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H.P. Wasson and Company aka Wasson's was an Indianapolis, Indiana, based department store chain founded by Hiram P. Wasson. H.P. Wasson bought the Bee Hive Drygoods Store in 1874, renaming it nine years later H. P. Wasson and Company. With the death of H.P. Wasson in 1910, and his son Kenard Wasson in 1912, the store was sold to Gustave Efromyson and Louis Wolf. The chain would eventually consist of seven stores with the flagship store located at 2 West Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis. Wasson's was acquired by Goldblatt's of Chicago in 1967. The Goldblatt's acquisition of Wasson's was not successful as the two chains did not cater to the same market segments. Wasson's catered to the middle class, whereas Goldblatt's was a discount department store. During Goldblatt's ownership a distinct decline in merchandise quality occurred. Additionally, Goldblatt's did not open any new outlets after the acquisition or relocate stores into the new regional malls that ringed the city. The last Wasson's store was closed in 1980.
The nine story art moderne flagship store located at 2 West Washington street was converted into a retail/office complex in the early eighties. The main store was designed by the noted Indianapolis architectural firm of Rubush and Hunter. A distinguishing feature of the Washington Street Store was the elimation of windows on the upper floors. With the advent of fluorescent lighting, windows were no longer required. The Washington Street location was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The former Wasson's annex located on Monument Circle burnt down in 1970 and was subsequently replaced by a park. Recently a new corporate headquarters for Emmis Communications was built on the site.
Wasson's Credit Union, which opened in October 1923, was the first credit union in Indiana and in the Midwest.
Competitors were L. S. Ayres, L. Strauss & Co. and William H. Block.
[edit] Former Locations
- 2 West Washington Street, Indianapolis (Flagship Store). Closed in 1980. Annex building on Monument Circle was destroyed by fire in 1970, raised and became "Wassons Park," now Emmis Broadcasting Building.
- College Mall - Bloomington
- Eagledale Shopping Center (1961) - Indianapolis. Closed in 1977 (became a nightclub, now Amvets)
- Eastgate Consumer Mall (1957) - Indianapolis. Closed in 1977 (became Burlington Coat Factory, now abandoned)
- Markland Mall (1965) - Kokomo[citation needed]Became Block's, later Lazarus, now abandoned.
- The Meadows Shopping Center- Indianapolis (demolished)
- Mounds Mall (1964) - Anderson (became Weiler's, then Meis, now Elder-Beerman)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Indianapolis: Hoosier's Circle City by George W. Geib, copyright 1981. pages 86,87.
- Service And Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class By Jan Whitaker, page 104
- The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis By David J. Bodenhamer, Robert Graham Barrows, David Gordon Vanderstel, page 652
[edit] External links
