Stern's
Encyclopedia
- For the R.H. Stearns department store in Boston, Massachusetts, see R. H. StearnsR. H. StearnsRichard Hall Stearns was a wealthy tradesman, philanthropist, and politician from Massachusetts whose self-titled department store became one of the largest department chains in Boston and the surrounding area....
Stern's (originally Stern Brothers) was a regional 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 serving the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The chain was in business for more than 130 years, prior to its 2001 integration into Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
and Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...
History
Stern Brothers was founded in 1867 by Isaac, Louis and Benjamin Stern, sons of German Jewish immigrants. In 1867 they began selling dry goods in Buffalo, New York. From these humble beginnings the Stern Brothers became an important merchandising family in New York City.
the store was again relocated to larger quarters at 110 West 23rd. Street. Outgrowing the store at 110 West 23rd. Street, Stern Brothers erected a new structure at the same location which became the new flagship store in 1878. It was noted for its cast-iron facade at 32 to 36 West 23rd. Street & 23 to 35 West 22nd. Street. The building was designed by Henry Fernbach.
It was enlarged according to a design by W.M. Schickel in 1892. The enormous, six story building was executed in the Renaissance Revival style. W.M. Schinckel's typically 19th. century addition tripled the dimensions of the original structure on the eastern portion of the site. The tall central section of this addition animates the long and delicately detailed facade. The company's monogram is still located above the central arch. (This structure is still in use today. The first floor houses a Home Depot, while the upper floors are showrooms.) The entire Sterns family worked in this store, which carried both luxury goods and merchandise the working classes. It was an elegant store noted for its fashionable clothes. Ladies from all over the city came to Stern Brothers for their Paris fashions. This enterprise was distinguished by its elegant door men in top hats and the generous and friendly service of the Sterns themselves.
Stern Brothers was a family business. The family for decades ran the store and family members filled the many positions in the store. It was not uncommon for customers to be greeted by the brothers themselves. The family was joined by A.D. Brandeis(1914). His daughter had married Irving C. Stern one of the Directors of Stern Brothers. Irving was the son of founder Louis Stern. Arthur D. Brandeis was President of the J.H. Brandeis Company of Omaha, Nebraska, the biggest department store west of Chicago.
In 1913 Stern Brothers moved farther uptown and built a new flagship store near Fifth Avenue and West 42nd Street across from Bryant Park. The new store had nine floors with the buying offices located in the basement. Stern Brothers
catered to the Carriage Trade and had a separate entrance for customers like the Goulds and Astors. Since the store was near the Theater District, many up and coming stars worked in the store. The busy hours of the store were between 11am to 2pm when local workers from the area where on their lunch.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s sales began to decline as most white New Yorkers moved to the suburbs. In its final years Stern Brothers closed this location in 1969 and left New York City to focus on their stores in New Jersey. The flagship store was moved to the Bergen Mall
Bergen Town Center
The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, known as Bergen Mall until 2006 and Bergen Town Center until 2010, is located in Paramus and Maywood, New Jersey, United States, and opened in 1957 as an outdoor shopping center. It is the second-oldest mall in New Jersey. The mall offers a Gross leasable area of...
, New Jersey location. The 42nd Street building was sold and demolished to make way for the W.R. Grace chemical company which moved into their new building in 1974. Stern Brothers already had several locations in New Jersey. The Preakness store (formally Quakenbush) in the late 50's. Willowbrook opened in the late 60's and Woodbridge Center in 1971.
Chronology
- 1867: Sterns Brothers' Department Store is founded in Buffalo, New York. by the Stern brothers, recent immigrants from ZiegenhainZiegenhainZiegenhain is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
, (Schwalm-Eder-KreisSchwalm-Eder-KreisSchwalm-Eder is a Kreis in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsbergkreis, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Waldeck-Frankenberg.-History:...
), GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. - 1867: Stern Brothers relocates to New York City and operates a one room store at 367 Sixth Ave
- 1877: Moves to larger quarters at 111 West 23rd Street.
- 1878: Erected it's 23rd Street flagship, noted for its cast-iron facade.
- 1913: New flagship erected near Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
- 1914: Arthur D. Brandeis joins firm as Senior Vice President.
- 1922: Louis Stern, founder dies in Paris while visiting his daughter.
- 1925: Company fell out of family hands, and common stock was issued by new owner,a banking conglomerate.
- 1951: Stern Brothers is acquired by Allied Stores Corporation.
- 1969: Flagship Store on 42nd Street is closed, Bergen Mall location designated new Headquarters, and Flagship
- 1982: Allied Stores Corporation's Gertz division on Long IslandLong IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
was merged into Stern's which by then operated primarily in New Jersey. - 1986: Stern's acquires several stores from the defunct Gimbels, and enters the Philadelphia Market.
- 1986: Campeau CorporationCampeau CorporationCampeau Corporation was a Canadian real estate development and investment company founded by entrepreneur Robert Campeau. It was infamous from its ultimately unsuccessful acquisitions of American department store holding companies Allied Stores in 1986 and Federated Department Stores in 1988...
acquires Allied. - 1988: Campeau acquires Federated Department StoresFederated Department StoresMacy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
(FDS). Beginning of Allied/FDS "tandem" operations. Five of the seven locations in the Philadelphia market are closed (all former Gimbels). - 1989: Remaining 2 locations in the Philadelphia market are closed.
- 1992: Allied is fully merged into FDS.
- 1994: With the purchase of RH Macy by FDS, the Manhattan MallManhattan MallThe Manhattan Mall, one of the few traditional indoor malls in New York City, is located at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue. There are entrances to the 34th Street – Herald Square subway station and the 33rd Street PATH station, on the second basement level.This mall is a high-traffic shopping venue...
location of Abraham & StrausAbraham & StrausAbraham & Straus was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, in 1929 it became part of Federated Department Stores, which eliminated the A&S brand shortly after its 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company...
is converted to Stern's and serves as the flagship for the chain, which re-enters the Manhattan Market. - 2001: FDS closes its Stern's division. Most of the Stern's locations are converted to Macy's immediately. Others are liquidated, with these stores either becoming Bloomingdale's or closing altogether (Manhattan MallManhattan MallThe Manhattan Mall, one of the few traditional indoor malls in New York City, is located at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue. There are entrances to the 34th Street – Herald Square subway station and the 33rd Street PATH station, on the second basement level.This mall is a high-traffic shopping venue...
location is one of these, and laid vacant for years).