Strawbridge's
Strawbridge's (formerly Strawbridge and Clothier) was a
department store found in the northeastern
United States with stores in
Delaware,
Pennsylvania and
New Jersey. It was part of
May Department Stores until that company's
August 30,
2005 acquisition by
Federated Department Stores. May had operated it under its
Arlington County, Virginia-based
Hecht's division. The historical flagship store was located in downtown
Philadelphia at
The Gallery at Market East. It was announced
March 10,
2006 that this store would close on
June 1, but it actually shut its doors on
May 23.[
1]
On
February 1,
2006, the former May Company division were dissolved and operating control of the Strawbridge's stores was assumed by
Macy's East. By Fall 2006, the Strawbridge's and Hecht's nameplates will be phased out in favor of the nationally known
Macy's.
The store began as a dry goods store and was founded by
Quakers Justus Clayton Strawbridge (
1838-
1911) and Isaac Hallowell Clothier (
1838-
1911) in Philadelphia in
1862. In
1868 Strawbridge & Clothier purchased a 3-story brick building on the northeast corner of Market and 8th Streets in
downtown Philadelphia, which had been
Thomas Jefferson's office in
1790 while he served as
Secretary of State, and opened their first store. But soon the old building was replaced by a new 5-story department store offering a variety of fixed price merchandise under one roof. In
1928, this building was replaced by a new store and became one of the anchors in 1977 of
The Gallery, an urban mall connecting Strawbridge & Clothier with
Gimbels.
The 13 Strawbridge & Clothier department stores were bought by
May Department Stores Company in
1996 when Strawbridge & Clothier Co. elected to liquidate its operations (it also operated the Clover discount department store chain). At the time of the May acquisition, the Strawbridge's name was retained and the Philadelphia area
Hecht's stores which had been purchase in 1995 from the
John Wanamaker bankruptcy sale also adopted the name, but its headquarters was closed and it operations were consolidated with Hecht's in
Arlington, Virginia. The stores has operated simply as
Strawbridge's, but some retain exterior signage reading
Strawbridge & Clothier, which May did not change after the sale. However, that will change when the Macy*s name is placed in the autumn of
2006.
In
July, 2006, The
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), owners of The Gallery at Market East, agreed to purchase the lower floors of the flagship Strawbridge's store. It is anticipated that PREIT will seek retail tenants for the areas of the building closest to street level but may convert some upper floors to office space.
*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Burlington -
Burlington Center Mall (opened 1982)*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Cherry Hill -
Cherry Hill Mall (opened 1961, closed 3/2006)*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Deptford -
Deptford Mall (former John Wanamaker location, opened 1995)*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Moorestown -
Moorestown Mall (former John Wanamaker location, old Wanamaker store demolished and replaced with new building 1999)*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Voorhees Township -
Echelon Mall (opened 1970)*
Allentown MSA/
Whitehall -
Lehigh Valley Mall (former John Wanamaker location, opened 1995, closed 2006)*
Philadelphia -
The Gallery at Market East (opened 1868, current location opened 1928, closed on May 23, 2006)*
Philadelphia -
Roosevelt Mall (former S. Klein and then John Wanamaker location, opened 1976)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Ardmore -
Suburban Square (opened 1930)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Bensalem -
Neshaminy Mall (opened 1968)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Exton -
Exton Square (opened 1973)*
Philadelphia MSA/
King of Prussia -
The Plaza at King of Prussia Mall (former John Wanamaker location, opened 1995)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Langhorne -
Oxford Valley Mall (former John Wanamaker location, opened 1995, closed 3/2006; converting to Boscov's)*
Philadelphia MSA/
North Wales -
Montgomery Mall (former John Wanamaker location, opened 1995)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Plymouth Meeting -
Plymouth Meeting Mall (opened 1966)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Springfield -
Springfield Mall (former John Wanamaker location, opened 1997; sold to Target 2006)*
Philadelphia MSA/
Willow Grove -
Willow Grove Park (former A&S location, opened 1988, closed 3/2006, converting to Boscov's)*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Newark -
Christiana Mall (opened 1978, closed 3/2006)*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MSA/
Wilmington -
Concord Mall (2 locations)
(opened 1983, home store opened 1994)*
Dover -
Dover Mall (opened 1997)*
Carl's Corner*
The Tale of Two Family Businesses
