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The Edw. Malley Co.

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The Edw. Malley Co.
IndustryRetail
FoundedNew Haven, Connecticut; 1852
Defunct1982
FateBankruptcy
HeadquartersNew Haven, Connecticut
ProductsClothing, housewares, books,[1] patio furniture[2]

The Edw. Malley Co., commonly known as Malley's,[3] was a distinguished[4] department store located in Downtown New Haven, Connecticut, operating from 1852 until 1982.[3] The company issued postcards that advertised it as "The Metropolitan Store of Connecticut".[5][6] In a 2007 ranking of historic consumer destinations in New Haven, it was listed alongside Macy's, Shartenberg's Department Store, and Grant's as a notable landmark.[7] Its secondary location was considered "a crucial appendage" to the prosperity of the Chapel Square Mall.[8]

Early Years

Edward Malley began showcasing goods in 1848 from the front parlor of his aunt Rhoda Mallory’s residence on North Front Street in Fair Haven. He traveled across New England, opening temporary shops before moving on.[9]

Initial Location

Established in 1852 as Malley & Co., the enterprise began as a dry goods retailer.[3] Its first site was situated opposite the New Haven Green at 65 Chapel Street. Malley leased a modest store measuring approximately 15 feet (4.6 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m) for an annual rent of $75, investing $250 in cash along with a $550 credit line to stock merchandise.[10] Due to limited space, inventory was suspended from wires stretched across the room and barrels topped with boards served as counters. Deliveries were made using a mule named Maude that pulled a cart through New Haven’s streets.[11]

By 1856, the store had undergone significant expansion attributed by Malley to generous advertising expenditures.[12] That October, it was described as "the largest and busiest establishment of its kind within the state". At this stage, it employed roughly 100 staff members and featured four display windows along a 75 feet (23 m) frontage with a depth of 120 feet (37 m), spanning three floors. Further enhancements were made to the building in 1866.[10] In 1868, Malley formed a partnership with William Neeley and rebranded the store as William Neeley Co..

The store suffered fire damage in 1875 and was completely destroyed by another blaze in 1882, with losses estimated at $175,000.[13]

Following reconstruction, the business was renamed Malley-Neeley Co. in 1893 before adopting its final title The Edw. Malley Co. in 1898,[14] expanding again in 1899 into a nine-story building designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style.[10][15] Over time, the store continued to upgrade its facilities, introducing New England’s first self-leveling elevator in 1923 and adding escalators by 1958.[14] A travel guide published in 1938 noted that young customers were captivated by the large aviary located within the children’s department.[16]

During the early 1960s, the original building was demolished and the store relocated two blocks south to 2 Church Street to accommodate construction of the now-defunct Chapel Square Mall on its former site.

Second location

The second store, which commenced operations on October 25, 1962,[14] encompassed 266,000[17] square feet across five floors—three above ground and two below.[3] It featured a second-floor walkway connecting it to Macy's situated across the street, which itself was linked via a bridge to the Chapel Square Mall, providing access to the New Haven Green.[18]

File:Churchstreeter label.JPG
Churchstreeter clothing label

Among its amenities were a branch post office, a repair shop, a gourmet food store, a bakery, and a restaurant seating 300 patrons,[19] a beauty parlor, a photography studio, jewelry and watch repair services,[20] as well as shoe repair.[21] Live radio broadcasts could also be heard throughout the premises.[22] During this era, Malley's marketed its proprietary clothing line named Churchstreeter.[23]

The birdcage from the original store was also relocated to this second site. A former customer described various store highlights: "Toys, Santa, Candy, a Soda Fountain, Fur Salon, Beauty Salon, Bridal Registry; yet most notably on the second floor near the blue elevators—opposite the Photo Studio and down the aisle from the Restaurant—in the Children's Shoe section stood an impressive birdcage approximately eight feet tall and four feet wide."[24]

With strong sales performance, The Edw. Malley Co. revealed plans on March 18, 1970, to establish its inaugural branch store—a comprehensive department store within a proposed shopping center in Hamden.[25] However, local residents and competing merchants opposed the development; legal disputes delayed progress for roughly twelve years until the project was ultimately abandoned.[26]

Decline

Malley's operated as a family-run enterprise until 1971, when Edward Malley passed away and the business was acquired by developer Roger L. Stevens, who had overseen the construction of the 1962 building.[14][27] The reputation of the nearby urban parking garage suffered following the 1973 homicide of Penny Serra in the adjacent Temple Street garage, which contributed to a downturn in local commerce.[8] Subsequently, in 1978, The Outlet Company purchased the store for $100 along with taking on Malley's outstanding debts.[28]

In 1979, an external retailer named Bargain Mart leased approximately 3,456 square feet (321.1 m2) of ground-level space within Malley's.[29] Local entrepreneur G. Harold Welch rented the property from eleven individuals collectively known as the Malley heirs. While he engaged in trading the department store business itself, Welch maintained ownership of the land and leased it to The Outlet Company.[29]

The store changed hands again in 1980 when United Department Stores acquired it after The Outlet Company shifted its focus exclusively to broadcasting. However, UDS declared bankruptcy in 1981, leading to Malley's closure in February 1982.[14][30] Despite the main store shutting down, Malley's Auto Center and Bargain Mart continued operations for several more years.[31]

Post-closure

In November 1985, a probate auction mandated by the court awarded ownership to Mordecai Lipkis from Brooklyn, New York.[32] After seeking tenants for the property, Lipkis partnered with Joseph Gindi and Ceasar Salama[33], completing the acquisition in December 1986 for $4.15 million plus an additional $3.35 million covering back taxes, renovations, and carrying expenses.[32][34]

The city of New Haven intended to incorporate this site into the ultimately unrealized University Place mall project.[8] When mall developers failed to finalize an $8.5 million purchase offer,[35] Lipkis engaged in a protracted dispute with municipal authorities to establish an indoor flea market called Ceasar's Department Store.[36] At its peak, Ceasar's housed vendors occupying 140 out of 167 booths,[37][38] including a dealership for Hyundai vehicles.[39] The department store commenced operations on November 3, 1988,[39] but ceased business by late April 1989.[40]

Lipkis pursued additional opportunities for repurposing the building such as courting retailer ABC Carpet and proposing in 1992 a "New Haven Medical Center" offering services like physical therapy, urgent care, AIDS treatment, and an in vitro fertilization clinic.[41] Nevertheless, the structure remained vacant; in 1994 a burst water main on the third floor inflicted significant damage,[42] followed months later by a fire at the neighboring deserted Auto Center attributed to homeless individuals.[43]

Demolition

The vacant structure was widely considered an eyesore, particularly as it was the initial sight for visitors exiting the Route 34 Connector. A mural along with various paintings adorned the boarded-up windows, layered with graffiti. Numerous accounts suggest that realtors, city officials, and others frequently sought alternative routes into downtown to avoid passing by the building. It earned nicknames such as a "black hole", a "vacant carcass situated at one of New Haven’s most pivotal intersections," and came to represent "blight and despair," as well as being described as a "symbol of an empty past with no prospects for the future."

Lipkis engaged in prolonged efforts to compel the city to compensate him to resolve a legal conflict concerning the property. Ultimately, in late 1997, he transferred ownership of the building to the city after withdrawing his lawsuit and receiving a $3.4 million settlement.

A final inspection of the premises revealed "mold-covered escalators" within what was described as a "cool, musty, post-cataclysmic environment," evoking imagery akin to Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Demolition began in October 1997, with over $160,000 allocated specifically for asbestos abatement as part of a $3.247 million demolition contract.

To stimulate redevelopment of the site, Mayor John Daniels formed a Retail Mall Advisory Council to investigate the feasibility of establishing a Taubman Center. The city actively pursued businesses such as Starter and IKEA for potential occupancy. Additionally, proposals included relocating the Long Wharf Theatre to this location and developing a biotechnology research facility. Eventually, Gateway Community College inaugurated a campus on the site in 2012.

References

  1. ↑ The Publishers' Weekly, Volume 83, Part 1, p. 679, February 22, 1913
  2. ↑ Serra case sentencing put off until September at New Haven Register, July 17, 2002
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Edward Malley Company & Macy's New Haven at Retail Memories From Coast to Coast
  4. ↑ ROSE D'OR Antiques
  5. ↑ The Edw. Malley Co., Chapel Street, c.1905 at the Yale University Library
  6. ↑ The Edw. Malley Co., Chapel Street, c.1905 at the Yale University Library
  7. ↑ "Whose Downtown Is It?" at The New Haven Advocate, December 13, 2007
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Great Malle - One city's never-ending search for urban renewal Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, by Paul Bass, 2008
  9. ↑ Fair Haven - A Journey Through Time, by Doris B. Townshend, 1976
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Three Centuries of New Haven - The Tercentenary History, by Rollin G. Osterweis, 1953
  11. ↑ An Ethnic History of New Haven
  12. ↑ Palladium, May 19, 1856
  13. ↑ Edward Malley's Store Burned: A Loss of $175,000 Caused By Fire Yesterday in New-Haven at The New York Times, March 1, 1882
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 The New Haven Enterprise Hall of FameBusiness New HavenTemplate:Fix/category[dead link], February 5, 2007
  15. ↑ Template:Usurped at Emporis
  16. ↑ Connecticut, a Guide to Its Roads, Lore, and People, written by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration in 1938
  17. ↑ Ceasar's: The rise and fall, New Haven Register, June 25, 1989
  18. ↑ New Haven, 06510 at The New Haven Advocate, January 13, 2005
  19. ↑ This may have been Tony's Sandwich Shop - Feta & a Feast at The New Haven Advocate, August 21, 2003
  20. ↑ This day in history at New Haven Register, September 2, 2002
  21. ↑ Home and Garden - Best Shoe Repair at The New Haven Advocate, May 19, 2005
  22. ↑ Witz End at The New Haven Advocate, April 15, 2004
  23. ↑ Browsing the Shop Windows on Memory Lane at The New Haven Review, September 17, 2009
  24. ↑ Pat of the Family - Handsome Dan and Friends Have A Special Place in Elm City Lore at the New Haven Register, October 27, 2010
  25. ↑ Pages from the Past, New Haven Register, March 18, 1990
  26. ↑ Farmland in Hamden finally being developed, New Haven Register, November 20, 1997
  27. ↑ The death and life of Chapel Square, 24 Jan 2002 - accessed 01 Oct 2010
  28. ↑ United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. - 673 F.2d 34
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 High court upholds Bargain Mart lease, New Haven Register, July 11, 1989
  30. ↑ Template:Usurped
  31. ↑ Missing Stories, New Haven Register, March 8, 1994
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Long road to Ceasar's opening, New Haven Register, June 3, 1988
  33. ↑ Judge bars Ceasar's, New Haven Register September 1, 1988
  34. ↑ Ceasar's gets final OK to open, New Haven Register, October 19, 1988
  35. ↑ Malley flea mart looms as sale stalls, New Haven Register, February 9, 1988
  36. ↑ Ceasar Salama was a co-owner of the store. Given the spelling, it was likely named after him rather than the historical Caesars. The store was "sometimes referred to as Ceasar's Bazaar", but that was only the name of the company that owned the store.
  37. ↑ Vendors at Ceasar's grumble, New Haven Register, November 30, 1988
  38. ↑ Owners, 18 vendors to reopen Ceasar's, New Haven Register, May 4, 1989
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Feisty Ceasar's opens today after 17-month fight, New Haven Register, November 3, 1988
  40. ↑ Today in business, New Haven Register, June 13, 1989
  41. ↑ Old Malley 's may be medical center, New Haven Register, February 7, 1992
  42. ↑ It's going to stay ugly, New Haven Register, January 17, 1994
  43. ↑ Malley fire may have been accident, New Haven Register, March 9, 1994
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