Horne's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Joseph Horne Company | |
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| Type | Department store |
| Founded | 1849 |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
| Website | None |
The Joseph Horne Company, often referred to simply as Horne's, was a regional department store chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The chain ceased operations in 1994.
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[edit] Horne’s Founding Families
Joseph Horne (1826-1891) was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, the son of Henry Horne, who had served in the Continental Army, Henry intended his son to be a physician. Joseph had other plans, moved west to Pittsburgh and found his first job in the retail trade with Christian Yeager, the father of South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club member H. C. Yeager. Soon, Joseph moved to the F.H. Eaton store, and first became a partner and then bought out the business in 1849, renaming it The Joseph Horne Company, a name it would bear for more than 130 years. Horne was 23. He joined forces with Christian B. Shea and A. P. Burchfield, whose families intermarried and entered the business, and brought a hauteur to this emporium that has never been equaled in Pittsburgh. In 1881 the firm built their new building designed by Charles Tattersall Ingham at Wood and Liberty. In 1891, at age 65, he sold the wholesale side to the Pittsburgh Dry Goods Company. Joseph Horne married twice: (1) Mary Elizabeth Shea and (2) Emma Galway, he sired numerous children, some of whom, like son Durbin, born in 1854, and another South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club member, followed his father into the business. Joseph Horne died in 1892.
Christian Bernard Shea (1835 – 1900) was the brother-in-law of and founding partner with Joseph Horne of The Joseph Horne Company. Shea was involved with both halves of the family business, retail (Joseph Horne Co. Department Store) and wholesale (Pittsburgh Dry Goods Company). Shea was a member of the elite South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club of Johnstown Flood fame.
[edit] Timeline of store history
- 1849 - Horne's began operations, and became a leading Pittsburgh department store.
- 1922 - A new central location was built at Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street in Downtown Pittsburgh.
- 1972 - Associated Dry Goods acquired Horne's. The company expanded operations to several stores in suburban malls throughout the Pittsburgh region as well as in Erie, Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio.
- 1986 - In December 1986, Horne's was acquired by a local investor group after ADG's acquisition by May Department Stores, already the owner of cross-town rival Kaufmann's.
- 1988 - Ohio-based department chain Dillard's and Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. agreed to acquire Horne's, with plans of combining it with their recently acquired Higbee's in Ohio. The deal was cancelled abruptly, resulting in several years of litigation. [1] Dillard's eventually agreed to acquire Horne's five Ohio stores as part of a legal settlement in 1992.
- 1994 - Federated Department Stores acquired Horne's remaining ten stores and merged them with its Lazarus division, completely ceasing all operations of any store under the Horne's name. Several of the former Horne's operating as Lazarus were closed in 1998. Those that remained eventually became known as "Lazarus-Macy's" and in 2006 were joined with Kaufmann's in the nationwide Macy's consolidation. [2]
[edit] Christmas tree
In Pittsburgh, the Horne's store was best known for its annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. Even after the downtown store closed, the tradition of lighting a Christmas tree at the Horne's building continues every year as the focal point of Pittsburgh's Light-Up Night celebration, typically held the Friday before Thanksgiving. [3]
[edit] Notable employees
Artist Andy Warhol worked at a Horne's in their display department as a summer job in 1947. [4]
[edit] Famous Store
The Horne's at Monroeville Mall was included in George Romero's 1978 movie Dawn of the Dead.
The Downtown Pittsburgh flagship store was the site of the 1987 erotic thriller, Lady Beware, starring Diane Lane as a window designer.
[edit] See Also
[edit] Former Locations
[edit] Ohio
- Boardman - Southern Park Mall (sold to Dillard's 1992)
- Cleveland Heights - Severance Town Center (opened 1989, sold to Dillard's 1992, was Dillard's Men's/Home store, closed & demolished 1995)
- Fairview Park - Westgate Mall (sold to Dillard's 1992, was Dillard's Women's store until closed 2004, demolished)
- Mentor - Great Lakes Mall (sold to Dillard's 1992, now Dillard's Men's/Home store)
- North Randall - Randall Park Mall (opened 1976, sold to Dillard's 1992, which immediately closed it, eventually became Burlington Coat Factory)
[edit] Pennsylvania
- Erie - Downtown (Erie Dry Goods Co./Boston Store flagship, became division of Horne's 1977, closed 1979)
- Erie - Millcreek Mall (opened as Boston Store 1974, became division of Horne's 1977, became Horne's 1979, became Lazarus 1994, closed 1998. then Elder-Beerman, now Bon-Ton)
- Erie - West Erie Plaza (opened as Boston Store 1968, became division of Horne's 1977, became Horne's 1979, became Lazarus 1994, closed 1998, currently a Gabriel Bros. store.)
- Hempfield - Greengate Mall (opened 1965, became Lazarus 1994, closed 1998, demolished 2003, site of current Panera Bread)
- Monaca - Beaver Valley Mall (opened 1970, became Lazarus 1994, closed 1998, now a Boscov's)
- Monroeville - Monroeville Mall (opened 1969, became Lazarus 1995, Lazarus-Macy's 2003, Macy's 2005)
- Natrona Heights - Heights Plaza Shopping Center (opened 1956, became Lazarus 1995, Lazarus-Macy's 2003, Macy's 2005)
- Pittsburgh - Downtown, 501 Penn Avenue & Stanwix Street (flagship, became Lazarus 1994, closed 1995)
- Pittsburgh - Northway Mall (opened 1962, closed 1989 following opening of Ross Park store, Northway and Ross Park operated simultaneously for a short time)
- Pittsburgh - Brentwood Plaza (closed when Century III Mall store opened)
- Pittsburgh - Ross Park Mall (built as Gimbels (but never occupied), sold to Horne's when the Gimbels chain shuttered - opened 1986, became Lazarus 1994, Lazarus-Macy's 2003, Macy's 2005, closed 2006, site of future Nordstrom)
- Pittsburgh - South Hills Village (opened 1965, became Lazarus 1995, Lazarus-Macy's 2003, Macy's 2005)
- Pittsburgh - South Hills Furniture Gallery (opened 1993, became Lazarus 1995, Lazarus-Macy's 2003, Macy's 2005)
- West Mifflin - Century III Mall (opened as Montgomery Ward 1979, became Horne's 1986, became Lazarus 1994, closed 2001, sold to Kaufmann's, currently Macy's Furniture Gallery)
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