View source for Strawbridge's

{{short description|Defunct department store chain}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Strawbridge's
| logo = Strawbridge's Department Store Final Logo.png
| logo_size = 180px
| fate = [[Acquisition of The May Department Stores Company by Federated Department Stores|Acquired]] by [[Macy's, Inc.]]
| successor = [[Macy's]]
| foundation = 1868 (as Strawbridge & Clothier)
| defunct = September 9, 2006
| location = 8th and [[Market Street (Philadelphia)|Market Streets]], <br>[[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| industry = Retail
| key_people = 
| products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
| num_employees = <!--peak number of employees-->
| parent = [[May Department Stores]] (1996-2005)<br>[[Macy's, Inc.|Federated Department Stores]] (2005-2006)
| subsid = <!--former subsidiaries, if any-->
| homepage = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040630193308/http://www1.shopmay.com/gifts/OnlineShopping/SC?Dsp=1&c=1|date=2004-06-30 |title=Official website (2004 archive) }}
}}

'''Strawbridge's''', formerly '''Strawbridge & Clothier''', was a [[department store]] in the northeastern [[United States]], with stores in [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Delaware]]. The Center City [[Philadelphia]] flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban emporium. The retailer started adding branch stores starting in the 1930s and, by their zenith in the 1980s, enjoyed annual sales of over a billion dollars<ref name=close>"Philadelphia Keeps Strawbridge Name But Loses Retail Tradition." ''[[The New York Times]]'' (July 22, 1996)</ref> By the 1990s, Strawbridge's became part of the [[May Department Stores]] conglomerate until May's [[Acquisition of The May Department Stores Company by Federated Department Stores|acquisition]] by [[Macy's, Inc.|Federated Department Stores]] on August 30, 2005.

May operated the Strawbridge's stores under the Northern Virginia-based [[Hecht's Department Store]] division. On February 1, 2006, the former May Company divisions were all dissolved, and operating control of the remaining Strawbridge's stores was assumed by [[Macy's East]].

Macy's closed Strawbridge's flagship Center City store on May 23, 2006.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070313005247/http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=3981527 "Strawbridge's Closes Its Doors"] WPVI-TV website </ref> On September 9, 2006, the Strawbridge's and Hecht's nameplates were completely phased-out in favor of the [[Macy's]] brand.

==Early history==
[[Image:StrawbridgesPostcard1930s.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Building the 1931 limestone flagship building nearly bankrupted the company during the [[Great Depression|Depression]]]]
[[Image:Phila8thMarket.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|From 1870 to 1930, the 5-story S&C stood at 8th and Market Streets (1910s postcard)]]
=== 1800s ===
Strawbridge & Clothier began as a [[dry goods]] store founded by [[Quaker]]s Justus Clayton Strawbridge (1838–1911) and Isaac Hallowell Clothier (1837–1921)<ref>[http://www.pennock.ws/surnames/fam/fam45563.html Strawbridge genealogy] [http://www.pennock.ws/surnames/fam/fam43590.html Clothier genealogy] [http://www.pennock.ws/ The Pennocks of Primitive Hall]</ref> in Philadelphia in 1868. Strawbridge & Clothier purchased the 3-story brick building on the northwest corner of Market and 8th Streets in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City]] [[Philadelphia]] that had been [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] office from 1790 to 1793 while he served as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]],<ref name=upper/> and opened their first store. They soon replaced the old building with one of 5 stories, and then expanded into neighboring buildings as well.<ref name=smith>Smith, Sandy. [http://blog.philadelphiarealestate.com/buildings-then-and-now-think-strawbridge-clothier-first/ "Buildings Then and Now: 'Think Strawbridge & Clothier first'"] ''Philadelphia Real Estate Blog'' (January 12, 2012)</ref>

=== 1900s ===
In 1928, the company decided to replace all but one of its buildings with a new edifice, and began construction in phases on the 13-story building which stands on the corner of Market and North 8th Street today.  Designed in the [[Beaux Arts architecture|Beaux Arts]]-style by the Philadelphia architectural firm Simon & Simon, the cost of the limestone building was expected to be $6.5 million, an amount which caused some concern to the store's owners.<ref name=upper>Milford, Maureen. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/07/realestate/upper-floors-of-philadelphia-store-to-become-offices.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm "Upper Floors of Philadelphia Store to Become Offices"] ''[[The New York Times]]'' (April 7, 2002)</ref> By the time of the ribbon-cutting in 1931 in the depth of the [[Great Depression]], the staggering $10 million cost (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|10|1931}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) of such grand construction nearly suffocated the cash-strapped company.<ref name=upper />

The building subsequently became the eastern anchor in 1977 of [[The Gallery at Market East|The Gallery]], an urban mall connecting Strawbridge & Clothier with [[Gimbels]], which had relocated from across Market Street to join the mall.  It was the vision of S&C Chairman Stockton Strawbridge that was instrumental in revitalizing the [[Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Market East retail district]] in the 1970s, a vision that is still apparent today despite the demise of both Gimbels and Strawbridge's. He once said that his goal was to transform fading east Market Street into "the ''[[Champs-Élysées]]'' of Philadelphia."<ref name=obit>Gilpin, Kenneth N. "G. Stockton Strawbridge, 83, Dies; Retail Industry Executive." ''The New York Times'' (February 11, 1997)</ref>

=== Late 20th-century demise ===
After successfully fighting off a hostile takeover attempt by [[Ronald S. Baron]] in 1986, Strawbridge & Clothier survived as an independent, locally owned department store into the 1990s.<ref>"Strawbridge Receives Offer," ''The New York Times'', April 22, 1986, p D-4</ref> In 1995, in an attempt to become the dominant retailer in the Philadelphia region, S&C partnered with Federated Department Stores, Pomeroys, and the Rubin Brothers real estate development company to acquire their rival [[Wanamaker's]],<ref>Shope, Dan, "Strawbridge, Others To Buy Wanamaker, Federated, Boscov's Are Part Of $640 Million Deal For 14 Sites," ''Allentown Morning Call'', June 22, 1995</ref> but were outbid in bankruptcy court by [[May Department Stores Company]].  Subsequently, the 13 Strawbridge & Clothier department stores were themselves bought by May in 1996, when the Strawbridge & Clothier directors (mostly members of the Strawbridge and Clothier families) elected to liquidate operations<ref>"May In Accord To Buy Strawbridge & Clothier," ''The New York Times'', April 5, 1996</ref> over the vehement objections of patriarch Stockton Strawbridge. Strawbridge died not long after the sale. "He was the store, and the store was him," said his attorney Peter Hearn to the ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]''.<ref name="obit" /> Store employees and the public-at-large felt a sense of loss as well: many employees rushed to pay off their credit card accounts in full before the sale was finalized, "hoping that the proceeds would go to the founding families rather than [the new buyers]."<ref name="close" />
[[File:Strawbridge's-Macy's Transition Logo.png|thumb|Strawbridge's-Macy's logo]]
After the sale, the stores operated simply as "Strawbridge's", although exterior signage reading "Strawbridge & Clothier" remained in place at many locations until the stores became [[Macy's]] in 2006.<ref>"Historic Strawbridge's site back in limbo," ''Philadelphia Business Journal'', March 10, 2006</ref> May had merged the former [[Wanamaker's|John Wanamaker]] into its [[Hecht's]] banner, but converted them to Strawbridge's as well (except for Wanamaker's former flagship on Market Street, which eventually became a [[Lord & Taylor]] and is now Macy's). However, the Strawbridge & Clothier head office was closed and its operations were consolidated with Hecht's in [[Arlington, Virginia]].<ref name="close" />

== Cultural significance ==
===Radio station===
For 13 years, from 1922 to 1935, the store operated WFI, an AM radio station.<ref>{{cite web| title=Governor Sproul, Mayor Moore| url=http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/bp/wfi31822.html| website=Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers| date=March 18, 1922| access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref> In 1935, the station merged with WLIT, owned by the [[Lit Brothers]] store across the street, to form [[WFIL]], an [[NBC Blue]] network affiliate.<ref>{{cite web| title=WFIL advertisement| url=http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/wfil35.html| website=Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers}}</ref> WFIL remains on the air today on its original frequency, AM 560.
===Dickens Village===
In November 1985, Strawbridge's unveiled Dickens Village on the fourth floor of their flagship store. This Christmas display featured animatronic figures in a 6,000 sq. ft walk-through of 26 scenes from Charles Dickens's classic ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arrigale |first1=Lawrence M. |last2=Keels |first2=Thomas H. |title=Philadelphia's Golden Age of Retail |date=2012 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |page=97 |isbn=9780738592138 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWo8lsl0LTwC&pg=PA97}}</ref> As of 2024, Macy's, in the former Wanamaker's building, displays Dickens Village during the holiday season.

== Suburban branch stores ==
[[File:Strawbridge and Clothier Store, Jenkintown PA 02.JPG|thumb|left|250px|[[Strawbridge and Clothier Store, Jenkintown|Jenkintown store]], on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]]]
[[File:Strawbridge's Building.JPG|thumb|350px|Refurbished flagship building (2014)]]
[[File:Strawbridge & Clothier (1897) Seal of Confidence.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The S&C "Seal of Confidence" (1911-2006), depicting [[William Penn]] and a [[Lenape]] tribesman shaking hands, their "never written, never broken" treaty; it stood for S&C's Quaker-based tradition of fairness and honesty, which included a money-back guarantee on all merchandise<ref name=smith />]]
In May 1930, Strawbridge & Clothier helped remake the American retail scene by opening one of the first suburban branch department stores in the nation, located in the [[Suburban Square]] shopping center in [[Ardmore, Pennsylvania]].[[Strawbridge's#cite note-9|[9]]] In 1931, it followed with its second suburban "satellite" store at [[Jenkintown, Pennsylvania]], the [[Strawbridge and Clothier Store, Jenkintown|building for which]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1988.[[Strawbridge's#cite note-nris-10|[10]]]

Strawbridge's opened up a number branch stores throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. These branch stores typically were opened in shopping malls. Prominent stores throughout the Philadelphia area included the stores in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]] (1952), [[Cherry Hill Mall|Cherry Hill]] (1961), [[Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Springfield]] (1964), [[Plymouth Meeting Mall|Plymouth Meeting]] (1966), [[Neshaminy Mall|Neshaminy]] (1968), [[Echelon Mall|Echelon]] (1970), [[Exton Square Mall|Exton]] (1973), [[Christiana Mall|Christiana]] (1978), [[Burlington, New Jersey]] (1982), [[Concord Mall (Delaware)|Wilmington]] (1983), [[King of Prussia Mall|King of Prussia]] (1988) and [[Willow Grove Park Mall|Willow Grove]] (1989). By the 1970s, Strawbridge's had nearly a dozen branch stores in malls across eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. The branches proved to have been a wise step, as the flagship store posted only a few years of actual profitability, all of them during the 1940s.  The last S&C store built was at the [[Concord Mall (Delaware)|Concord Mall]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware]] in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MALL HALL OF FAME |url=http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2009/04/concord-mall-concord-pike-us-202-and.html |access-date=2022-04-28}}</ref>

In 1969, Strawbridge set his sights on competing with the emerging [[Target Corporation|Target]]-grade retailers,[[Strawbridge's#cite note-obit-6|[6]]] launching the [[Clover Discount Store|Clover discount store]] chain; the first Clover store opened in 1971. Located in [[Strip mall|strip centers]] rather than malls for the most part, Clover grew to have 26 locations, more than the 21 full-service S&C stores. Most Clover stores closed in the winter of 1997.

=== Store features and branding ===
Some Strawbridge's stores had restaurants inside, like at the [[Christiana Mall]], [[Exton Square Mall]], [[Plymouth Meeting Mall]], [[Neshaminy Mall]], [[Cherry Hill Mall]], [[Strawbridge and Clothier Store, Jenkintown|Jenkintown store]], and the Corinthian Room on the sixth floor of the flagship store.

The company also revolutionized retailing with their introduction of [[Revolving credit|revolving charge account]] cards.

Strawbridge's was well known for its handled shopping bags which kept up with the fashion of each era. It was a paper bag, with navy blue handles with Strawbridge's printed in blue twice and red once on one side of the bag, and vice versa on the other. Once May assumed the company, the Strawbridge & Clothier Seal of Confidence was no longer a prominent marketing image. Late 1970s and 1980s bags were a bright glossy yellow with that era's pseudo calligraphic trademark in a vertical orientation in black along the bag's edge. 1960s bags featured a "modern" script-like trademark with their famous "seal of confidence".

Strawbridge's was also known for its friendly employees.

In the center of the flagship store was a large bronze statue of a wild boar, a replica of [[Pietro Tacca|Pietro Tacca's]] [[Porcellino|''Il Porcellino'']]. Local legend had it that good luck would follow those who rubbed the boar's nose. The boar consequently had a very shiny nose from all the rubbing.

===Repurposing of flagship store===
In July 2006, [[PREIT]], owners of [[The Gallery at Market East]], agreed to purchase the lower floors of the flagship Strawbridge's store. PREIT sought retail tenants for the areas of the building closest to street level and converted some higher floors to office space. The uppermost floors had previously been sold and converted to offices; they are currently owned by American Financial Realty Trust of [[Jenkintown, Pennsylvania|Jenkintown]].<ref>"PREIT's landmark Strawbridge's site has a tenant in Philadelphia", ''Philadelphia Business Journal'', June 24, 2008</ref>

On February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers of [[Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia]] were looking into locating their new [[casino]] on three floors of the former Strawbridge's flagship store currently owned by PREIT.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lin |first=Jennifer |title=Another casino shift possible in Phila. |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=February 26, 2009 |url=https://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090226_Another_casino_shift_possible_in_Phila_.html |access-date=2019-05-28}}</ref>

In April 2012, it was reported by one of the sub-contractors that the building was undergoing additional renovation for both office and residential use.<ref>[http://scaffoldblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/the-renovation-of-strawbridge-clothier-building-philadelphia-pa/ "The Renovation of Strawbridge & Clothier Building, Philadelphia, PA"]</ref> In July 2012, ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' and ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'' relocated to the third floor of the building from their former headquarters at [[Inquirer Building|400 North Broad Street]].{{clear left}}

On October 23, 2014, the [[Century 21 (department store)|Century 21]] Department Stores company of New York City opened its first location outside of the greater New York City area on a portion of the street level, and the entire second level of the Strawbridge's building.<ref name="philly.com">Arvendlund, Erind. [http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20141024_Century_21_opens_doors_in_Center_City.html "Shoppers check out Century 21, new Center City department store"] ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (October 26, 2014)</ref> Century 21 closed in 2020 as a result of the chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all stores.<ref name="post">{{Cite web|last=Fickenscher|first=Lisa|date=2020-09-10|title=Fashion retailer Century 21 files for bankruptcy, to shut all stores|url=https://nypost.com/2020/09/10/fashion-retailer-century-21-files-for-bankruptcy/|access-date=2020-09-10|website=New York Post|language=en-US}}</ref> On December 16, 2021, a [[Giant Heirloom Market]] grocery store opened in the ground level of the former Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tanenbaum|first=Michael|title=Giant opens Heirloom Market in Center City's Fashion District|publisher=PhillyVoice|date=December 16, 2021|url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/giant-heirloom-market-center-city-fashion-district-philadelphia/|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|Philadelphia}}
*{{Portal-inline|Companies}}
*[[Strawbridge and Clothier Store, Jenkintown]]
* [[List of department stores converted to Macy's]]
* [[List of defunct department stores of the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Strawbridge & Clothier}}
{{commons category|Strawbridge & Clothier Building, Philadelphia}}
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7GN23FDWf4 1990 Visa commercial featuring Strawbridge & Clothier]}}
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/*/www.strawbridges.com}} (Archive)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030824120645/http://www.agencyconsulting.com/show_article.asp?articleID=57 The Tale of Two Family Businesses]
* [http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2117.xml Strawbridge & Clothier company records] at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
* [https://archive.org/details/strawbridgeclothier1975 Strawbridge & Clothier Annual Reports: 1934–1941, 1944–1945, 1947–1965, 1967–1975], Internet Archives
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/22/us/philadelphia-keeps-strawbridge-name-but-loses-a-retail-tradition.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm 1996 NY Times article on the acquisition by May's]

<!--spacing-->

{{Macy's history}}
{{Hecht's history}}

[[Category:Macy's]]
[[Category:Companies based in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Defunct department stores based in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Economy of the Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Clothing retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1868]]
[[Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2006]]
[[Category:Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:1868 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:May Department Stores]]