William H. Block Co.
| Company type | Department store chain |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Founder | Herman Wilhelm Bloch (later William H. Block) |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Fate | Acquired by Federated Department Stores; brand discontinued and stores converted to Lazarus |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana , United States |
Area served | Indiana, Ohio (after expansion) |
Key people | William H. Block, M. S. Block, R. C. Block, E. A. Block |
| Products | Department store merchandise |
| Parent | Allied Stores (from 1962), later Federated Department Stores (from 1987) |
William H. Block Company was a department store chain based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with additional locations throughout the state. Established in 1874 by Herman Wilhelm Bloch, an immigrant from Austria-Hungary who later adopted the name William H. Block, the flagship store was situated at 9 East Washington Street in Indianapolis by 1896. The company was also commonly referred to as The Wm. H. Block Co. or simply Block's.
History
In 1910, an eight-story building designed by architects Arthur Bohn and Kurt Vonnegut Sr. of Vonnegut & Bohn was erected at the intersection of Illinois and Market streets. This new store, located at 50 North Illinois Street, officially welcomed customers on October 3, 1911.
William H. Block remained actively involved in the business until his passing in 1928, after which leadership transitioned to his three sons: M. S. Block, R. C. Block, and E. A. Block. The building underwent a significant expansion in 1934, nearly doubling its size under the architectural direction of Kurt Vonnegut Sr. This renovation introduced a moderne Art Deco aesthetic to both interior and exterior elements, featuring stainless steel escalators and grand two-story entrances clad in polished black marble and stainless steel. Illustrations of these entrance designs became iconic symbols for the company, appearing on gift packaging, advertisements, and official stationery. Contemporary company literature praised the store as "one of the nation's most beautiful department stores." Dining options within the Illinois Street location included the Fountain Luncheonette, Terrace Tea Room, Men's Grille, and the James Whitcomb Riley Room.
Block's ranked as Indiana's second-largest retail enterprise, trailing only behind its chief rival L. S. Ayres & Co. Other competitors in the region comprised H. P. Wasson and Company and L. Strauss & Co.
The Market Street store stood opposite the Indianapolis Traction Terminal—the largest such terminal in the United States—positioning it advantageously during the early to mid-20th century when Indiana's interurban rail system ferried thousands of shoppers from smaller towns into downtown Indianapolis daily. This extensive transit network significantly expanded Block's customer reach beyond local residents, as it was typically the first department store encountered by travelers exiting the terminal; its main competitors were located at least a block away on Washington Street. The interurban lines connected Indianapolis with numerous communities throughout central Indiana and extended as far as Dayton, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Consequently, Block's enjoyed a consumer base comparable to those found in much larger Midwestern and Eastern metropolitan markets such as Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
In 1954, Block's inaugurated a smaller branch at 724 East Broad Ripple Avenue within Indianapolis' Broad Ripple neighborhood. This location operated until late 1960 before being replaced by a Union Federal Savings & Loan branch. Following various rebrandings and banking consolidations over subsequent decades, this site continues to function today as a branch of Huntington National Bank.
Bloomington expansion
In 1942, amid the Second World War, Block's inaugurated its initial branch outside Indianapolis, situating it in Bloomington at 104 S. Indiana Avenue, directly opposite the Indiana University campus. This outlet was known as the Block's College Shop. Its popularity led to gradual enlargement into neighboring storefronts as they became available. By 1955, following these successive expansions, the store's address had changed to 100 S. Indiana Ave.
With the opening of College Mall on Bloomington’s east side in 1965, commercial activity slowly shifted away from downtown toward the mall and its vicinity. In response, Block's launched a second Bloomington location in 1972 within College Mall, occupying the space presently held (as of 2013) by Abercrombie & Fitch, Christopher & Banks, and several other retailers. This store was positioned opposite one of the mall’s original anchors, Wasson's.
Considering that both Bloomington stores were relatively small compared to Block's newer outlets in emerging Indiana malls, the company awaited the closure of Goldblatt's Wasson's store at College Mall in January 1981. After completing renovations in August 1981, Block's merged its two Bloomington locations into a single 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) facility. This store transitioned into a Lazarus outlet by October 1987 and ultimately ceased operations in 2003.
Following Block's departure from the intersection of Indiana and Kirkwood avenues, the premises were occupied by Space Port Video Arcade from 1980 until 1995. The arcade vacated after the University acquired the site to develop the Carmichael Center.
Growth in regional malls and shopping centers
Beginning in 1958, Block's established stores that acted as the initial anchor tenants at several locations in Indianapolis, including Glendale Shopping Center (1958), Southern Plaza (1961), Lafayette Square Mall (1969), and Washington Square Mall (1974). Additionally, the company anchored stores at Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette and Markland Mall in Kokomo, both opening in 1974.
In 1980, Block's expanded its presence by adding a store at the Greenwood Park Mall during the transformation of the original Greenwood Center from an open-air shopping area into an enclosed mall.
At the time of their openings, the Glendale and Southern Plaza sites were outdoor shopping centers. Glendale was later enclosed in 1969, whereas Southern Plaza remained an open-air facility. Conversely, the other mentioned locations were designed from the outset as enclosed malls.
Expansion into Ohio
During the 1980s, Allied Stores implemented a strategy to reduce expenses by consolidating smaller department store chains into larger entities. As part of this initiative, Allied merged the single-store division Edward Wren Co. located in Springfield, Ohio, into Block's broader store division in 1984. The original Wren's store was situated in downtown Springfield, an economically challenged area well beyond Block's typical marketing reach. This location struggled to compete with department stores at the newly opened Upper Valley Mall, approximately five miles (8.0 km) away since 1971. Following Allied’s acquisition of Block's in 1987, Lazarus promptly closed this Springfield store due to the presence of an existing Lazarus outlet at Upper Valley Mall, which had formerly operated under the Shillito-Rike's name before Lazarus acquired it a year earlier.
Television station
As a prominent RCA retailer, Block's needed a local television broadcast outlet to market the then-new television sets introduced in the late 1930s. To meet this requirement, Block's acquired TV transmission equipment and installed a modest tower atop its flagship store, briefly initiating broadcasts. However, this endeavor was halted when the United States entered World War II, leading to the transfer of the broadcasting apparatus to the nearby Naval Training Station. In 1947, Block's secured a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for television station WWHB on channel 3. By 1949, the station's call sign had been changed to WUTV. At that point, Block's attempted to sell the permit to radio station WIRE but ultimately sought its cancellation, citing no intention to pursue broadcasting operations.
Merger
In 1962, Allied Stores purchased The William H. Block Co. for $7.5 million in a combination of cash and stock (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year). Later, in 1987, Federated Department Stores acquired Block's, leading to the discontinuation of the Block's brand and the conversion of many locations into Lazarus outlets. That same year, following their integration into Block's operations, the two Herpolsheimer's stores situated in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area were also rebranded as Lazarus stores; these locations ceased operations permanently by 1990.
The Lazarus store on downtown Illinois Street closed its doors in 1993. Subsequently, in 2003, the upper seven floors of this building were transformed into residential apartments while maintaining retail space on the ground floor; this development is known as The Block.
At three malls—Greenwood Park, Washington Square, and Lafayette Square—where both Lazarus and Block's stores operated simultaneously, Lazarus liquidated inventory from the former Block's locations and sold leases for the smaller stores at each site to Montgomery Ward.
Immediately after the merger, five Block's stores were shuttered. This included closures of locations downtown Springfield and at Southern Plaza shopping center. The Springfield site remained unused for over ten years, while the Southern Plaza facility was demolished and replaced by a Kroger grocery store.
By 2005, none of the original Block's stores remained operational or available for conversion into Macy's, which became the ultimate successor entity following subsequent corporate changes.
References
- Now...You're Working with Block's, William H. Block Company, circa 1940, available via Google Books.
- George W. Geib, Indianapolis: Hoosiers' Circle City, 1981, page 185.
- David J. Bodenhamer, Robert Graham Barrows, and David Gordon Vanderstel (editors), The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, November 22, 1994, pages 1429–1430, accessible through Google Books.
- Robert Reed, Central Indiana Interurban, 2004.
- Jan Whitaker, Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class, 2006, page 183, St. Martin's Press, available on Google Books.