| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquisition by Proffitt's |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Key people | David Bernard Loveman, founder |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares |
| Website | None |
Loveman's was a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based chain of department stores with locations in eastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. Relatives of the founder of this chain founded Loveman's of Alabama and Loveman's located in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1875, David Bernard Loveman and his brother Herman Herschel Loveman arrived in Chattanooga from Atlanta, Georgia and formed D. B. Loveman and Bro., a dry goods concern. In 1877, Ismar Noa joined the company and it became D. B. Loveman & Company. In 1884 they purchased property at the southeast corner of Eighth and Market Streets, in what was described as “the most important single real estate transaction that had taken place” in Chattanooga up until that time. Building commenced in 1885, and the city's first department store was constructed. It would become Chattanooga's largest department store, and remain so for just over a hundred years.
In December, 1890 the building was destroyed by fire, and the business suffered accordingly. David even declared bankruptcy, but business did not cease. Eventually the company regained its footing and prospered, and by 1917, it employed 300 people. It expanded and eventually became a five-store chain, including Loveman's at the Eastgate Mall, which was established in 1965.
In 1986, however, the chain, which had acquired considerable debt, was bought by Proffitt's, which in turn was acquired in 1995, by Belk. Starting in 2001, the flagship downtown building has been converted to mixed use, with luxury condominiums on the upper floors developed by RiverCity Company.[1][2] In August 2008, the 31,000-square-foot (2,900 m2) second floor was purchased at auction by the Maclellan Foundation for $1.4 million.[3] Cohutta Banking Co. of Tennessee plans to move during the fall of 2008, into 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) on the building’s ground floor.[4]