Jacoby Bros.

Jacoby Bros.

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1870
Founder	Isaac Jacoby, Nathan Jacoby, Charles Jacoby, Abraham Jacoby, Lessor Jacoby, Leopold Harris
Defunct	1938
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California , United States
Products	Clothing, home furnishings, boots, shoes, hats

File:1896 Jacoby Bros at 132 N Spring.jpg

Jacoby Bros. establishment at 128–134 N. Spring Street, circa 1896

File:Old Downey Block c1870 Harris Jacoby Kremer.png

The original Jacoby store: "Harris & Jacoby, successors to H. W. Hellman," predecessors to both Harris & Frank and Jacoby Bros., located in the Old Downey Block around 1870. Nearby is M. Kremer's store, an antecedent of the City of Paris department store

Jacoby Bros. (known in the late 1930s as Jacoby's) ranked among Los Angeles' most prominent dry goods merchants during the 1880s and 1890s. Over time, it evolved into a full-fledged department store before ceasing operations in the late 1930s.

In 1870,Template:Ref Isaac, Nathan, Charles, Abraham, and Lessor Jacoby partnered with Leopold Harris to acquire Herman W. Hellman's store, establishing Harris & Jacoby. All the Jacoby brothers, along with Leopold Harris and Harris Newmark, originated from Löbau in West Prussia (then part of the German Empire, now Lubawa, Poland). The Jacobys dealt in clothing, home furnishings, boots, shoes, hats, and similar goods, serving both wholesale and retail markets.

In February 1878, Loewenstein sold his establishment within the Downey Block at 63 N. Main St. (renumbered to 163 N. Main after 1890), situated on the west side of Main Street just north of Temple and across from Commercial Street, to Lessor Jacoby. Later that year, "Jacoby's Clothing House" commenced operations at this location.

Temple Block stores (1879-1891)

Beginning in 1879, the business—initially branded as "L. Jacoby" and later as "Jacoby Bros."—was situated at 103 N. Main (using pre-1890 numbering) inside the County Bank Building within the Temple Block. This site subsequently became home to the distinct Jacoby Bros.' Philadelphia Shoe Store, while the Jacoby Bros. Retail Clothing House launched storefronts just further south within Temple Block at 121-127 N. Main St. (post-1890 numbering: 221-227 N. Main St.). These locations were advertised under that designation through March 1891 and then simply as Jacoby Bros. until August of that year.

Starting February 1891, the Philadelphia Shoe House was promoted at 128-130 N. Spring St. (post-1890 numbering). By May of that year, it relocated to 215 N. Spring St., positioned three doors north of the City of Paris department store. This move allowed Jacoby Bros. to demolish that building along with neighboring storefronts at 132-134 N. Spring Street and construct a grand new retail space spanning addresses from 128 through 134 Spring Street.

New location at 128-134 Spring Street (1891-1900)

On November 14, 1891, Jacoby Bros. celebrated the inauguration of their new retail space at 128-134 Spring Street within the Larronde Block building, accompanied by an adjacent wholesale division situated at 125 N. Main St. The structure received acclaim for its architectural elegance, described as a "distinctive blend of pressed brick, terra cotta, and Sespe sandstone," featuring elegant columns and arches, a grand archway above the central balcony draped with streamers, attractive signage, and various decorative elements. The display windows were notably large for the era, with two measuring 12 feet in length and another extending 22 feet, each with an 8-foot depth. The storefront included two entrances, each 12 feet wide, with tiled vestibules and gleaming white marble steps. The retail area on the ground floor spanned 9,800 square feet (910 m²), mirrored by an equally sized basement space dedicated to wholesale boots and shoes, and a second-floor area of similar size allocated to wholesale apparel and hats. This design introduced innovative concepts such as open-plan selling floors with abundant natural light instead of segmented departments. Consequently, the separate Philadelphia Shoe House was closed.

In August 1896, Jacoby Bros. expanded by acquiring the former H. Jevne grocery premises at 136-138 N. Spring Street, thereby occupying the entire stretch from 128 to 138 N. Spring St. This arrangement continued until February 1900.

Broadway location (1900)

In the year 1900, Jacoby Bros., following the trend among upscale retailers, relocated westward to Broadway, establishing their new store at 331-333-335 S. Broadway. This development was initiated by Homer Laughlin with architectural design by John B. Parkinson. The establishment opened its doors on March 3, 1900, featuring four floors plus a basement with approximately 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) of retail space, a frontage stretching sixty feet, and two elevators. The men's clothing department occupied the second floor; women's apparel was displayed on the third floor; while the fourth floor served the wholesale division. A central court measuring 25 by 40 feet allowed natural light to permeate throughout the store. Its basement shoe department covered 13,125 sq ft (1,219.4 m²), making it the largest shoe retailer in the Western United States, surpassing any other local shoe store by threefold in size. The store held exclusive rights to sell clothing from Hackett, Carhart & Co.

Today, only two stories of this building remain intact. When the Broadway Theater and Commercial District was designated as part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the Jacoby Brothers Building was classified as a non-contributing property within that historic district.

Hiatus (1935–1936)

During a short interval around 1935 to 1936, the company’s advertisements omitted the "Bros." suffix and promoted the brand simply as Jacoby's.

In approximately May 1935, Jacoby Bros. closed their store located at 331–335 S. Broadway after failing to renew their lease. Subsequently, they sold their inventory to the May Company. Later in the 1930s, this location was taken over by a Los Angeles-based Boston Store, which is distinct from the Inglewood-originated Boston Store that eventually expanded into a major chain.

6th & Broadway Location (1936–1938)

The business resumed operations in February 1936 at the H. Jevne & Co. Building, situated at 605 S. Broadway on the southwest corner of Sixth Street. Nonetheless, just two years later, in 1938, Jacoby's ceased operations entirely.

By 1940, most of this property was leased to retailer Zukor's, whose signage remains visible on the section of the building they occupied.

Notes

1Template:NoteMultiple sources from the 1920s and 1930s suggest that Jacoby’s first store opened in Wilmington in 1875 and then in Los Angeles in 1877. However, photographic documentation in Wilson’s publication contradicts these dates by showing Harris & Jacoby operating in the Old Downey Block, which was demolished around 1870. Furthermore, advertisements for seeds at Hellman’s store in No. 2 Downey Block ceased by January 1870, while ads for Harris & Jacoby at the same address began appearing in December of that year. Establishing the precise date when ownership transferred from Hellman to Jacoby is challenging due to gaps in Los Angeles newspaper archives between 1864 and 1873. Notably, Jacoby Bros. themselves claimed an establishment date of 1867 in their advertising from 1900.