Rhodes Brothers
Encyclopedia
Rhodes Brothers was a department store located in Tacoma, Washington
, established in 1892 as a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma by Albert, William, Henry and Charles Rhodes. The store greatly expanded through the years, including having a tea room, a branch library and a separate budget store. At one time there were signs on highways in Washington that said, "All roads lead to Rhodes," giving the number of miles to the Rhodes store in Tacoma.
There was also a Rhodes Brothers store at the Villa Plaza Shopping Center
in Lakewood, Washington
, that opened in 1957. At some point, Rhodes was acquired by Western Department Stores Inc., which also owned Kahn's of Oakland, CA, and Olds & King of Portland, OR.
In 1960 the name of the company was changed to Rhodes Western and all the stores became Rhodes. In 1969 Rhodes Western was acquired by Amfac
which owned the Liberty House
chain of department stores and took on that name. Liberty House opened a location in Tacoma Mall
in 1973 where Rhodes Western had been considering opening a location before they were bought out. The Lakewood & Tacoma Mall locations were sold to Frederick & Nelson
in 1979. The downtown Tacoma Rhodes store was closed in December of 1974. The downtown Tacoma location was bought by the University of Puget Sound
in 1980.
Albert Rhodes left Rhodes Brothers in 1907 and moved to Seattle, where he established the Rhodes Department Store. By 1926 it anchored the corner of Second Avenue and Union Streets in the downtown retail core. The store, which by then had suburban branches, was bought by Lamonts
. It closed the downtown store in 1968. (See the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods web site, Seattle.gov, and its information on the Albert J. Rhodes mansion, designed by Ambrose J. Russell
and Frederick Heath (architect)
.)
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, established in 1892 as a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma by Albert, William, Henry and Charles Rhodes. The store greatly expanded through the years, including having a tea room, a branch library and a separate budget store. At one time there were signs on highways in Washington that said, "All roads lead to Rhodes," giving the number of miles to the Rhodes store in Tacoma.
There was also a Rhodes Brothers store at the Villa Plaza Shopping Center
Lakewood Towne Center
Lakewood Towne Center is a shopping center located in Lakewood, Washington, a suburb of Tacoma. Lakewood Towne Center was created when MBK Northwest bought and demolished the enclosed portion of the failing Lakewood Mall in 2001, and turned the site into an open air destination by creating four...
in Lakewood, Washington
Lakewood, Washington
Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 58,163 at the 2010 census.-History:Lakewood was officially incorporated on February 28, 1996. Historical names include Lakewood Center and Lakes District...
, that opened in 1957. At some point, Rhodes was acquired by Western Department Stores Inc., which also owned Kahn's of Oakland, CA, and Olds & King of Portland, OR.
In 1960 the name of the company was changed to Rhodes Western and all the stores became Rhodes. In 1969 Rhodes Western was acquired by Amfac
Amfac (Hawaii)
Amfac, Inc. formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld and Company was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1849 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five companies in the Territory of Hawaii...
which owned the Liberty House
Liberty House
Liberty House, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, was a department store and specialty store chain with locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands and on Guam, as well as several locations on the mainland U.S.-History:...
chain of department stores and took on that name. Liberty House opened a location in Tacoma Mall
Tacoma Mall
The Tacoma Mall is the largest shopping center in Tacoma, Washington. It is owned by Simon Property Group. Anchor tenants include JC Penney, Sears, Macy's, and Nordstrom.-References:-External links:*...
in 1973 where Rhodes Western had been considering opening a location before they were bought out. The Lakewood & Tacoma Mall locations were sold to Frederick & Nelson
Frederick & Nelson
Frederick & Nelson was a department store chain in the northwestern United States, based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891 as a furniture store, it later expanded to sell other types of merchandise. The company was acquired by Marshall Field & Company in 1929...
in 1979. The downtown Tacoma Rhodes store was closed in December of 1974. The downtown Tacoma location was bought by the University of Puget Sound
University of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
in 1980.
Albert Rhodes left Rhodes Brothers in 1907 and moved to Seattle, where he established the Rhodes Department Store. By 1926 it anchored the corner of Second Avenue and Union Streets in the downtown retail core. The store, which by then had suburban branches, was bought by Lamonts
Lamonts
Lamonts was a chain of department stores founded in Seattle, Washington. The chain was started in 1970 when Pay 'n Save renamed its suburban branches of Rhodes, a department store chain the company acquired in 1965. Lamonts remained a division of Pay 'n Save until 1985...
. It closed the downtown store in 1968. (See the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods web site, Seattle.gov, and its information on the Albert J. Rhodes mansion, designed by Ambrose J. Russell
Ambrose J. Russell
Ambrose J. Russell was an architect in Tacoma, Washington. He was Scottish and was born in the East Indies. He was trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he was a classmate of Bernard Maybeck....
and Frederick Heath (architect)
Frederick Heath (architect)
Frederick Heath was an American architect responsible for numerous projects in Tacoma, Washington. He worked out of his own office and as a senior partner at architectural firms. He was involved with Spaulding, Russell & Heath , and Heath & Gove...
.)