Read's Department Stores

Read's Department Stores
Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1857; 169 years ago
Founder	D. M. Read
Defunct	1993
Fate	Merged into Jordan Marsh; later stores rebranded as Abraham & Straus and then Macy's
Headquarters	Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States
Area served	Connecticut, New York
Products	Department store merchandise (apparel, household goods, furniture, toys, etc.)
Parent	Allied Stores (from 1954)

Read's Department Stores was a retail chain headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut, established in 1857 by D. M. Read. Renowned for its sophisticated and high-end product offerings, its main store was once recognized as the largest department store in New England. During the 1950s and 1960s, the company expanded to multiple additional sites, though these branches gradually shut down throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

The original Bridgeport flagship location ceased operations in 1981 when Read's relocated a few blocks away. The vacated building underwent significant renovation and was later reopened as Read's Artspace, also referred to as the Sterling Market Lofts building.

Founding and Expansion

File:David M. Read.jpg

In 1857, David M. Read partnered with W. B. Hall to launch a dry goods and carpet business on Main Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Read assumed sole ownership in 1877. By 1885, the enterprise had grown to occupy two adjoining buildings at Main Street and Fairfield Avenue, becoming a "very popular and elegant place of business." Over time, Read's earned a reputation for offering refined, upscale merchandise within an elegant shopping environment, ultimately becoming New England's largest department store.

Flagship store

In 1926, Read's relocated to the intersection of Broad and John Streets in downtown Bridgeport, where its flagship store eventually encompassed more than 100,000 square feet (10,000 m²) of retail space spread across five levels. In 1954, the D.M. Read Company became part of Allied Stores.

Flagship store at Broad and John Street, Bridgeport, Conn.

The building featured seven floors in total—five above street level and two below—and offered a wide variety of merchandise. According to the Bridgeport store directory, the departments were organized as follows:

Lower Level China • Glassware • Silverware • Gifts • Lamps • Household Items

Street Floor Jewelry • Watch Repair • Cosmetics • Gloves • Small Leather Goods • Belts • Handbags • Fashion Accessories • Neckwear • Hosiery • Casual Shoe Bar • Hat Bar • Umbrellas • Blouses • Sportswear (Street Floor) • Lingerie (Street Floor) • Fashion Shoes • Corner I • Notions • Stationery • Cameras • Luggage • Confectionery • Snack Shop

John Street Side Men’s Furnishings • Men’s Sportswear • Men’s Clothing • Men’s Shoes • Men’s Hats

East Building Appliance Center

Post Office Arcade Casual Shop

Second Floor Household Linens • Curtains • Draperies • Slipcovers • Portrait Studio

Young World Shops Infants’ Shop • 2-to-6 Shop • Boys’ Shop • Girls’ Shop • Subteen Shop • Teen Shop • Young World Shoes • Children’s Furniture

Third Floor Sportswear • Dresses (Daytime) • Coats • Suits • Town and Country Shop • Fairfield Room • Millinery • Fur Salon • Bride’s Shop • Uniforms • Maternity Shop • Lingerie and Foundations (At Ease Shop)

Jr. News: Junior Dresses, Junior Coats, Junior Sportswear

Fourth Floor Bedding • Furniture • Rugs and Broadloom Carpets • Photo Studio • Trim-a-Home Shop • Beauty Salon

Fifth Floor Toyland • Bicycles and Outdoor Equipment • Bookselling Area • Venetian Tea Room • Corporate Offices

Branch stores

The second location was established as one of two anchor stores in the original Trumbull Shopping Park, recognized as Connecticut’s first shopping mall, situated 6.7 miles from Bridgeport’s downtown core. This three-level store covered approximately 220,000 sq ft (20,000 m²) and occupied the southern portion of the mall, where Target is currently located.

During the 1960s through the 1980s, Allied expanded this single location into a multi-store chain. By that time, the company operated six stores across Fairfield and New Haven Counties in Connecticut, as well as Westchester County in New York.

Transition

In 1981, Allied shuttered Read's iconic downtown Bridgeport store, leaving a boarded-up structure as a symbol of the city’s more prosperous days. The retailer relocated to the space formerly occupied by Gimbel's within the nearby Lafayette Plaza Mall in downtown Bridgeport.

Two years later, in 1983, Read's launched a new store in New York at the Jefferson Valley Mall located in Yorktown Heights. By approximately 1985, their television and radio advertisements featured the memorable slogan, "Reads, Your Something Special Store." Read's continued operations in its original Bridgeport location until 1987. At that time, Campeau Corporation of Canada—having previously acquired Allied Stores—merged Read's into Allied’s sister company, Jordan Marsh based in Boston, Massachusetts, leading to the rebranding of Read's outlets under the Jordan Marsh banner.

In the same year, Campeau also acquired Federated Department Stores headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, managing it alongside Allied. Due to the ongoing decline of Bridgeport’s downtown retail district, the Lafayette Plaza Jordan Marsh store ceased operations in 1991. By 1993, nearly all stores except those in Trumbull and Jefferson Valley were closed following a bankruptcy filing involving Federated and Allied Stores.

The two remaining locations at Trumbull and Jefferson Valley were rebranded as Abraham & Straus outlets in 1993 after Federated merged that division with Jordan Marsh. Operating under the A&S name allowed for more efficient advertising within the New York Metropolitan media market. In 1995, after Federated acquired Macy's, it integrated the A&S/Jordan Marsh division into Macy's East, renaming these former Read's stores under the Macy's brand.

The Trumbull store was vacated in 2006 when Macy’s moved into the former Filene's space at the Westfield Trumbull shopping center following the merger between Federated and May Department Stores. To date, only the Jefferson Valley Mall location—originally opened by Read's in 1983—has remained continuously operational as a department store.

Read's Artspace, Bridgeport

During the late 1990s, the old Read's building in downtown Bridgeport underwent transformation into artist studios and live/work spaces managed as a non-profit entity known as Artspace. This project, also referred to as Read's Artspace or Sterling Market Lofts, involved a full restoration carried out by Artspace Projects at a cost of $14.1 million. The redevelopment created 61 generous live/work units on upper floors alongside arts-friendly commercial spaces on the ground level. Construction was completed by A.P. Construction under a contract valued at $10.5 million. The revitalized Sterling Market Lofts officially opened its doors in May 2005.

References

External links

Souvenir Plate from Read's Department Store Archived December 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine - Bridgeport Public Library