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29-589: Maison Blanche is perhaps best remembered for introducing the locally popular Mr. Bingle Christmas mascot and for its landmark flagship store on Canal Street . Maison Blanche was acquired in 1923 by City Stores Company, which merged Maison Blanche with Loveman's in 1950. City Stores Co. filed for bankruptcy in July 1979. While in bankruptcy, they initially intended to consolidate the seven Maison Blanche stores with four B. Lowenstein 's stores in Memphis, Tennessee , to form

58-647: A 4th in Jacksonville at the brand new Avenues Mall -the number of Florida stores were added to 16. However, both the rapid expansion and the oil-related recession in Louisiana proved to be too much for Maison Blanche to manage. In August 1991, eight stores on Florida's Gulf Coast were sold to Dillard's , giving them those locations (Tyrone, university, WestShore, Countryside, Southgate, Edison, Coastland, and Lakeland). This also left MB with eight stores each in both Louisiana and Florida until Mercantile Stores Inc. purchased

87-410: A bear aptly named "Bingle Bear" and a rabbit named "Bingle Bunny", but neither would achieve the same level of success as the snowman. Isentrout portrayed Bingle as a childlike character, making him get into all sorts of hijinks and forcing Santa Claus to help him get out of whatever situation he was in. These puppet shows occurred each day for the few weeks leading up to Christmas for about 15 minutes at

116-528: A decade after Dillard's had purchased another New Orleans area retail institution and Canal Street landmark— D.H. Holmes . Solari's gourmet food store operated a satellite location within the Canal Street location of Maison Blanche. Maison Blanche's original building was on Canal Street. This was demolished around 1908. A distinctive new building, which still stands, was constructed around 1908 to 1909. At one time there were many medical and dental offices in

145-498: A flying form. The flying figure was displayed at the Metairie, Louisiana Maison Blanche Store and later at a Dillard's Metairie location when the Canal Street store was closed. By 2004 the Mr. Bingle figure was in such poor condition that it could not be displayed, although Dillard's continued to market small replicas. This figure has since become the most iconic of all Mr. Bingles, with most of

174-520: A levee collapsed near the warehouse where Mr. Bingle was stored, and the neighboring buildings were destroyed but Mr. Bingle survived. Spurred by this discovery, funds were raised to refurbish the display and it became a centerpiece of the Christmas 2005 "Celebration in the Oaks" light display at New Orleans City Park . Mr. Bingle also appeared in Memphis, Tennessee , at the department store Lowenstein's, which

203-444: A naming contest held among the employees of Maison Blanche, with the name being chosen by Lewis as it shared the initials of the store. Mr. Bingle and his home could both be abbreviated as "M.B.", and Maison Blanche was often referred to by its initials long before the creation of Mr. Bingle. This naming similarity was used heavily in marketing the character, even being referenced in his iconic theme song. Before his formal introduction to

232-411: A small black line for a mouth assuming he is depicted with one, constantly smiling. On his back are a pair of holly wings that allow him to fly, and the year of sale usually stitched on his left foot (a doll sold in 2020, for example, will have 2020 stitched on his foot). He also wears a sugar ice cream cone on his head as a hat, as well holding a peppermint candy cane in his right hand. Traditionally, he

261-403: A time, and were a favorite of local children, with adults even coming by to watch the shows. Mr. Bingle would sometimes be forced to break the fourth wall and tell the adults to move so that the children could get a good look at the show. Mr. Bingle also appeared in musical radio and television commercials, many of which were fully animated. The puppet shows ended in 1985 when Isentrout died, and

290-704: Is a fictional character marketed and sold by department store Dillard's during the holiday season. Originating as a mascot of the Maison Blanche department store in New Orleans , Louisiana, Mr. Bingle has become an important part of the popular culture of the Greater New Orleans area, and even across the United States. Mr. Bingle was originally conceived by Emile Alline, a window display manager of Maison Blanche, in 1947. Though conceived in 1947, Mr. Bingle

319-445: Is not depicted wearing clothing, aside from a red ribbon with bells at the tips tied around his neck, but much of his merchandise features him wearing different shirts, differing in design based on the year he is sold. A tag featuring his story is usually attached to his wings or his opposite hand. Mr. Bingle was originally a regular snowman sitting near Santa's sleigh, when Santa used his magical powers to make him his helper. He gained

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348-592: The 16-store unit in February 1992, thus converting the rest of their Florida stores to Gayfers , which gained these units (Roosevelt, Regency, Fashion Square, Orange Park, Volusia, Altamonte, Florida, and Avenues). The Louisiana stores continued to operate under the Maison Blanche name before Dillard's acquired Mercantile Stores in 1998. The Little Rock retailer subsequently closed the Canal Street store after briefly operating it. The acquisition of Maison Blanche came nearly

377-533: The 5-unit Jacksonville-based "May Florida" (formerly May Cohens ) by taking over three Jacksonville stores (Roosevelt Square, Regency Square , and Orange Park Mall ), and Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach , while closing the Gateway Mall location. The Goudchaux name was removed and all stores were renamed Maison Blanche. After opening 2 more stores in 1990-one replaced an existing store at Orlando Fashion Square and

406-540: The Christmas period, with a dedicated community of followers who buy and resell merchandise of the character. The character of Mr. Bingle would also make appearances outside of the commercial setting for charitable purposes, visiting sick children at the Children's Hospital of New Orleans . Eyehategod Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

435-591: The Maison Blanche Department Stores group, but in early 1982 the Memphis stores were shuttered. Instead, three of the seven existing Maison Blanche stores, as well as the name, were purchased by Goudchaux's , Inc. of Baton Rouge , owned by the Sternberg brothers. Operating as Goudchaux/Maison Blanche, the new company eventually reopened the original Canal Street flagship in 1984, leasing three floors from

464-448: The United States, by Character Novelty Co., starting in 1949. The character has undergone many design changes, with the earlier dolls having chrome eyes and red mittens, and later dolls switching to the traditional blue eyes with red and white mittens. Some dolls even have a black nose and eyes, although these were manufacturers defects and were ordered to be destroyed, with the remaining dolls becoming rare. Other manufacturers defects among

493-518: The ability to walk and talk, was given holly wings and eyes soon after, as well as his iconic hat and candy cane. Santa gave him the name "Mr. Bingle", and he would help Santa from that day forward. Mr. Bingle became best known in puppet (or marionette ) form at the Canal Street Maison Blanche, puppeteered by New York puppeteer Edwin "Oscar" Isentrout (who also played the voice of Mr. Bingle). He had previously done puppetry not far from

522-433: The basement was flooded and the electrical systems, laundry, and staff cafeteria, among other things, were damaged. The Ritz-Carlton reopened on December 4, 2006, after a $ 106 million (~$ 154 million in 2023) refurbishment. Strawbridge's added to division in 1996 Meier & Frank added to division in 2002 ; Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution (2001, to Meier & Frank) Mr. Bingle Mr. Bingle

551-565: The character has remained silent ever since. The character would appear on television on the New Orleans channel WDSU and Memphis channel WMCTV Channel 5, where he would be accompanied by real actors in his puppet form, similar to Sesame Street . This show would air from Thanksgiving to the night before Christmas. These shows were also broadcast on the radio and done live in the store windows. Mr. Bingle-related merchandise, especially plush toys , were sold by Maison Blanche and manufactured in

580-470: The dolls include hats that veer too far in either direction and oddly placed facial features. With the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, communities have been formed dedicated to the buying and reselling of the dolls, and many listings have appeared on sites such as eBay . Mr. Bingle was also displayed as a large papier-mâché figure on the front of the flagship Maison Blanche store on Canal Street, first standing next to Santa Claus and later in

609-560: The new owners. In the late 1980s, May Department Stores abandoned Florida by selling two chains, which allowed the company to enter the fast-growing Florida market. In 1987, the 10-unit Robinson's of Florida on Florida's Gulf Coast ( Tyrone Square Mall , University Square Mall , WestShore Plaza , Countryside Mall , Southgate Plaza , Edison Mall , and Coastland Center ) and Orlando ( Orlando Fashion Square , Altamonte Mall , and The Florida Mall ), plus an 11th at Lakeland Square Mall were sold to them. A year later, they also bought

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638-519: The non-plush toy merchandise featuring the character in the exact same pose as the papier-mâché figure. By 2011 the Mr. Bingle figure was again reported to be in need of repairs. A 2004 novel entitled Saving Mr. Bingle became a local success in New Orleans and Memphis; proceeds from the book were later used to buy a gravestone for Isentrout's unmarked grave at Hebrew Rest No. 3 Cemetery in New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005,

667-419: The public, his design was revised to include his iconic hat and candy cane . The rights to the character would shift along with its parent company, with the majority of the locations being bought out by Goudchaux's, Inc. of Baton Rouge, owned by Hans and Josef Sternberg, and the company then operating as Goudchaux/Maison Blanche. Most of the Maison Blanche locations would be bought out by Dillard's in 1998, and

696-412: The rights to the character would shift to them as a result. As of 2021, Dillard's continues to promote and sell merchandise of Mr. Bingle. The design of Mr. Bingle is that of an anthropomorphic snowman, meaning that, while he is a snowman, he possesses human-like limbs and similar body structure. His facial features are traditionally represented by small blue dots for his eyes and red for his nose, with

725-621: The store, on Bourbon Street, where he would do shows with vaudeville marionettes performing striptease in-between performances from exotic dancers. Isentrout often travelled around the United States with a marionette troop before buying a bus ticket to New Orleans, although he maintained his nightclub engagement, making it hard to perform the puppet shows at Maison Blanche. He would seek the assistance of two teenagers named Ray Frederick and Harry J. Ory, who had achieved some local success with their own marionette act. The three created many characters that would accompany Mr. Bingle and Santa Claus, such as

754-536: The top floors; later they became largely empty. The Canal Street store was closed in 1982 by the City Stores Company and reopened in 1984. In 1993, the New Orleans-based sludge metal band Eyehategod used the 13th floor of the building for the recording of their second album, Take as Needed for Pain . In 1997 work began to use the upper floors as part of a new Ritz-Carlton hotel. The original plan

783-413: Was also owned by Mercantile Stores Mercantile acquired MB a few years before itself being acquired by Dillard's. The Mercantile chain used Mr. Bingle in Christmas advertising nationwide at various regional department stores owned by Mercantile. As of November 2014, Mr. Bingle merchandise was still widely available. Mr. Bingle continues to be popular in New Orleans and across Louisiana, even outside of

812-574: Was for the lower floors to continue to operate as a Maison Blanche department store. However, after Dillard's acquired the store with the purchase of the remainder of the Maison Blanche chain, they closed the Canal Street store. The whole building, along with the neighboring Kress building, is now part of the New Orleans Ritz Carlton, which had a grand opening on October 6, 2000. The hotel was occupied during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina . It suffered considerable damage; for example

841-426: Was not introduced to the public until the Christmas season of 1948. Alline became aware that other department stores had mascots around Christmastime, particularly Marshall Field's Uncle Mistletoe, and pitched the concept of a similar mascot to Maison Blanche executives Lewis and Herbert Schuartz as an advertising strategy. Originally referred to as "Snow Doll", his name would quickly be changed to Mr. Bingle following

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