Hutzler's

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Hutzler's department store was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, in the Spring of 1858 by Moses Hutzler for his eldest son (Abram Hutzler, and was called M. Hutzler & Son). The Civil War intervened forcing the two older Hutzler brothers to flee to avoid being held as hostages or being conscripted to fight against their neighbors. During that period the store, and care of his mother and four sisters, was left in the hands of the youngest brother David. Later, the business continued to expand and Abram & Charles returned to help in its operation. A fine new building (The Palace Building) was errected on the original site in 1888. In 1952 after nearly 100 years exclusively on the original site, Hutzler's opened its first branch store in Towson, Maryland. Other stores followed at Westview Mall, Eastpoint Mall, Southdale (this location was moved to Harundale Mall), Security Square Mall, Harford Mall, White Marsh Mall, and Salisbury Mall. In 1980, a small store in the Inner Harbor area was opened. The main downtown store was moved next door to a smaller and newer location. The chain began contracting in the late 1980s, first with the downtown store, and then closing the suburban stores, finally closing in 1990. The company had brought in Angelo Arena from Marshall Field's to run the company and to effect a reversal of its downtown trend. Mr. Arena had envisioned Hutzler's as a Baltimore-based version of Saks Fifth Avenue, but this strategy proved to be overly ambitious and Hutzler's began closing stores one by one until they all were gone.