Sage-Allen was a mid-market department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 chain based in Hartford

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. The store was a fixture in southern New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and anchored a number of smaller local and regional shopping centers in Connecticut, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 and, later, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, until it ceased operation in 1994.

History

Known for its apparel, home goods, accessories and children's wear, the downtown Hartford

Downtown Hartford

The Downtown area of Hartford, Connecticut, is that city's primary business district and the center of Connecticut's state government.Downtown is home to such corporations as Travelers Insurance, The Hartford Steam Boiler, Phoenix Insurance, Prudential Retirement and United Technologies...

 flagship store was considered a smaller but respected rival to the larger and dominant G. Fox & Co.

G. Fox & Co.

G. Fox & Co. was a large department store that originated in Hartford, Connecticut. The store was also the largest privately held department store in the nation when it was sold in 1965 to the May Department Stores Company. In 1992 May Department stores phased out the G. Fox & Co. name converting...

 store a block away. Sage-Allen participated in the wave of post-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 suburban expansion

Urban sprawl

Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...

 much earlier than G. Fox and first opened in a number of smaller village center locales prior to the more modern shopping centers and mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 locations it would later occupy.

The company began a slow decline in the mid to late 1980s which was accelerated by the severe economic recession that hit the region in the early 1990s. In a move to bolster the retailer's profitability, a merger was formed with another small regional department store chain, Addis & Dey's, located in Syracuse, New York

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

. In spite of efforts by Sage-Dey, as the merged company was called, to strengthen its economic base, it filed for Chapter 11

Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code

Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...

in 1992 and ceased operations in 1994.

Sage-Allen Building

The Sage-Allen flagship store building in downtown Hartford, built in 1898, has been restored and now contains both retail space and luxury apartments. The store was known for the free-standing 'Sage-Allen' clock, a local landmark, that was located on the Main Street sidewalk in front of the store until the clock was damaged in a windstorm in 1992. The clock was later repaired and erected on another sidewalk in the city. Its importance as a Main Street landmark was known to the re-developers of the Sage-Allen building, and a deal was struck to return the clock to its traditional place. A clock specialist was called upon to restart the clock after its return to Main Street in the summer of 2007.