Jump to content

No More Marshall Field's


ejaycat

Recommended Posts

I regret having never gone into Marshall Field's when I was last in Chicago... nearly 9 years ago! Time does fly.

Question for Chicagoans, are there any true Chicago department stores left?

I ask because what you could call the last true Los Angeles department store, Robinsons-May, went away early this year. Robinsons-May itself was the result of a merger of two distinct L.A. deparments stores, Robinson's and the May Company. The mergers and closings all started in the 1990s. It used to be that L.A. department stores were, in descending order of what was considered upscale: Bullocks, Robinson's, The Broadway and the May Company.

Bullocks was really nice. California only had Macy's in the San Francisco Bay Area. Then Macy's bought Bullocks and The Broadway... many Broadways closed or were rebranded as Macy's, and all of the Bullocks became Macy's... and the quality went down as a result, in my opinion. To add insult to injury, the Broadway in Century City became a Bloomingdale's.

____________________

From the LA Times:

CHICAGO — Every month for 70 years, Josephine M. Stern and her girlfriends treated themselves to a trip to Marshall Field's on State Street.

They came here to celebrate birthdays, picking up slim green boxes of Frango mints wrapped in silk ribbons. Weddings called for a stop at the silver department for an antique cake-serving set. Every Christmas, they cheerfully joined the mad rush to hunt down a new tree ornament.

"My friends are gone and, as of Saturday, so is our store," said Stern, who lives on Chicago's North Side.

At 102, she's not going to switch stores now. "I have a lifetime spent here, and all I will have left are the memories."

This weekend, Marshall Field's — as much a temple to consumerism as a beloved Windy City icon — will fade away when the store's new owners officially turn it into a Macy's.

The change has infuriated generations of loyal shoppers, some of whom are organizing a rally Saturday and plan to march around the State Street store in protest.

The fight began last year, when parent company Federated Department Stores Inc. announced it would roll all of the Marshall Field's stores under the Macy's brand as part of its buyout of May Department Stores Co. Federated is erasing signature store names across the country.

But those changes haven't generated the level of angst among shoppers that the demise of Marshall Field's has. Nearly 60,000 people signed an online petition, begging Macy's and Federated to keep the Field's name. After all, they pointed out, this is no ho-hum retailer.

With its ornate Tiffany mosaic ceiling and legendary customer service — where the mantra was "Nothing is impossible at Marshall Field's" — the company helped usher in the era of shopping as a grand experience. It was a place where, in the words of Marshall Field himself, the staff should "give the lady what she wants."

Marshall Field's was one of the first department stores to offer revolving credit to shoppers, which helped families rebuild after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Amelia Earhart signed books here, back when it was the world's largest bookseller. Norman Rockwell came to the heart of Chicago's downtown to capture the store's massive outdoor bronze clock on canvas — a painting later used on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

But the pleas didn't sway Federated, whose officials pointed out that the Field family hadn't owned stock in the department store company since the 1960s.

"I've tried talking to people, to ask them to just give us a chance," said Frank J. Guzzetta, chairman and chief executive of Macy's North, the Minneapolis-based division that operates Marshall Field's and other retail outlets in the Upper Midwest. "Some people are open to listening. But there's still a hard-core group out there that's saying, 'You can't take my Marshall Field's.' "

In recent months, customers have been flooding company executives with angry letters; some shredded their Macy's store credit cards and mailed back the plastic bits.

Gail Heriot, a University of San Diego law professor who spent a couple of college summers working at the flagship location in downtown Chicago, printed and mailed thousands of stickers that read "Keep it Marshall Field's" to friends, family members and strangers who had heard about them. Last month, she flew here to wage a one-woman protest by handing out stickers.

"It's been a part of Chicago for so long, everyone has their own story about their family going to Marshall Field's," said Heriot, 48. "It's one of those things that identifies us as being a Midwesterner."

The company's roots date to 1852 when merchant Potter Palmer opened a dry goods store on Lake Street. At its peak in 2001, Fields had 64 stores in eight states

The demise of the Marshall Field's brand is the latest in a string of endings among the city's revered symbols. The Berghoff restaurant, known for obtaining the city's first post-Prohibition liquor license, closed up shop last year. So did City News Service, a scrappy outlet where author Kurt Vonnegut once worked.

Ironically, the closures have come at a time when downtown Chicago is booming.

Part of what rankles locals is the use of the Macy's name, a New York label that fuels an old rivalry, said Peter Alter, curator of the Chicago History Museum.

"We've struggled with being labeled the Second City, and therefore being second-class to New York, for decades," Alter said. "This is a store that survived the department store wars and outlasted other shops started by Chicago-based entrepreneurs, such as the Boston Store and Mandel Bros. Now a New York brand comes and quashes a Chicago brand? That does not sit well out here."

On Thursday, the Marshall Field's faithful turned out to pay homage and indulge in a final shopping spree. On the seventh floor, a crowd of customers stood impatiently in line at the Walnut Room, eager to slip into the restaurant's leather seats and dine on open-faced turkey sandwiches and chicken potpies.

Nearby, shoppers snatched up anything with the traditional Field's logo and green packaging. Coffee mugs. Bottles of liqueur. Fuzzy teddy bears holding tiny boxes of Frango mints. Purses covered with Field's old-time newspaper ads.

One arm loaded down with purses and stuffed toys, Michael J. Steinkellner pulled out a disposable camera and snapped a few pictures of his favorite store spots, including a framed series of black-and-white photographs of women shopping here in the 1920s.

He'd already stopped by last week and spent $1,000 on Field's goodies to give relatives this Christmas. Thursday's visit, he said, was to grab a few last things and say goodbye.

"As a kid, I came here every year to see Santa. I even played Santa here seven or eight years ago," said Steinkellner, 67, a longtime Chicago resident. "To me, this is the end of an era. So I wanted to try to keep the Field's tradition alive for my family — at least through this Christmas."

Scanning the quickly emptying shelves, Steinkellner spotted something that made him gape. There, on a wall next to a table filled with Marshall Field's cookbooks, was a Macy's electronic bar-code reader — so customers can check the price of an item for themselves.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Steinkellner said with a grimace. "So much for customer service. After today, I'll never come back."

Shoppers in Windy City Unhappy to See Icon Go

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bullocks was really nice. California only had Macy's in the San Francisco Bay Area. Then Macy's bought Bullocks and The Broadway... many Broadways closed or were rebranded as Macy's, and all of the Bullocks became Macy's... and the quality went down as a result, in my opinion. To add insult to injury, the Broadway in Century City became a Bloomingdale's.

Not entirely correct. San Francisco had Emporium-Capwell, which became just "THe Emporium." Carter-Hawley-Hale acquired the Emporium. It's parent became Broadway, which was then acquired by Federated, and everything became "Macy's."

The old San Francisco Emporium flagship store, which used to be where my high school was formerly located (on Powell and Market), was a Macy's Home, then was shuttered, and is now set to be the 2nd largest Bloomingdales in the US -- opening at the end of the month. And, of course, Bloomingdales is part of Federated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not entirely correct. San Francisco had Emporium-Capwell, which became just "THe Emporium." Carter-Hawley-Hale acquired the Emporium. It's parent became Broadway, which was then acquired by Federated, and everything became "Macy's."

The old San Francisco Emporium flagship store, which used to be where my high school was formerly located (on Powell and Market), was a Macy's Home, then was shuttered, and is now set to be the 2nd largest Bloomingdales in the US -- opening at the end of the month. And, of course, Bloomingdales is part of Federated.

I guess I should've been more specific and said that those particular names of the L.A. stores used to originally be from Los Angeles, prior to mergers and acquisitions, of course.

The original L.A. Broadway departement store was originally located on, you guessed it, Broadway, in downtown LA, as were most of the original LA department stores. I know in the 1980s, Broadway department store credit cards were good at The Emporium in San Francisco. And in the early 90s, I remember using my Bullocks card at the Macy's in SF.

And of course it seems now that everything is owned or will be owned by the same company, that's bad enough; it's just too bad that the regional store names have to disappear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You forget: there were the Magnins: the I. and J. Magnin's. San Francisco also had Liberty House and the City of Paris. (And of course, today, we still have Saks Fifth, Neiman's and Nordstrom's.)

I would like to see branches of Marks & Spencer's here in the U.S.

Yup, that whole SF SHopping Centre (where Nordstrom's is located), when it joins with the new Bloomie's, will be a shopper's paradise. You can imagine how many young gals are gonna go broke there just getting their shopping 'fix.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And of course it seems now that everything is owned or will be owned by the same company, that's bad enough; it's just too bad that the regional store names have to disappear.

Yeah. Everything is either a Wal*Mart or a Macy's nowadays. :huh:

I actually don't mind Macy's, as SF's been the West Coast HQ for Macy's, so it's been a prominent part of SF shopping for as long as I can remember.

Liberty House was also bought by Federated and integrated into Macy's. :D

SF Shopping Centre will be awesome!! I can't wait!! They've got some stellar new restaurants opening there too.

Oh yeah... San Francisco also has Gumps. They're not part of Federated. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ohhhhhhh - I wish you hadn't brought this up because I can feel my blood pressure rising!

And yes - I signed the petition.

This Chicagoian (well, former actually) just closed his Marshall Field's charge account yesterday after 22 years and cut up the card. There is no way I will ever step foot in that store, or the San Francisco Macys, anymore. :angry:

Even when Nordstroms, Bloomies, Magnins, Bonwits, Needless Markup, Loud and Tacky (er, I meant Lord and Taylor) and Saks moved into the City all my shopping was at Marshall Fields and Carson Pirie Scott (which also announced this week they are closing their State Street location).

There is no reason why Federated could not have kept Fields as a separate division in the Midwest, or for that matter Famous Barr as well. These stores were insitutions in Chicago and St. Louis and had their own unique character. Contrary to what Federated may think, Macys was considered a step down from Fields. Even my friends in San Francisco thought it was strange because they thought Fields had better brand merchandise.

Federated is turning Macys into something akin to Target, Sears and Wal Mart. Nothing special about them - merely a cookie cutter department store chain with little character.

Macys is New York. Memo to Federated: Chicagoians are NOT enamoured with New York's stores as much as they are with Fields. :angry:

Picture turning Harrods into a Macys - it's the same thing.

I'll miss Fields State Street. Even when I moved to SF I wouldn't buy much here and would wait until I went home to visit friends and family to stop at either the State Street or Water Tower stores and do all my clothes shopping for the year. State Street is the most beautiful department store in North America, with it's Louis Tiffany ceiling, spiraling staircases, corinthian columns and of course, the Oak Room for brunch. It was almost magical to shop there. But unless Federated eventually turns it back into what it should be, I will not go into it or any other Federated store again and they can say bye bye to the approximatly $5,000 a year I would spend there on clothes, furniture, etc.

Not that they care - but it's the principal of the matter. :angry::angry::angry::angry:

Excuse me but I need to go take my Lexapro now. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You forget: there were the Magnins: the I. and J. Magnin's. San Francisco also had Liberty House and the City of Paris. (And of course, today, we still have Saks Fifth, Neiman's and Nordstrom's.)

I do remember I. Magnin. The one in Beverly Hills became a Saks Fifth Ave. Men's Store; the one in Pasadena is now a Borders Books.

But again, I was talking about department stores that originated in their respective local areas and/or were allowed to keep their original local names even after mergers/acquisitions. Bullock's was L.A.'s own premiere upscale department store.

I. Magnin originated in San Francisco.

Saks Fifth is from NYC, Neiman-Marcus originated in Dallas and Nordstrom is from Seattle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh - I missed your original question during my rant. :blink:

The answer is yes - Sears moved to State Street a few years ago. But that is it - Carsons was the other institution and it announced it is closing as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah. Everything is either a Wal*Mart or a Macy's nowadays. :huh:

I actually don't mind Macy's, as SF's been the West Coast HQ for Macy's, so it's been a prominent part of SF shopping for as long as I can remember.

Yeah, I can understand that; Macy's has been part of SF's scene for decades.

Like Walgreens. I always associated that drugstore name with the east coast and thought it funny that the Bay Area would have them. Then in the mid 1990s, Walgreens started popping up in the Los Angeles area, right around the time that one of our local drugstore chains, Thrifty's, started to disappear. Actually, Thrifty's became Rite-Aid. And I noticed recently that another drugstore, Sav-On, some of them are now becoming CVS. Makes me wonder if the Sav-On name will disappear too.

There is no reason why Federated could not have kept Fields as a separate division in the Midwest, or for that matter Famous Barr as well. These stores were insitutions in Chicago and St. Louis and had their own unique character. Contrary to what Federated may think, Macys was considered a step down from Fields. Even my friends in San Francisco thought it was strange because they thought Fields had better brand merchandise.

Federated is turning Macys into something akin to Target, Sears and Wal Mart. Nothing special about them - merely a cookie cutter department store chain with little character.

Macys is New York. Memo to Federated: Chicagoians are NOT enamoured with New York's stores as much as they are with Fields. :angry:

Picture turning Harrods into a Macys - it's the same thing.

I'll miss Fields State Street. Even when I moved to SF I wouldn't buy much here and would wait until I went home to visit friends and family to stop at either the State Street or Water Tower stores and do all my clothes shopping for the year. State Street is the most beautiful department store in North America, with it's Louis Tiffany ceiling, spiraling staircases, corinthian columns and of course, the Oak Room for brunch. It was almost magical to shop there. But unless Federated eventually turns it back into what it should be, I will not go into it or any other Federated store again and they can say bye bye to the approximatly $5,000 a year I would spend there on clothes, furniture, etc.

Not that they care - but it's the principal of the matter. :angry::angry::angry::angry:

Excuse me but I need to go take my Lexapro now. :P

What will become of the Carson Pirie Scott store on State Street? It's such a landmark building.

And that's how I felt about Bullock's in L.A. It had its own special characater, and I liked the merchandise; even as a teen, I would shop there. It had clothes that I felt guys could actually wear; I walk into Neiman-Marcus or Saks and in my opinion, all the men's clothes look feminine to me. And even though by the 1980s, Macy's and Bullock's were owned by the same corporation, Bullock's still had better merchandise. When the Bullock's name disappeared and all the stores became Macy's, the "upscale" factor went down. Hehe sometimes I'll slip and still refer to what is now Macy's in Pasadena as "Bullock's."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What will become of the Carson Pirie Scott store on State Street? It's such a landmark building.

And that's how I felt about Bullock's in L.A. It had its own special characater, and I liked the merchandise; even as a teen, I would shop there. It had clothes that I felt guys could actually wear; I walk into Neiman-Marcus or Saks and in my opinion, all the men's clothes look feminine to me. And even though by the 1980s, Macy's and Bullock's were owned by the same corporation, Bullock's still had better merchandise. When the Bullock's name disappeared and all the stores became Macy's, the "upscale" factor went down. Hehe sometimes I'll slip and still refer to what is now Macy's in Pasadena as "Bullock's."

I remember going to Bullocks when I was 18 on my senior class trip. It was on Wilshire, right? It indeed was a grand store - and so California! I remember going home with clothes from there and thinking I was hot stuff because I had bought them at Bullocks and nobody else in Central Illinois had anything like them!

I agree with you on the clothing observation. I worked at Neiman Marcus for 3 years in my 20's and had a 30% discount but I never bought clothes there. Always went to Fields.

Somewhere along the line Federated became full of themselves thinking the rest of the country wanted a NYC store in their communities. Unfortunatly what they are doing is cheapining the Macys name. Taking away Marshall Fields, Lord & Taylor, Famous Barr, etc. is going to backfire on them. Mark my words.

As for Carsons - rumor is that they are going to convert it into boutique stores and office space. The store was in bad shape when I left in '04 and it was going to take the kind of money Carsons doesn't have to fix it. It's on the National, State and City registry of Historic Places so the exterior will not change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always thought "Bullocks" was misspelled; and should've been "BuTTocks."

Altho I never went there, I love the Woodard & Lathrop name. Something like "Evelyn & Crabtree" or "Fortnum & Masson." WHich is why I wish they had "Marks & SPencer's" stores here.

In NYC, I liked going into B. Altman's; but even that is gone now.

Macy*s (don't forget the Star) is OK, except I kinda :rolleyes: with t soon.) phoney "Alfani" brand name.

(P.S. As I type this, my favorite feline, Bobolina, is sitting on my lap. Will post her pictures soon. She is struggling to also typ...OK, she jumped back to the bed.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh - I missed your original question during my rant. :blink:

The answer is yes - Sears moved to State Street a few years ago. But that is it - Carsons was the other institution and it announced it is closing as well.

Oh yeah, duh, Sears. :)

I don't shop at Sears, but I'm glad they're still around. My parents still get appliances there, which I think is kinda cool in that old school sorta way; hehe not that they buy appliances a lot, but when they do, they always think to go to Sears.

I remember going to Bullocks when I was 18 on my senior class trip. It was on Wilshire, right? It indeed was a grand store - and so California! I remember going home with clothes from there and thinking I was hot stuff because I had bought them at Bullocks and nobody else in Central Illinois had anything like them!

I agree with you on the clothing observation. I worked at Neiman Marcus for 3 years in my 20's and had a 30% discount but I never bought clothes there. Always went to Fields.

Somewhere along the line Federated became full of themselves thinking the rest of the country wanted a NYC store in their communities. Unfortunatly what they are doing is cheapining the Macys name. Taking away Marshall Fields, Lord & Taylor, Famous Barr, etc. is going to backfire on them. Mark my words.

As for Carsons - rumor is that they are going to convert it into boutique stores and office space. The store was in bad shape when I left in '04 and it was going to take the kind of money Carsons doesn't have to fix it. It's on the National, State and City registry of Historic Places so the exterior will not change.

Yes, the Wilshire Blvd. location was Bullock's flagship store, though not its original store (which was downtown). The building itself still exists, now being used by the Southwestern School of Law as their library. They've painstakingly restored the building inside and out, and it's such an Art Deco masterpiece, having been built in the late 1920s. It's also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would never shop at macy's in a million years. if i were ever in chicago ( a city i wouldn't be caught dead in) there's a chance i might have gone to field's because it's a pretty well established name.

i'm not even all picky about my dept. stores but macy's is just so bland and boring they never get any of my money.

by far my favorite dept. store is holt renfrew. it reminds me so much of barney's new york except they're nicer than the barney's new york outside of 5th ave (like the rodeo drive one).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would never shop at macy's in a million years. if i were ever in chicago ( a city i wouldn't be caught dead in) there's a chance i might have gone to field's because it's a pretty well established name.

i'm not even all picky about my dept. stores but macy's is just so bland and boring they never get any of my money.

by far my favorite dept. store is holt renfrew. it reminds me so much of barney's new york except they're nicer than the barney's new york outside of 5th ave (like the rodeo drive one).

cool so you will not be showing up if Chicago gets 2016 thanks.

holt renfrews clothes are really faggy compared to barneys and i can say that since i am gay. B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

holt renfrews clothes are really faggy compared to barneys and i can say that since i am gay. B)

not by much. men's fashion is awfully faggy these days anyway: tight shirts with really stupid prints, and jeans which have been oh-so-meticulously washed with those lame embroidered back pockets. anyway, the point is you can't put together a whole outfit from holt. you have to pair the clothes with your own stuff to make it look halfway wearable.

I love Holt lol. I usually just go in try on the clothes and than say to the lady "No, don't like it" and leave the place since I can't afford it lol.

every single time i've tried to do that i always end up putting something i can't afford on a credit card. so i don't even go in those stores unless i'm looking to shop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the big department store in Seattle? Starts with an "N"...really nice.

In Canada, we lost Eatons a few years ago. Bad management. The Bay still is around, but was recently bought out by an American. They need major renos and modernization. And for god's sake, clean up your ****!

Holt's in Vancouver is undergoing a massive expansion. HR has been smart in its marketing.

In Quebec, they have Simons which I wish would expand.

I loved the department stores in Paris - Printemps, Bon Marche, Lafayette, and even BHV. I can't remember all the ones in London, but the "S" one on Oxford caugh my eye. And in Barcelona there is a huge one near Catalunya. The cafes in the big European shops were awesome!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the bay in kelowna is half decent, even if it is in the backwater of the universe... it looks so much more modern than sears. and that's pretty much the extent of kelowna's department stores. grandma's and soccer moms. anyone who's anyone goes to calgary or vancouver. or now edmonton (abercrombie & fitch...). but i agree, the bay does need a modernization regardless if they want to stay competitive.

i don't really shop for clothes all that often though. i don't really have great fashion sense, and i think it is a complete waste of money. 70 bucks for jeans seems rediculous to me. and that's cheap, so i'm told.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the big department store in Seattle? Starts with an "N"...really nice.

Are you talking about Nordstrom? That's where they're originally from, and the flagship store is there. They're in other US locations too.

Lately the celebs here in LA seem to be shopping at all the one-of-a-kind boutiques on Robertson Boulevard.

BUT, the latest, trendy store, is in Los Feliz... and I love the name: White Trash Charms.

http://www.whitetrashcharms.com

It's so trashy! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i don't know who wrote that, but have you ever been to los feliz!?

that whole article is a laugh. every home has steel bars on the windows and half the streets are places i wouldn't want to go during the daytime.

I've been to Los Feliz many times.

Los Feliz has nice homes and even mansions in its northern part along Los Feliz Boulevard. There are some more ordinary looking parts of Los Feliz, but I definitely wouldn't consider it to be unsafe.

Are you sure you weren't in East Hollywood or maybe the yuckier parts of Silverlake? Or maybe even Atwater? Those are all adjacent to Los Feliz... but even then, I wouldn't consider those to be unsafe, they're just grittier looking; there are some good restaurants in those neighborhoods.

It's not like Watts or Compton... of which I've been through, too, and not just on the freeway.

Your being from NYC, I'd think those neighborhoods wouldn't faze you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...