B. Altman and Company
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B. Altman and Company was a New York City-based department store founded in 1865 by Benjamin Altman. It officially closed on December 31, 1989. One of the first American department stores to open out-of-town branches, Altman's eventually opened locations in Pennsylvania (St. Davids, 1965, Willow Grove, 1983), New Jersey (Short Hills, 1958, (replacing the earlier nearby East Orange store), Ridgewood/Paramus, 1967), and New York state (Manhasset, 1951, White Plains, 1930) as well as its block-long main flagship store at Fifth Avenue 1906-1912 and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. A short lived location in Cincinnati opened during the LJ Hooker ownership period, and two mall locations in Buffalo and Syracuse were physically completed but never occupied by Altman's during that same time.
Benjamin Altman founded his first store on Third Avenue and 10th Street in 1865 which later relocated and expanded to 19th Strret and Sixth Avenue. In 1906, the store relocated to the block long structure on Fifth Avenue running from 34th to 35th Streets which was later expanded to include the Madison Avenue blockfront. In the 1930s, Altman's made one of the early entries in the suburbs with branches opening in East Orange (later relocated to Short Hills), White Plains and Manhasset. The foresight of the organization in geographical selection can be seen in that the Short Hills location is now The Mall at Short Hills, the White Plains location is now The Westchester shopping mall, and the Manhasset location is adjacent to the Americana Manhasset, which opened nine years after the Altman's store.
When Benjamin Altman died he left no heirs, and besides his art collection going to the Metropolitan Museum, his stock in the stores was placed in a foundation, the Altman Foundation. In 1985, due to changing IRS laws the Foundation sold the stores to an investor group which included members of the Gucci family and two principals from financial firm, Deloitte & Touche.
In 1987, Australian real estate development company, L.J. Hooker and its CEO, George Herscu, purchased the controlling interest in the B. Altman stores (as well as Bonwit Teller, Sakowitz and a majority of The Parisian) to utilize these chains as anchors in poorly located, yet extravagant new shopping centers across the country. Knowing virtually nothing about how to operate these various retailing chains and then placing them in locations with no regard to market recognition or demographics, the strategy failed miserably and in August 1989, B. Altman filed for bankruptcy protection, with the last store closing in 1990.
Another less well-known but equally catastrophic venture included building two upstate New York stores that were part of a different expansion strategy that never materialized. The suburban Buffalo location at the huge Walden Galleria complex was, in fact, fully completed and fixtured but was never occupied by Altman's. It would later be occupied in 1991 by local department store, A.M.& A's, and eventually a Bon-Ton, who vacated it in 2006. This former never-opened Altman's location will soon will be demolished for a new cinema complex. The Carousel Center Mall location in Syracuse was under construction at the time and redesigned to house a succession of several discount anchors, one one each of the two floors.
The store culturally was known for its WASP sensibilities, and many regarded it as similar to the renowned Marshall Field & Company in Chicago. Highlighting its sober reputation, the stores included a satellite location of Colonial Williamsburg's Craft House that sold classic colonial reproductions. Two lost treasures from the store are the famous Christmas windows which rivaled Lord & Taylor's, a few blocks up Fifth Avenue as well as the Charleston Garden Restaurant which housed a full sized facade of a Tara-like Charleston home. The St. David's, Pennsylvania location, also had a 'Charleston Garden' restaurant, as did the Paramus store.
[edit] Former Locations
- New York, New York
- 362 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street, flagship store, 1906-1912 closed 12/1989, now houses CUNY Grad Center; the New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library; and Oxford University Press.
- White Plains, New York
- Westchester Avenue at Bloomingdale Road, 1930, expanded 1949 and 1963, closed 1989 demolished 1994, now site of Nordstrom at The Westchester mall.
- Manhasset, New York
- Northern Boulevard, Original freestanding store, 1951, later part of Americana Manhasset shopping center, closed 1989 Altered/mostly demolished 1993, now Crate & Barrel and other retail stores.
- Short Hills, New Jersey
- Original freestanding store, 1958, later part of The Mall at Short Hills, closed 1989 Demolished 1994, now site of Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom section
- Paramus, New Jersey
- Route 17, Fashion Center Mall, 1967, closed 1989 Building converted into Bed Bath & Beyond and TJMaxx
- St. Davids, Pennsylvania
- 550 E. Lancaster Ave. (US 30 near I-476), St Davids, PA, 19087, Freestanding store, 1965, closed 1989 Building converted into Genuardi's market, TJ Maxx, and other retailers
- Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
- Willow Grove Park Mall, 1983, closed 1986 Now Sears
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Forest Fair Mall, 1988, closed 1990 now Kohl's
[edit] Built but never opened
- Buffalo, New York
- Walden Galleria Building completed and fixtured, but never opened 1989, Eventually opened as A.M.& A's department store in 1991, then Bon-Ton, closed 2006, to be demolished for new Regal Cinemas Complex
- Syracuse, New York
- Carousel Center Building under construction when bankruptcy filed, opened later as Chappell's and Hills department stores and later still Ames and Bon-Ton, Now Bon-Ton and Sports Authority in half of former Ames.
