Siegel-Cooper Company
| Company type | Department Store |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Founder | Henry Siegel Frank H. Cooper Isaac Keim |
Area served | Chicago, New York City, Boston |
The Siegel-Cooper Company was a department store chain that originated in Chicago in 1887 and later expanded to New York City by 1896. Upon its New York opening, it held the distinction of being the world's largest retail establishment.
Initial Chicago Location
The enterprise started as a discount department store on State Street within the Loop district. Founded in 1887 by Henry Siegel, Frank H. Cooper, and Isaac Keim, it relocated four years later to the eight-story Second Leiter Building at the intersection of State and Van Buren Streets. This building, designed by architect William Le Baron Jenney, served as its base until 1930. Following a reorganization during 1914-15 into Associated Dry Goods Corp., the Siegel-Cooper name remained active in Chicago.[1] From 1931 through 1986, the premises were occupied by Sears, Roebuck & Company. In recent years, the building has been repurposed as a campus for Robert Morris University Illinois.
Expansion to New York City
In September 1896,[2][3]: 8 Siegel-Cooper inaugurated a vast emporium within Manhattan’s Ladies' Mile Historic District, joining other prominent department stores in this retail hub. Their six-story steel-framed building at 616-632 Sixth Avenue, between West 18th and 19th Streets, was constructed between 1895 and 1897 with an expansion completed in 1899.[4] This structure was notable for being New York’s first department store erected using steel-frame construction and was the world’s largest store at that time before being surpassed by the nearby R.H. Macy's Herald Square location, also designed by DeLemos & Cordes.
The innovative steel skeleton allowed for expansive open interior spaces without obstructive columns and included skylit courts.[3]: 17 Capitalizing on this advanced construction method—unfamiliar to New Yorkers then—the company marketed their premises as "the only and absolutely fire-proof and perfectly safe store in New York City."[3]: 330
Covering approximately eighteen acres (seven hectares), the store presented an extensive selection of dry goods alongside various services such as a grocery section, barber shop, theatre, telegraph office, art gallery, photography studio, banking facilities, dental office, a restaurant seating 350 guests, and a conservatory offering live plants for sale. A prominent feature on the main floor was a marble-surrounded fountain housing a replica of Daniel Chester French's statue The Republic.[5] This fountain became a popular rendezvous point popularizing the phrase "Meet me at the fountain," which was subsequently adopted as one of the store’s slogans,[2][4] alongside others such as "A City in Itself" and "Everything Under the Sun".[3]: 331
At its height, over three thousand employees worked there, predominantly young women. The store provided amenities including an infirmary, a lounge area, and a gymnasium for staff welfare.[4] Additionally, it published an employee newspaper titled Thought and Work.[2]
Third Boston Location
In 1905, The Henry Siegel Company inaugurated a substantial retail establishment at 600 Washington Street in Boston. By 1915, this Boston location was repurposed into office space and a cinema. During the 1970s, the light court facing Washington Street was filled in, and the theater ceased operations in the 1990s. Further alterations to the building occurred in 2004 to accommodate a new entrance for the MBTA Orange Line Chinatown station. Presently, the structure houses offices for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts alongside various small retail businesses. The future of the now-unused theater remains uncertain.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]
Decline, Closure, and Revitalization
In 1902, Henry Siegel transferred ownership of the company to Captain Joseph B. Greenhut and his son Benedict J. Greenhut, who were significant shareholders. They merged the business with B. Altman, located across the street in New York City,[3]: 331 forming a large combined store that ultimately did not succeed.[4] Between 1913 and 1914, financier J.P. Morgan facilitated the consolidation of this company with other retailers under the Associated Dry Goods Corporation.[1] Siegel-Cooper filed for bankruptcy in 1915,[2] leading to the closure of the New York location in 1917. During World War I, this building was repurposed as a military hospital[6] and subsequently served as a warehouse.[4]
The Chicago branch ceased operations around 1930, with its premises being acquired by Sears, Roebuck to serve as their flagship store in 1931.[1] In modern times, this site functions as the Chicago campus of Robert Morris University Illinois.
After many years of varied uses—including as a warehouse, NBC Television's scene shop, and "The Door," a social service facility—the New York building became one of the pioneering Ladies' Mile dry-goods emporiums to undergo renovation and reopen for retail purposes. Branding itself as "The Anchor of the Avenue," its retail occupants as of August 2021 included Bed Bath & Beyond, T.J. Maxx, and Marshalls.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Abelson, Elaine S. "Siegel-Cooper" in Template:Cite enc-nyc2, p.1182
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Template:Cite tourflat, pp.90-92
- ↑ The statue is now located at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale. Template:Cite AIA4, pp.191-192
- ↑ Template:Cite AIA4, pp.191-192
External links
- Advertising fan for the Siegel Cooper Co. store in New York (1899) at Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database