End of an Era

J.W. Robinson Company (later Robinson's)
Seventh Street and Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

A. Hamburger & Sons (later May Company)
Eighth Street and Broadway, Los Angeles

The merger between Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores will soon result in the loss of Los Angeles's last local department store chain, Robinsons-May. Although the chain and its predecessors (Robinson's and May Company) have long been part of national conglomerates, it retains a headquarters in North Hollywood and descends from two of the most legendary emporiums in the city's history.

For decades, four Downtown department stores (Bullock's, May Company, Robinson's, and The Broadway) dominated the Southern California retail scene, though after World War II competition among them rapidly shifted from the urban core to the suburbs. All of the original emporiums eventually shuttered, with some of the retailers relocating to smaller Downtown stores in urban malls (Macy's Plaza and 7th + Fig). The associated headquarters jobs were moved elsewhere in Southern California or the nation. The death of the Robinsons-May is a significant event for Los Angeles, as it tells a story of corporate consolidation in modern America; like Bullock's and The Broadway before it, the last local department store chain has been absorbed by Macy's, a Cincinnati-based retailer with a New York City name.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can appreciate the significance of the Federated-May merger to Los Angeles. Today the Los Angeles Downtown News ran an excellent article cataloguing the history of Los Angeles's formerly great department stores that I'd like to share. If you're interested in this topic, I suggest "City Center to Regional Mall" by Richard Longstreth and previous P.U. posts.

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Before The Mall

When Local Department Stores Ruled Los Angeles

by Max Pierce

The announcement in September by Federated Department Stores that the Robinsons-May buying division will be consolidated into the San Francisco Macy's leaves Los Angeles without a major department store headquartered here for the first time in more than a century. It also puts an asterisk on an industry that has a long and storied role in Downtown.

The acquisition of May into Federated, advertised as a friendly merger between rivals, also spells the end to local buying in Houston, Boston and Arlington, Va. With close to 1,100 jobs affected by this decision, the ripples through the local industry as store locations are closed will no doubt continue for years. Warehouse operations will be consolidated and wholesale suppliers in the Fashion District will feel the pinch.

Such was not always the case. A flip back to the '80s - the late 1980s, that is - reveals a Los Angeles with a vibrant department store community and four major stores operating and/or headquartered Downtown.

J.W. Robinson's, originally known as The Boston Dry Goods Store and in Los Angeles since 1883, opened a "new" building at Seventh between Grand and Hope in 1915. In 1934, the building's exterior was updated to the Art Deco look that remains intact today.

In 1896, Arthur Letts, an English immigrant, purchased a bankrupt store at Broadway and Fourth, which was named after the street it faced. In 1907, concerned with business at The Broadway, he set up a favored employee, John G. Bullock, in a new location at Seventh and Broadway, which would be called Bullock's. Both stores thrived, with an expanded Broadway store opening around 1913 and Bullock's growing from one building to several, encompassing real estate along Seventh, surrounding the historic St. Vincent's Court and up Hill Street. Upon Letts' death in 1923, Bullock and business partner P.G. Winnett purchased the Seventh and Broadway location and Bullock's became independently owned.

One block south of Bullock's, A. Hamburger Son and Company operated an enormous store at Eighth and Broadway, which boasted "the largest aisle in the West," stretching from the Broadway door to the Hill Street entrance one block away. A marriage merged the Hamburger and May families and resulted in The May Company expanding to Los Angeles.

With rooftop restaurants offering stunning views of the city, fur salons, bargain basements, merchandise ranging from books to brassieres to batteries, and elegant windows decorated for Christmas, the Downtown department stores, with local buyers traveling both around the world and over to the California Mart (now California Market Center), helped drive the Downtown economy through the 1960s. Robinson's and Bullock's catered to the affluent Angeleno, with a separate buying office for Bullocks Wilshire housed in that location, while The Broadway and May Company targeted a broader, more value-driven customer.

This marketing to specific shoppers was evident in each store's ad campaigns. Women's apparel couldn't merely be called "clothing," but was promoted with often-cryptic monikers reflecting the store's identity; there was Boulevard or Robinaire Sportswear, California Attitudes, Pacesetter, Club 5'4", Lady Bullock and so on.

With the rise of suburban malls, the Downtown stores began competing with their own branch locations, and the loss of a comprehensive transit system furthered the push to spacious mall parking. After 60 years, The Broadway relocated in 1973 from Fourth to Seventh, then a viable shopping street and across from Robinson's, into what is now Macy's Plaza. By 1986, Bullock's and The May Company had closed their original stores, but faithful to Downtown, reopened in smaller venues inside Seventh Market Place (now 7+Fig).

In 10 years, all that changed again. Despite the profitability of the local divisions, there were numerous corporate consolidations fueled by junk bonds, leveraged buyouts and bankruptcies. The parent of Robinson's was bought by the May Company, which eventually merged the two local chains and shuttered the Seventh Street store. Unable to decide whether they were upscale Robinson's or middle class May, they chose a hyphenated name that reflected neither culture. Bullock's was acquired by Macy's, which downgraded the merchandise and unceremoniously closed numerous locations including Bullocks Wilshire and the 7+Fig location. After years of teetering on the edge of extinction due to flawed management, The Broadway was bought by Federated, which had absorbed Macy's. Both the Bullock's and Broadway names were retired in favor of Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

Interviewed on NPR, Federated CEO Terry Lundgren, who ironically spent a majority of his retail career at Bullock's and Bullocks Wilshire, defended the elimination of regional store names as a critical move to insure profitability, and dismissed naysayers as heavy on nostalgia and light on spending. In fact, the loss of regional headquarters causes the stores to abandon the customer, not the other way around.

As it undergoes a residential and cultural renaissance, Downtown Los Angeles may ultimately lose the Robinsons-May, the Macy's, or both, though it should be noted that the parent company has made no public statement about such a move. But for nostalgic shoppers who have already gone elsewhere, the loss of a generic Macy's has little to do with the great Los Angeles stores that shaped the city's culture.

Max Pierce is a former department store executive well versed in mergers and acquisitions. Today, he writes on Los Angeles and Hollywood history for numerous publications and gives tours of the city's historic areas.

Whatever Happened to...?

Downtown's historic department stores may be gone, but their buildings linger on with new identities. Sort of like a young woman wearing her grandmother's vintage dress. Here's a rundown.

The Broadway Department Store, at Fourth and Broadway: Now the Junipero Serra Building, an office structure.

Bullock's, at Broadway, Hill and Seventh: The original 1907 structure now houses parking. The remaining complex of buildings is mostly home to the St. Vincent Jewelry Center. Within the charming St. Vincent's Court, which feature several multi-ethnic outdoor cafes, the original Bullock's logo still graces an archway. On Hill Street, an Art Deco façade for the former Bullock's Men's Store dates from 1934. Two floors of another Bullock's at 7+Fig are now Gold's Gym.

The May Company, Broadway at Eighth: The first floor is home to the Broadway Trade Center. Peek under the giant rubber mats at the entrances to find the May Company logo in an elegant Edwardian script within the terrazzo. On the second level of the exterior, the terra cotta "H'' recalls the building's earliest days as Hamburger's. Along Ninth, a sign still directs drivers into the "May Co Garage" at the southeast corner of Hill.

J. W. Robinson's, Seventh, Grand and Hope: A Rite-Aid and the South Group's loft leasing office flank opposite ends of this building.

Barker Brothers, 818 W. Seventh St.: Not a traditional department store, but at its peak an Angeleno favorite featuring 10 floors of home furnishings. Today a mixed office and retail complex, the windows flanking the entrance continue to promote "Floor Coverings" and "Fine Furniture" in stylized gothic metal lettering. It is expected to become housing.

A pre-1913 image of the original Broadway, at Broadway and Fourth Street. It was one of several major department stores in Downtown. Historic postcard from the collection of Marlene Laskey.