Mabley & Carew
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (department store) |
| Founded | 1877 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Founder | C. R. Mabley, Joseph T. Carew |
| Fate | Acquired by Elder-Beerman in 1978; stores rebranded |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati , United States |
Area served | Cincinnati and surrounding Ohio areas |
| Products | Department store goods |
| Parent | Allied Stores (1961–1978) |
Mabley & Carew was a well-known department store located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
History
The origins of the store date back to 1877 when merchants C. R. Mabley and Joseph T. Carew from Detroit, while traveling to Memphis, were delayed by a missed train connection in Cincinnati. During their unexpected stay, they explored the city, discovered a "For Rent" sign at Fountain Square, and decided it was an ideal location to establish a retail business. Mabley & Carew was a pioneer in Cincinnati for utilizing full-page newspaper advertisements, organizing elaborate Christmas events, and initiating the tradition of Arbor Day celebrations. The store’s building once featured an impressive display of 10,000 lights illuminating the area opposite Fountain Square.
Originally, the enterprise was jointly owned by Mabley and Carew but managed by Carew himself. Following Mabley's death in 1885, Carew assumed sole ownership. Upon Carew's passing in 1914, his first cousin Bolton Stretch Armstrong took over as company president and led the firm for 37 years.
In 1929, the nearby Carew Building—an office structure developed by Carew—was demolished to make way for the iconic Carew Tower, completed in 1930 after 17 months of construction. From 1930 until 1960, this complex housed Mabley & Carew’s flagship store. In 1961, Allied Stores acquired the company and merged it with its Rollman & Sons Department Store (commonly known as Rollman's), an original Allied division. The Rollman's branch at Swifton Center was immediately rebranded as a Mabley & Carew location, while the main Rollman's store closed for extensive renovations. By 1962, Mabley & Carew relocated across the street into the renovated Rollman's building, which was then renamed the Mabley and Carew Building. At that time, a branch at Cincinnati’s Western Hills Plaza—opened in 1955—was also part of their operations.
By 1964, Mabley & Carew had further expanded through consolidation with former E. C. Denton Stores Co. locations acquired by Allied in 1952. The Robinson-Schwenn Department Store in nearby Hamilton, Ohio and the John Ross Store in Middletown, Ohio were converted into Mabley & Carew branches. Meanwhile, Wren's Department Store in Springfield, Ohio, another former Denton property, maintained its original name but shared some administrative services with other Allied divisions.
In 1978, Elder-Beerman, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, purchased six Mabley & Carew stores situated in Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Middletown, eventually rebranding them under the Elder-Beerman banner. The Springfield-based Wren's Department Store was excluded from this transaction and instead became part of Allied’s William H. Block Co. division headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The former Rollman's building was shuttered and demolished in 1991 to clear space for Fountain Square West—a proposed Cincinnati skyscraper that was never constructed. As of 2021, this location is occupied by a vacant Macy's store owned by a New York-based company and is planned for mixed-use redevelopment.