O'Connor, Moffat & Co.
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California , United States |
| Products | Department store goods |
Number of employees | 400+ (2024) |
| Parent | Macy's, Inc. |
Macy's Union Square is a department store located within the block bordered by O'Farrell, Powell, Geary, and Stockton streets in San Francisco, California, USA. The current structure is an amalgamation of multiple buildings initially constructed independently and later integrated. The earliest portion, designed by architect Lewis P. Hobart, was originally created for the O'Connor, Moffat, Kean Co. store in 1929. Since 1949, it has served as the flagship Macy's store for the region, though plans indicate it will cease operations by 2027.
O'Connor, Moffat & Co.
The origins of Macy's presence in San Francisco trace back to 1866 with the establishment of O'Connor, Moffat, Kean Co. at the intersection of Second and Market streets. The company later expanded into several properties along south Post Street between Grant Avenue and Kearny Street. After the devastation caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the store was reconstructed and reopened its doors in March 1909.
By 1928, operating under the name O'Connor, Moffat & Co., the firm engaged architect Lewis P. Hobart to design an eight-story retail building situated at 101 Stockton Street, positioned at the northwest corner with O'Farrell Street. The project's estimated budget was $3,400,000 in 1927 currency.
This newly built O'Connor, Moffat & Co. store encompassed approximately 244,000 sq ft (22,700 m2) and officially opened on March 4, 1929. Its exterior featured cream-colored terra-cotta with distinct Neo-Gothic ornamental elements prominently displayed near the upper sections of its façades.
1945: Macy's Expansion into San Francisco
In 1945, R.H. Macy & Company, headquartered in New York City, acquired O'Connor Moffat for approximately $2,175,000 in stock.[1] The store was officially rebranded as Macy's on October 16, 1947.[2]
Alongside this acquisition, Macy's also purchased the six-story Brickell Building, featuring a 55-foot frontage on Geary Street overlooking Union Square, with ownership commencing January 1, 1946. At that time, the building housed the Santa Fe Railroad ticket office at 235 Geary and Frank More shoe store at 233 Geary.[1] A passageway provided direct access from Union Square to Macy's premises.[3]
In 1948, Macy's initiated a significant enlargement of the store by incorporating the adjacent property at 170 O'Farrell Street to the west. The expansion was designed by Louis Parson Hobart, the original architect of the 1928 structure.[4]
This addition, reportedly costing $6.5 million (1948 USD), opened in September 1949 and featured façades consistent with the existing store except for the parapet, where the ornate Gothic detailing was omitted. The ground floor was unified with polished granite throughout both sections. Internally, while retaining the original square fluted columns, the installation of a drop ceiling and modern lighting concealed much of the intricate Gothic tracery that adorned the street-level ceiling of the older part.[3]
Union Square Façade
In 1955, renovations were completed on the Brickell Building, allowing Macy's patrons to enter through Blum's Confectionery,[3] a candy shop that also operated a café offering desserts and light meals.
Macy's later acquired the 76,000-square-foot Dohrmann's home furnishings store site. After demolishing it in 1967, Macy's constructed a new building integrated into their main store.[5] This new frontage included a clock tower as part of its architectural design.[3]
Subsequently, the Brickell Building’s façade was updated to harmonize with the 1968 Dohrmann's addition. Due to differing floor heights between this new section and the original (1929/1948) building, escalators at street level within the Union Square buildings provided connections down to the main floor and up to the second floor of the older portion.[3]
In 1976, Macy’s expanded further by acquiring the 40,000-square-foot property at 255 Geary,[6] which had been occupied for many years by Frank Werner shoes until its sale to Bally of Switzerland in 1952.[7]
Men's Store building
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In 1984, Macy's launched a distinct Men's Store occupying approximately 180,000 sq ft (17,000 m2) in a structure situated across Stockton Street from the main department store. This edifice, located at 100-120 Stockton Street, was constructed in 1974 and formerly operated as a branch of the Hawaii-based Liberty House (department store). This expansion increased the total footprint of the Macy’s complex to around 860,000 sq ft (80,000 m2).
I. Magnin building
In 1995, Federated Department Stores, the parent company of both Macy's and the I. Magnin specialty stores, discontinued the I. Magnin brand. The Macy’s buildings dating from 1929 and 1948, along with those facing Union Square, formed an "L"-shaped perimeter around the I. Magnin Union Square location at the southwest corner of Stockton and Geary Streets, which had been constructed in 1946. That same year, Federated integrated the 240,000 sq ft (22,000 m2) I. Magnin property into Macy’s Union Square operations, resulting in Macy’s occupying the entire block along Stockton Street from O'Farrell Street on the south up to Geary Street and Union Square on the north.
With this consolidation, including the Men's Store, the entire Macy’s complex reached its largest extent at roughly 1,100,000 sq ft (100,000 m2), ranking it among the world's most expansive department store locations at that time. This occurred during an era when many other major downtown flagship stores outside New York and Chicago had already ceased operations—such as May Co. in Los Angeles (1986), Bullock's and J.W. Robinson's in Los Angeles (1983), Rich's in Atlanta (1994), May Co. in Cleveland (1993), and Hudson's in Detroit (1983). Even Emporium, a local competitor to Macy’s Union Square, shuttered its flagship store shortly thereafter in 1996.
During the late 1990s, Macy’s embarked on an extensive renovation project encompassing the entire complex. This included refurbishing the 1929/1948 building and the Men's Store, expanding retail space into the upper levels of the former Magnin building, and demolishing two outdated structures on Geary Street facing Union Square (previously Brickell and Dohrmann’s sites). These efforts culminated in the introduction of a contemporary glass-fronted entrance from Union Square.
In 2018, Macy’s divested its two most recent expansions: the former I. Magnin building integrated into the main complex and the separate Men's Store (formerly Liberty House) building. Consequently, the overall complex reverted to its size prior to 1984 but still maintained approximately 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) of retail space.[8]
Closure
On February 27, 2024, it was announced that Macy’s would be closing this location as part of a broader strategy to shutter 150 stores nationwide by late 2026. The company indicated that this store would continue operations until ownership of the property is transferred to a new party. The closure is expected to affect over 400 employees.[9]
Table of buildings and expansions
| Year Opened/Added |
Year Sold |
Structure | Location | Additional Area sq ft |
Cumulative Area sq ft |
Cumulative Area sq m | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | open | O'Connor, Moffat & Co. building (Macy's Main Building) |
101 Stockton at the corner of O'Farrell |
244,000 | 244,000 | 22,700 | ||||
| 1948 | open | Extension to main store westward along O'Farrell plus Brickell Building on Geary | 160‑170 O'Farrell, 233-235 Geary |
Approximately 244,000[10] | Approximately 488,000 | 45,300 (approx.) | ||||
| 1967 | open | Former Dohrmann's building (76,000 sq ft (76,000 sq ft)) demolished; new construction incorporated into Macy's main store. | 281 Geary adjacent to Union Square |
640,000[11] | 59,000 | |||||
| 1976 | open | Acquired and expanded into former Frank Werner/Bally Building[6] | 255 Geary adjacent to Union Square |
40,000 | 680,000[12] | 63,000 | ||||
|
|
Separate Men's Store located in the former Liberty House building[12] | 100-120 Stockton | 180,000[12] | Total: 860,000 | 80,000 | ||||
| 1995*[14] | 2018*[8] | Expansion into the former I. Magnin Building[14] | 135 Stockton corner of Geary near Union Square |
240,000[8] | Total approximately: 1,100,000 | 100,000 | ||||
| 1998 | Scheduled closure in 2024[15] | Renovation of the buildings from 1967 and 1976 on Union Square (totaling approximately 263,640 sq ft)[16] | (235)-255-281 Geary near Union Square |
Approximately 1,100,000 | Approx. 100,000 | |||||
| Total floor space currently after closure of former Magnin and Men's stores: 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) | ||||||||||
*announced
Gallery
-
Storefront signage on the building's oldest section, located at O'Farrell and Stockton
-
Bird's-eye perspective of Union Square during the holiday season -
Daytime view of the Union Square entrance adorned for the holidays -
Nighttime scene of the same entrance decorated for the festive period (Photograph by Steven Saylor) -
Rooftop view of the store
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See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsale - ↑ MACY’S HISTORY – Macy's Press Room
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddsm - ↑ Encyclopedia of San Francisco
- ↑ Old Dohrmann's Front Now New Door at Macy's
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Macy's…purchased Bally Building…255 Geary…40,000 sq ft". The San Francisco Examiner. 13 April 1976. p. 49. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ Werner Shoe Stores sold
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Ma, Annie (27 February 2018). "Macy's to sell former I. Magnin building at Union Square". SFGate. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ "Iconic SF Union Square Macy's to close amid mass shuttering of locations, supervisor says". ABC7 News. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ↑ "Work on $6,500,000 Addition to Macy Store Here". The San Francisco Examiner. 19 October 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ↑ Based on 1984 data: Macy's reported its Main Building at 680,000 sq. ft., including the 40,000 sq. ft. addition from the 1976 Werner/Bally building expansion. The pre-1976 total of approximately 640,000 sq. ft. reflects a roughly 152,000 sq. ft. increase since 1948 (488,000 sq. ft.), accounting for the Dohrmann's site redevelopment, Brickell Building updates, and other modifications from 1949 to 1975.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Itow, Laurie (25 September 1984). "Macy's giant men's store". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 62. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ Li, Roland (20 October 2018). "Macy's opens slimmed-down men's store in SF's Union Square". Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Trager, Louis (19 June 1995). "Macy's moving into Magnin spot". SFGate. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ Graff, Amy. "SF's Union Square Macy's store is among those slated to close". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
- ↑ "Macy's To Shutter Its Union Square Men's Store: SFist". SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2023.