20th-Century Retailing in Downtown Detroit - Hardcover

Hauser PhD Lpc, Michael; Weldon, Marianne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1531640214 ISBN 13: 9781531640217

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions, 2008

Synopsis

As Detroit developed northward from the riverfront, Woodward Avenue became a mecca for retail, restaurants, and services. The 1870s and 1880s saw many independent merchants open their doors. By 1890, a new type of one-stop shopping had developed: the department store. Detroit's venerable Newcomb Endicott and Company was closely followed by other trailblazers: J. L. Hudson Company, Crowley Milner and Company, and the Ernst Kern Company. At its peak in the 1950s, the Woodward Avenue area boasted over four million square feet of retail, making it one of America's preferred retail destinations. Other Detroit emporiums such as the homegrown S. S. Kresge Company set trends in consumer culture. Generations made the trek downtown for back-to-school events, Easter shows, holiday windows, and family luncheons. Then, with the advent of suburban shopping centers, downtown stores began competing with their own branch locations. By the 1970s and 1980s, the dominoes began to fall as both chain and independent stores abandoned the once prosperous Woodward Avenue.

About this title

About the Author

Thanks to unique images from the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and the Ella Sharp Museum, readers are able to enjoy revered views of the diversity of retailers, the exceptional selection and service, spectacular window displays, fashionable merchandise, and memorable special events. Michael Hauser, who worked at two of the department stores on Monroe Avenue, is the marketing manager and historian for the Detroit Opera House. Marianne Weldon is the collections manager for art and artifacts at Bryn Mawr College. The authors share a passion for architecture and the history of Michigan s built urban environment. This is the fifth Arcadia title that they have collaborated on.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1531640214
• ISBN 13: 9781531640217
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 130