Thalhimers
| File:Thalhimers Department Store Final Logo.png | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Department store |
| Founded | 1842 in Richmond, Virginia |
| Founder | William Thalhimer |
| Defunct | February 1992 |
| Fate | Merged with Hecht's |
| Successors |
|
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia |
Area served | Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee |
Thalhimers was a prominent department store chain operating throughout the Southern United States. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, it once managed numerous outlets across Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, as well as a single location in Memphis, Tennessee. The brand was particularly recognized for its holiday season customs, featuring the Snow Bear who handed out stickers and later hosting Lego Land exhibits at its flagship Richmond store.
History
William Thalhimer emigrated from Germany to the Richmond vicinity during the early 1800s. He launched a dry goods shop in 1842 that his grandson, William B. Thalhimer, later expanded into Richmond’s inaugural department store. By 1978, the company had evolved into a regional chain and was purchased by California-based retailer Carter Hawley Hale Stores.
Carter Hawley Hale once held ownership of several distinguished department stores, including the luxury retailer Neiman-Marcus and John Wanamaker. Following a series of financial setbacks throughout the 1980s and burdened by leveraged debt incurred while resisting two buyout attempts, Carter Hawley Hale opted in 1990 to divest Thalhimers. The sale, amounting to US$325 million, transferred ownership to the St. Louis-based May Department Stores company.[1]
The Thalhimers location in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, situated within the historic Sosnik-Morris-Early Commercial Block, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[2]
In February 1992, Thalhimers was integrated into The Hecht Company, May’s division based in Washington, DC. Nearly all stores were subsequently rebranded as Hecht's, except for two Charleston, South Carolina stores and the Memphis location, which were sold to Dillard's. The Lynnhaven Mall store continued operating under the Thalhimers name until May 1992 before converting to a second Hecht's outlet that November.[3]
Following Federated Department Stores’ acquisition of May Company in 2005, May’s brand portfolio was dissolved in 2006. While most Hecht's locations became part of Macy's East, those within much of the former Thalhimers market were absorbed into Macy's South. This division also included Macy’s outlets in Louisiana and most former Foley’s stores across Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas—except El Paso-area stores which joined Macy's West.
Downtown Richmond location
In 1939, an expansion was added to Thalhimers’ six-story flagship building situated at the intersection of Seventh and Broad Streets. This location featured the Richmond Room restaurant, which became well-known for many recipes that continue to be shared today. The Richmond Room also inspired a fast-food offshoot, the fried chicken franchise Golden Skillet. For decades, Thalhimers and its chief competitor, Miller & Rhoads, served as the prominent retail destinations in downtown Richmond.
On February 22, 1960, a group of students from Virginia Union University, known collectively as the Richmond 34, organized a demonstration opposing racial segregation at the Richmond Room. All 34 participants were detained, marking the first large-scale arrests linked to the Civil Rights Movement in the city. The legal case Raymond B. Randolph, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1961) challenged whether trespassing statutes infringed upon constitutional free speech rights.
After being acquired by the May Company, the downtown flagship store closed its doors on January 22, 1992, along with several other Thalhimers locations. This closure marked the end of a significant era for the once-thriving retail district; Miller & Rhoads had ceased operations two years earlier in January 1990. The building stood empty until it was torn down on June 12, 2004, to allow construction of a performing arts center.
The legacy of this department store and the Thalhimer family has been documented in Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt’s 2010 publication Finding Thalhimers. Smartt is a direct descendant—great-great-great-granddaughter—of founder William Thalhimer.
See also
- List of department stores converted to Macy's
- List of defunct department stores of the United States
References
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External links
- Thalhimer Smartt, Elizabeth. Thalhimers Department store: story, history, theory. Thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2005
- RichmondCityWatch.com: Thalhimer's Department Store profile and photographs
- Virginia Union University: The Richmond 34
- Forsyth County Public Library: Photograph Collection, including 1959 pictures of the Thalhimers in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Pages with broken file links
- Defunct department stores based in Virginia
- Defunct companies based in Virginia
- History of Richmond, Virginia
- Retail companies established in 1842
- Retail companies disestablished in 1992
- 1842 establishments in Virginia
- 1992 disestablishments in Virginia