennial birthday, the business officially adopted the name Henry C. Lytton & Co. He remained president until his passing in 1949 at age 102.

In 1983, Thomas Raffery—formerly of Venture Stores—and Matthew Kallman from Stix Baer & Fuller acquired the chain. At that time operating twelve locations, the company filed for bankruptcy by March of the following year. To sustain its flagship State Street store, nine branches were closed. Ultimately, Henry C. Lytton & Co. ceased operations in 1986. The remaining inventory and brand name were acquired by Chicago-based department store chain Wieboldt's. Although Wieboldt's intended to revive the Lytton's brand, those plans were abandoned after Wieboldt's itself declared bankruptcy and closed in 1987. Currently, the former store building is owned by DePaul University and forms part of the Loop Retail Historic District.