Florida Street ( Spanish : Calle Florida ) is a popular shopping street in Downtown Buenos Aires , Argentina . A pedestrian street since 1971, some stretches have been pedestrianized since 1913.
73-523: The pedestrian section as such starts at the intersection of Perú Street and Avenida de Mayo , a block north of the Plaza de Mayo ; Perú Street crosses Rivadavia Avenue , and becomes Florida Street. Florida Street runs northwards for approximately one kilometer to Plaza San Martín , in the Retiro area. It intersects Buenos Aires's other pedestrian street, Lavalle, at the heart of the former cinema district. Florida
146-423: A terminal for long-distance buses and a railway station for three major lines, is located near the northern end of Florida, across Avenida del Libertador . Line C of the metro provides access to both Retiro and Constitución Stations . 34°36′28″S 58°22′30″W / 34.6077°S 58.375°W / -34.6077; -58.375 Walkability Too Many Requests If you report this error to
219-709: A Beaux-Arts style. Separated from the Naval Center by Galería Buenos Aires is the former Harrods Buenos Aires , completed in 1920. Following a lengthy legal struggle with the then-owner of the Harrods on Knightsbridge , Mohamed Al-Fayed , the department store closed in 1998, and since functions intermittently as a venue for cultural events, notably the Buenos Aires Tango Festival . The current owners, Swiss equity firm CBC Interconfianz, filed permits to restore Harrods Buenos Aires in 2009. The modern Galería del Sol faces
292-421: A First Aid Room, and a Silence Room, with soft lights, deep chairs, and double-glazing, all intended to keep customers in the store as long as possible. Staff members were taught to be on hand to assist customers, but not too aggressively, and to sell the merchandise. Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits; in 1909, Louis Blériot 's monoplane was exhibited at Selfridges (Blériot
365-423: A belated International Style . The complex includes several levels of shops, a basement for offices and two high-rise towers, one of which is residential. Its retail section is known for its selection of consumer electronics and computer equipment. An Art Deco office building on the northwest corner of Tucumán Street and the neo-classical Cadellada Building highlight the 600 block; a second El Ateneo bookshop,
438-542: A bi-annual basis. The store soon outgrew the Marble House and erected a cast-iron building on Broadway and Nineteenth Street in 1869; this "Palace of Trade" expanded over the years until it was necessary to move into a larger space in 1914. Financial problems led to bankruptcy in 1975. In New York City in 1846, Alexander Turney Stewart established the " Marble Palace " on Broadway , between Chambers and Reade streets. He offered European retail merchandise at fixed prices on
511-410: A consumer boom during the 1990s, as this was largely diverted toward a series of new shopping malls opened in the city's north side. Galerías Pacífico was renovated and reopened in 1991, though Harrods Buenos Aires, which by then operated only on the ground floor, would close in 1998. Mayor Fernando de la Rúa had the textured concrete pavers along Florida replaced in 1999 with granite tiles laid in
584-465: A decorative black-and-white pattern. Commerce along the street was afflicted in the ensuing years by proliferating street vendors , a result of a legal loophole in the municipal ordinance that otherwise prohibits the practice; Mayor Mauricio Macri succeeded in having these vendors removed in January 2012. Florida Street continues to command among the highest commercial rents in the city, and has become
657-563: A department store in 1910. In 1924, Matsuzakaya store in Ginza allowed street shoes to be worn indoors, something innovative at the time. These former kimono shop department stores dominated the market in its earlier history. They sold, or instead displayed, luxurious products, which contributed to their sophisticated atmospheres. Another origin of the Japanese department store is from railway companies. There have been many private railway operators in
730-614: A favorite attraction among the city's growing number of foreign tourists. Florida Street begins at its southern end on Rivadavia Avenue . The first block, made somewhat wider than the remainder of the promenade by a city ordinance, is overlooked by the Mappin & Webb House (1911) and the post-modern former headquarters of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in Argentina (1989); both became branches of HSBC upon BNL's departure in 2006. One of
803-403: A focal point of local cinema houses beginning in the 1930s. The city's middle and upper classes would later relocate further north, to Recoleta , Palermo , and Belgrano , however. This trend was reinforced by the 1953 arson of the grand Jockey Club building by a Peronist mob. Its decline, however, was slowed by both an era of relative prosperity in Argentina, as well as milestones such as
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#1732859037085876-508: A leading commercial artery in Buenos Aires. Vehicular traffic was barred during business hours in 1911 by request of the growing number of shop owners along Florida, and in 1913 the tram was dismantled to pedestrianize a section of the street. The 1914 inaugural of the Gath & Chaves department store coincided with the inaugural of Harrods Buenos Aires , the only overseas branch of Harrods , and
949-919: A product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in London (with Whiteleys ), in Paris ( Le Bon Marché ) and in New York City ( Stewart's ). Today, departments often include the following: clothing, cosmetics, do it yourself , furniture , gardening, hardware, home appliances , houseware , paint, sporting goods, toiletries, and toys. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewellery, electronics, stationery , photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near
1022-445: A shift to working from home, which stimulated e-commerce further and reduced demand for business apparel. Click-and-collect services at department stores had been increasing during the 2010s, with many creating larger, distinctly signed, designated areas. Some of the more elaborate ones included features such as reception and seating areas with coffee served, computers with large screens for online shopping, and dressing rooms. With
1095-566: A shopping street in 1872, and would soon welcome pharmacies, furniture retailers, jewelers, and haberdasheries that offered the latest in European fashion. Numerous private mansions were also built along Florida Street in the 1880s and 1890s. The Parisian-inspired Bon Marché became the street's first large-scale shopping arcade in 1889, and the Argentine Jockey Club, the nation's most prestigious gentlemen's club and horse racing society,
1168-597: A third Falabella store, and the modern Galería Arax (site of the Buenos Aires Auditorium) are also located there. The renowned Galerías Pacífico shopping arcade occupies nearly the entire block along the eastern side of the 700 block. The monumental building, designed by Roland le Vacher in 1888 to house the Au Bon Marché shops, also housed the National Museum of Fine Arts from 1896 to 1910, and thereafter
1241-670: A variety of dry goods, and advertised a policy of providing "free entrance" to all potential customers. Though it was clad in white marble to look like a Renaissance palazzo , the building's cast iron construction permitted large plate glass windows that permitted major seasonal displays, especially in the Christmas shopping season. In 1862, Stewart built a new store on a full city block uptown between 9th and 10th streets, with eight floors. His innovations included buying from manufacturers for cash and in large quantities, keeping his markup small and prices low, truthful presentation of merchandise,
1314-490: Is also located here. Facing the esplanade is Plaza San Martín , designed by the noted urbanist Charles Thays in 1889. Upscale Santa Fe Avenue merges into Florida Street along the Plaza Hotel , designed by Adolf Zucker for local banker Ernesto Tornquist and inaugurated in 1909. Florida Street becomes San Martín Street one block south of Avenida del Libertador , and beside the best known of Buenos Aires' Art Deco landmarks,
1387-503: Is one of the city's leading tourist attractions. Florida Street bustles with shoppers, vendors, and office workers alike because of its proximity to the financial district . By evening, the pace relaxes as street performers flock to the area, including tango singers and dancers, living statues , and comedy acts. Its variety of retail stores, shopping arcades , and restaurants is of great interest to foreign tourists and business travelers. The beginnings of Florida Street date back to
1460-961: Is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper". The Paris department stores have roots in the magasin de nouveautés , or novelty store ; the first, the Tapis Rouge, was created in 1784. They flourished in the early 19th century. Balzac described their functioning in his novel César Birotteau . In the 1840s, with the arrival of the railroads in Paris and the increased number of shoppers they brought, they grew in size, and began to have large plate glass display windows, fixed prices and price tags, and advertising in newspapers. A novelty shop called Au Bon Marché had been founded in Paris in 1838 to sell items like lace, ribbons, sheets, mattresses, buttons, and umbrellas. It grew from 300 m (3,200 sq ft) and 12 employees in 1838 to 50,000 m (540,000 sq ft) and 1,788 employees in 1879. Boucicaut
1533-667: The Great Recession of 2008-9, shifts in spending to experiences rather than material goods, relaxed dress codes in workplaces, and the shift to e-commerce in which Amazon.com and Walmart dominated versus the online offerings of traditional retailers. COVID-19 increased the number of permanent store closings in two ways: first through mandatory temporary closing of stores, especially in March and April 2020, with customers largely staying away from stores for non-essential purchases for many more months after that; and secondly, by causing
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#17328590370851606-660: The Kavanagh Building . Overlooking Plaza San Martín, the 120 m (390 ft) apartment building was designed in 1934 by the firm of Sánchez, Lagos and de la Tour for Corina Kavanagh. Local lore has it that the wealthy Irish Argentine heiress planned the high-rise as a revenge against the Anchorena family, and made but one demand of the architects: that views of the Anchorenas' Church of the Holy Sacrament from their residence,
1679-565: The Palermo and San Isidro racecourses. An incident on April 15, 1953, in which bombs were detonated at the Plaza de Mayo during one of President Juan Perón 's many rallies, resulted in the destruction of the Beaux-Arts landmark by enraged Peronists, who viewed the aristocratic Jockey Club as a center of anti-Peronism. The lot lay empty until the construction of Galería Jardín (1976), an office and retail complex designed by Mario Roberto Álvarez in
1752-577: The San Fernando Valley at Laurel Plaza . Starting in 2010 many analysts referred to a retail apocalypse in the United States and some other markets, referring to the closing of brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains. In 2017, over 12,000 U.S. stores closed due to over-expansion of malls, rising rents, bankruptcies, leveraged buyouts , low quarterly profits other than during holiday peak periods , delayed effects of
1825-592: The San Martín Palace , be blocked. The preferable means of transportation to reach Florida Street from almost anywhere in the city, is the Buenos Aires Metro ( subte , or underground). Five metro lines have stations within a short walking distance of Florida. Most bus lines reaching the downtown area have stops near Florida Street, as well. [REDACTED] Florida Station [REDACTED] Catedral Station The Retiro transportation hub, which maintains
1898-490: The Torcuato di Tella Institute . Located on Florida Street during its heyday between 1963 and 1970, the institute was led at the time by former National Fine Arts Museum director Jorge Romero Brest , who steered the center as the leading Argentine venue for pop art , experimental theatre , and conceptual art , drawing artists such as León Ferrari , Gyula Kosice , Luis Felipe Noé , and Antonio Seguí . Romero Brest also promoted
1971-434: The 100 block: Galerías Boston and the landmark Galería Güemes , designed by Francisco Gianotti and opened in 1914; distinguishable by the illuminated beacon atop its spire, it was one of the tallest buildings in Buenos Aires st the time. The former Gath & Chaves department store (1914) and annex (overlooking Avenida de Mayo ) were located here until the retailer's closure in 1974; the buildings today house Banco Meridian,
2044-608: The 1990s. The Julio Peña residence (1917), today the headquarters of the Argentine Rural Society , is one of the few private residences surviving from the time luxurious homes shared Florida Street with commercial establishments. Opened the same year, the Richmond Café next door was a favorite coffee house among local upscale patrons; Jorge Luis Borges , Graham Greene , and the Florida group of avant-garde writers were among
2117-549: The City of Buenos Aires headquarters since 1968, located in a building originally opened in 1908 as the Mexico City Store. The 300 block includes the oldest existing bookstore of El Ateneo chain (one of two on Florida Street); founded in 1912, the booksellers opened their first Florida Street store in 1936. Facing El Ateneo is the former headquarters of La Nación newspaper. One of numerous Plateresque office buildings completed in
2190-507: The Florida Street home of Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson , one of the city's most prominent citizens. Argentine elites began to leave the central and southern wards of the city mainly due to epidemics, especially the 1871 yellow fever outbreak. They decided to move to higher ground in the city and chose the area known as Retiro . Florida Street, whose northern half is in the Retiro ward, became
2263-509: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 759702248 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:43:57 GMT Department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in
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2336-455: The area during the 1920s, the building, known today as the Mitre Gallery, is the second store opened on Florida Street by Falabella. The corner of the intersection with Avenida Corrientes is overlooked by office high-rises, a Stock Center sporting goods megastore , and, for contrast, the former Elortondo Alvear residence (1880); the neo-Gothic mansion was converted into a Burger King in
2409-559: The center's famed Happenings , notably those of Marta Minujín , whose interactive displays and mazes helped make this block of Florida Street Buenos Aires' mazana loca (city block of madness). The street continues into the Juvenilia Esplanade, centered around a memorial to writer Esteban Echeverría , and overlooked by a French-inspired apartment building designed by Alejandro Bustillo . The Ruth Benzacar Gallery, another leading promoter of local avant-garde art , opened in 1965 and
2482-557: The company of men. These, for the main part, were newly affluent middle-class women, their good fortune – and the department store itself – nurtured and shaped by the Industrial Revolution . This was transforming life in London and the length and breadth of Britain at a dizzying pace on the back of energetic free trade, fecund invention, steam and sail, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of expendable cheap labour. This pioneering shop
2555-470: The diffusion of such ideas. A number of department stores teamed up together to create the International Association of Department Stores in Paris in 1928 to have a discussion space dedicated to this retail format. The U.S. Baby Boom led to the development of suburban neighborhoods and suburban commercial developments, including shopping malls. Department stores joined these ventures following
2628-526: The downtown shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their ingenuity and beauty, and visiting the Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for Chicagoans and visitors alike, as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street. In 1877, John Wanamaker opened what some claim
2701-626: The establishment of a superiority over every other in Europe, and to render it perfectly unique in its kind. This venture is described as having all of the basic characteristics of the department store; it was a public retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different departments. Jonathan Glancey for the BBC writes: Harding, Howell & Co was focused on the needs and desires of fashionable women. Here, at last women were free to browse and shop, safely and decorously, away from home and from
2774-535: The fight against Admiral William Carr Beresford . The street was first named "Florida" in 1821. The name was designated in honor of the battle fought in 1814 in Upper Peru against the royalists during the Argentine War of Independence . Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas renamed the street "Perú" in 1837, and in 1857, the name was returned to the present one. The Argentine National Anthem was first performed in 1813 at
2847-557: The following types of stores as department stores, even though they are not generally considered as such: One of the first department stores may have been Bennett's in Derby , first established as an ironmonger (hardware shop) in 1734. It still stands to this day, trading in the same building. However, the first reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co. , which opened in 1796 on Pall Mall , London. The oldest department store chain may be Debenhams , which
2920-468: The former Harrods. Galería Florida (1964), a curtain-walled high rise designed by Álvarez for Air France , stands on the southwest corner with Paraguay Street, and the Florida Garden Café, opened in 1962 in a belle époque building, is on the southeast. The Cultural Center of Spain in Buenos Aires (CCEB) is located on the 900 block. This block, however, is best known locally as the erstwhile site of
2993-501: The founding of Buenos Aires in 1580, when it was hewn as a primitive path uphill from the banks of the Río de la Plata . Its first official name was "San José," enacted by Governor Miguel de Salcedo in 1734. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the street was known popularly as Calle del Correo (Post Street) in reference to the post office located on what later became Perú Street (the southern continuation of Florida Street). It
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3066-488: The front of the store in discount department stores , while high-end traditional department stores include sales counters within each department. Some stores are one of many within a larger retail chain , while others are an independent retailer. Since the 1980s, they have come under heavy pressure from discounters, and have come under even heavier pressure from e-commerce sites since the 2000s. Department stores can be classified in several ways: Some sources may refer to
3139-462: The growing market of baby boomer spending. A handful of U.S. retailers had opened seasonal stores in resorts, as well as smaller branch stores in suburbs, in the 1920s and 1930s. Examples include, in suburban Los Angeles , The Broadway-Hollywood , Bullocks Wilshire , The May Company-Wilshire , Saks - Beverly Hills , as well as two Strawbridge and Clothier stores: Suburban Square (1930) and Jenkintown (1931) outside Philadelphia. Suburban Square
3212-476: The head office of the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway ; restored in 1991, its grand interiors also feature ceiling frescoes by Antonio Berni , Juan Carlos Castagnino , and other famed Argentine painters. The junction with Córdoba Avenue marks the street's entry into the Retiro ward. The northeast corner is distinguished by the magnificent Naval Center (1914), designed by Jacques Dunant and Gastón Mallet in
3285-476: The illuminated spire topped Galería Güemes . The merger of Gath & Chaves and Harrods in 1922 created two of the most ornate institutions of their kind in the Americas. Florida Street also became the address for a number of important corporate headquarters during the 1920s, including BankBoston Argentina and La Nación , the nation's leading news daily at the time. Lavalle Street, which intersects Florida, became
3358-463: The inaugural of the Hotel Claridge in 1946, the Torcuato di Tella Institute 's Florida Street center in 1963 (which became a hub of Buenos Aires' avant-garde and pop art scene during the 1960s), and the 1971 conversion of the street into a promenade . Writer Jorge Luis Borges lived near the northern end, and was fond of taking walks through the semi-deserted street in the pre-dawn hours. Borges
3431-403: The left, with all the different kinds of perfumery necessary for the toilette. The fourth is set apart for millinery and dresses; so that there is no article of female attire or decoration, but what may be here procured in the first style of elegance and fashion. This concern has been conducted for the last twelve years by the present proprietors who have spared neither trouble nor expense to ensure
3504-502: The local branch of Deloitte , as well as Chilean retailer Falabella . The 200 block features the former Grand Florida Cinema (1925), created in an eclectic Art Deco design by Jorge Kálnay. The corner of Perón Street is overlooked by the Plateresque former Banco Popular Argentino (1931), today the headquarters of HSBC Bank Argentina . The corner of Sarmiento Street is the site of the Bank of
3577-419: The many literati who gathered there. The Richmond closed amid controversy in 2011. The 400 block ends at the intersection with Lavalle Street, and is overlooked by both curtain walled office mid-rises and French architecture . Lavalle Street, from the 1930s until the 1990s, rivaled Corrientes Avenue for the number of movie theaters along its downtown stretch; most have since closed, however, and Lavalle, which
3650-677: The most iconic locations in Buenos Aires is the intersections of Florida Street and Diagonal Norte Avenue, built between 1913 and 1943. Two of the avenue's most distinguishable buildings are located at this intersection: the Plateresque BankBoston Building (1924), the Art Deco La Equitativa del Plata (1929), and two cupola -topped Bencich Buildings (1927). The intersection forms a triangular plaza adorned with José Fioravanti 's monument to President Roque Sáenz Peña (1937). Two important shopping arcades are located on
3723-459: The nation and, from the 1920s, they started to build department stores directly linked to their lines' termini . Seibu and Hankyu are typical examples of this type. In the middle of the 1920s, American management theories such as the scientific management of F.W. Taylor started spreading in Europe. The International Management Institute (I.M.I.) was established in Geneva in 1927 to facilitate
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#17328590370853796-422: The national prestige brought by the great Parisian stores. The great writer Émile Zola (1840–1902) set his novel Au Bonheur des Dames (1882–83) in the typical department store, making it a symbol of the new technology that was both improving society and devouring it. Australia is notable for having the longest continuously operating department store, David Jones . The first David Jones department store
3869-472: The one-price policy (so there was no haggling), simple merchandise returns and cash refund policy, selling for cash and not credit, buyers who searched worldwide for quality merchandise, departmentalization, vertical and horizontal integration, volume sales, and free services for customers such as waiting rooms and free delivery of purchases. In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy founded Macy's as a dry goods store. Marshall Field & Company originated in 1852. It
3942-448: The onset of COVID-19 in 2020, most U.S. retailers offered a curbside pickup service as an option on their websites, and a dedicated area at one of the store entrances accessible by car. Along with discount stores, mainline department stores implemented more and more "stores-within-a-store". For luxury brands this was often in boutiques similar to the brands' own shops on streets and in malls; they hired their own employees who merchandised
4015-460: The radical notion of shopping for pleasure rather than necessity and its techniques were adopted by modern department stores the world over. The store was extensively promoted through paid advertising. The shop floors were structured so that goods could be made more accessible to customers. There were elegant restaurants with modest prices, a library, reading and writing rooms, special reception rooms for French, German, American and "Colonial" customers,
4088-665: The selling space, and rang up the transactions at the brand's own cash registers. The main difference was that the boutique was physically inside the department store building, although in many cases there are walls or windows between the main store space and the boutique, with designated entrances. Incomplete list, notable stores of 50,000 m (538,196 sq ft) or more. Individual department store buildings or complexes of buildings. Does not include shopping centers (e.g. GUM in Moscow, Intime "Department Stores" in China) where most space
4161-513: The store had buildings on both sides of Deansgate linked by a subterranean passage "Kendals Arcade" and an art nouveau tiled food hall. The store was especially known for its emphasis on quality and style over low prices giving it the nickname "the Harrods of the North", although this was due in part to Harrods acquiring the store in 1919. Harrods of London can be traced back to 1834, though the current store
4234-439: The various branches of the extensive business, which is there carried on. Immediately at the entrance is the first department, which is exclusively appropriated to the sale of furs and fans. The second contains articles of haberdashery of every description, silks, muslins, lace, gloves, &etc. In the third shop, on the right, you meet with a rich assortment of jewelry, ornamental articles in ormolu, French clocks, &etc.; and on
4307-638: Was also later known as Empedrado (Cobbled Street). Improved with boulders brought from Montevideo beginning in 1789, it became the first paved street in the city (a section of the original cobblestone pavement is displayed behind the entrance to the Cathedral Station on Diagonal Norte Avenue). Following the British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1808, the street was called Baltasar Unquera, in homage to an aide-de-camp to Viceroy Santiago de Liniers , fallen in
4380-421: Was an outspoken critic of the renovation work done on the street in 1970; he was blind, and the new arrangement of trash cans, planters, flower pots, and magazine stands was a serious accessibility risk for him. He was also influenced by his esthetic-minded friends, who saw the new scheme as a break with tradition. The economic crisis of the 1980s precluded any recovery, however. Nor did the street benefit from
4453-556: Was built between 1894 and 1905. Opened in 1830, Austins in Derry remained in operation as the world's oldest independent department store until its closure in 2016. Lewis's of Liverpool operated from 1856 to 2010. The world's first Christmas grotto opened in Lewis's in 1879, entitled 'Christmas Fairyland'. Liberty & Co. in London's West End gained popularity in the 1870s for selling Oriental goods. In 1889, Oscar Wilde wrote "Liberty's
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#17328590370854526-678: Was closed down in 1820 when the business partnership was dissolved. All the major High Streets in British cities had flourishing department stores by the mid-or late nineteenth century. Increasingly, women became the main customers. Kendals (formerly Kendal Milne & Faulkner) in Manchester lays claim to being one of the first department stores and is still known to many of its customers as Kendal's, despite its 2005 name change to House of Fraser . The Manchester institution dates back to 1836 but had been trading as Watts Bazaar since 1796. At its zenith
4599-494: Was established in 1778 and closed in 2021. It is the longest trading defunct British retailer. An observer writing in Ackermann's Repository , a British periodical on contemporary taste and fashion, described the enterprise in 1809 as follows: The house is one hundred and fifty feet in length from front to back, and of proportionate width. It is fitted up with great taste, and is divided by glazed partitions into four departments, for
4672-528: Was famous for his marketing innovations; a reading room for husbands while their wives shopped; extensive newspaper advertising; entertainment for children; and six million catalogs sent out to customers. By 1880 half the employees were women; unmarried women employees lived in dormitories on the upper floors. Au Bon Marché soon had half a dozen or more competitors including Printemps , founded in 1865; La Samaritaine (1869), Bazar de Hotel de Ville ( BHV ); and Galeries Lafayette (1895). The French gloried in
4745-514: Was founded in 1900. Arnold Constable was the first American department store. It was founded in 1825 as a small dry goods store on Pine Street in New York City. In 1857 the store moved into a five-story white marble dry goods palace known as the Marble House. During the Civil War, Arnold Constable was one of the first stores to issue charge bills of credit to its customers each month instead of on
4818-634: Was inaugurated in 1897. The Civic Youth Union , was organized in 1889 at the intersection with the Avenida Córdoba . This organization would foment the Revolution of the Park in 1890, and from its ranks the Radical Civic Union (to whom six presidents would later belong during the twentieth century) would be established in 1891. A tram was installed along Florida Street in the 1890s, and it soon became
4891-567: Was opened on 24 May 1838, by Welsh born immigrant David Jones in a "large and commodious premises" on the corner of George and Barrack Streets in Sydney , only 50 years after the foundation of the colony. Expanding to a number of stores in the various states of Australia, David Jones is the oldest continuously operating department franchise in the world. Other department stores in Australia include Grace Bros founded in 1885, now merged with Myer which
4964-476: Was pedestrianized in 1978, became largely a shopping street. The large numbers of pedestrians at the intersection between the two also made the intersection a forum for performances by street artists . The 500 block was the site of the Jockey Club, designed by Manuel Turner and completed in 1897. Founded in 1882 by future President Carlos Pellegrini , the institution governed horse racing in Argentina, and built
5037-585: Was the United States' first "modern" department store in Philadelphia : the first to offer fixed prices marked on every article and also introduced electrical illumination (1878), the telephone (1879), and the use of pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents (1880) to the department store business. Another store to revolutionize the concept of the department store was Selfridges in London, established in 1909 by American-born Harry Gordon Selfridge on Oxford Street . The company's innovative marketing promoted
5110-486: Was the first shopping center anchored by a department store. In the 1950s, suburban growth took off – for example, in 1952, May Company California opened a four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m ) store in Lakewood Center near Los Angeles, at the time, the largest suburban department store in the world. However, only three years later it would build an even bigger, 452,000-square-foot (42,000 m ) store in
5183-505: Was the first to fly over the English Channel ), and the first public demonstration of television by John Logie Baird took place in the department store in 1925. In Japan , the first "modern-style" department store was Mitsukoshi , founded in 1904, which has its root as a kimono store called Echigoya from 1673. When the roots are considered, however, Matsuzakaya has an even longer history, dated from 1611. The kimono store changed to
5256-594: Was the first to introduce the concept of the personal shopper, and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store, until the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It was the first store to offer revolving credit and the first department store to use escalators . Marshall Field's book department in the State Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "book signing". Moreover, every year at Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of
5329-533: Was the premier department store on the busiest shopping street in the Midwest at the time, State Street in Chicago. Marshall Field's served as a model for other department stores in that it had exceptional customer service. Marshall Field's also had the firsts; among many innovations by Marshall Field's were the first European buying office, which was located in Manchester, England, and the first bridal registry. The company
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