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27-449: The landmark 1871 St. Joseph's Catholic Church did not sell to the original developers, Joske's Department Store , in 1945, and the store was built around it. The Shops at Rivercenter opened in 1988 as Rivercenter Mall, with San Antonio's first Lord & Taylor department store, an IMAX theater, as well as Dillard's (closed August 2008). Part of the downtown redevelopment included an extension of San Antonio's famed River Walk into

54-499: A suburban location until 1957, when it opened its second store in the Las Palmas Shopping Center in southwest San Antonio. Built by Bartlett Cocke & Associates now known as Muñoz & Company. In January 1965, Joske's purchased rival Wolff and Marx with its downtown flagship and North Star Mall locations. Joske's stated that there would be no immediate changes in operation of Wolff and Marx, however, in less than

81-635: A custom-made saddle in the downtown store. Departments included spurs and saddles; appliances; a travel agency ; an Oriental rug gallery; a lending library ; a bakery; gourmet foods; books, toys and even a large postage stamp collecting area. Joske's flagship store also featured the Camellia Room (for formal dining), the Chuck Wagon, and the Fountain Room (a coffee shop). During the Christmas holidays ,

108-734: A location at the Highland Mall in Austin in 1971. Joske's purchased two mall locations in El Paso , and Phoenix, Arizona (Joske's first and only location outside Texas), from Liberty House in 1978. In 1979 Allied's Titche-Goettinger's stores (more commonly known as Titche's) in Dallas were renamed Joske's. In 1985 Allied Stores consolidated Joske's three Texas divisions—Dallas, Houston and San Antonio—into one central division based in downtown Dallas. The three independent operating and merchandising staffs in

135-532: A month the seven-story downtown Wolff and Marx store was closed because the store did not have escalators and the building had passed its useful life as a modern department store. Joske's sold the downtown Wolff and Marx building in 1968, and the building is now known as the Rand Building. The North Star Mall Wolff and Marx location was replaced in 1969 with a new five-level Joske's, its third San Antonio-area store. The chain expanded into Houston in 1948 and opened

162-462: A multi-level parking garage to close, but another parking garage would be built on another part of the property. San Antonio's Historic and Design Review Commission approved the redevelopment plan on October 4, 2006. A grand re-opening is planned for 2008. It was reported in June 2008 that Ashkenazy purchased the historic Joske's building from Dillard's and plans to revitalize the landmark property as part of

189-497: A number of protests and an incident of pushing and slapping, Joske's management changed course and by late summer admitted blacks to all its eating facilities. In 1987 after Allied's acquisition by Campeau, the then 27-store Joske's chain was sold to Dillard's , a then 115-store chain based in Little Rock, Arkansas , ending over 100 years of Texas-based retailing. The San Antonio Conservation Society requested that Dillard's keep

216-590: A popular attraction for tourists. Spanish-language masses are held with mariachi music and the San Antonio Liederkranz sings once a month. See also: List of museums in Central Texas Joske%27s Joske's , founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio , Texas . In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired

243-452: The Shops at Rivercenter complex ) offered to buy the church grounds in order to develop it commercially. Parishioners unanimously refused the offer to move from the site and so instead Joske's built around the three sides of the church, earning the church from locals the moniker "St. Joske's". A restoration was commenced in 1981. Today, the parish serves as home to a multicultural community and as

270-472: The Joske's name on the downtown San Antonio flagship store. The society wrote a letter to then Dillard's President William E. Dillard II urging that the store name be retained. After the acquisition, the massive flagship store was divided up, with Dillard's occupying only a portion of the five-level building. The remaining area of the building was converted into lease space and a retail atrium for Rivercenter (which

297-517: The Rivercenter lagoon. Lord & Taylor, then owned by May Department Stores , was converted into a Foley's in 1989. In 2006, the space became Macy's after Macy's parent, Federated Department Stores , bought May Department Stores. The structure that houses Dillard's , an AMC Theatres , as well as other shops originally opened in 1887 as a freestanding Joske's at the corner of Alamo and Commerce streets. Several expansions from 1909 to 1953 brought

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324-736: The church was laid in 1868, and it was finally completed in 1871. It served a large and growing community of German immigrants. In the 1870s, Friar Henry Pfefferkorn, founder of the Liederkranz (male singing choir), painted the Annunciation and Assumption murals on the side altars. A steeple was added in 1898. Stained glass windows, imported from the Emil Frei Art Glass Factory in Munich were installed in 1902. In 1944, Joske's department store (whose site would eventually become part of

351-697: The company along with the Titche-Goettinger department store of Dallas , and three years later Hahn became part of Allied Stores . Allied was taken over by Campeau in 1986, and Campeau in turn sold the Joske's chain in 1987 to Dillard's . All Joske's stores were then quickly converted into Dillard's locations. Joske's first store, located on Main Plaza in San Antonio and known as J. Joske, opened in 1867 and operated until 1873, when Joske sold it and went back to Berlin for his family. After returning to San Antonio

378-598: The first floor, there is a river level. This is the part of the mall that runs along the famous River Walk. See also: List of museums in Central Texas St. Joseph Catholic Church (San Antonio, Texas) The St. Joseph Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio , located at 623 East Commerce Street in downtown San Antonio , Texas , United States. The Gothic Revival house of worship

405-402: The first phase of redevelopment. The redevelopment of the Joske's space would be the next phase. The Joske's facade along Commerce Street would be restored, bringing back the windows and brick that were covered in one of Joske's own renovations before Rivercenter was built, and tenants would be added for the currently vacant two upper floors. A luxury hotel would be added in the last phase, forcing

432-463: The flagship store was well known for its fourth-floor "Fantasyland"; its holiday-themed window displays, including a large window with a toy train set; and the 40-foot-tall Santa Claus that sat atop the roof. "Rusty the Reinsteer" was the Joske's holiday mascot. Concentrating on keeping the downtown flagship store a destination location, Joske's of Texas (as the chain became known) did not expand to

459-494: The property's redevelopment. In 2016, the old Joske's building was added as a new modern wing of the mall with notable tenants such as Dave & Buster's , H&M , Starbucks , and Johnny Rockets . The mall was renamed to Shops at Rivercenter in the same year. On January 6, 2021, it was announced that Macy's would be closing in April 2021 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. The place contains four floors, and under

486-534: The same year, Joske opened a new store on Austin Street called J. Joske and Sons. Joske moved the store to Alamo Plaza and changed its name to Joske Brothers. In 1887 the store was moved across the street to the corner of Alamo and Commerce Streets, overlooking historic Alamo Plaza. New floors and elevators were added during a 1909 expansion. In 1936, the five-level store became the first fully air-conditioned store in Texas, and

513-442: The separate divisions were consolidated into a single, larger unit, and Robert T. Mettler was named president and chief executive officer of the combined organization. The corporate office was located at its Downtown Dallas store at Main and St. Paul streets, occupying the top three floors of the seven-story building. At the time, Allied's Joske's division had 6,200 employees, including 800 at its corporate offices, and 27 stores. In

540-411: The space to 551,000 square feet (51,200 m). Joske's closed the flagship store for remodeling in 1987, planning to reopen in 1988, to coincide with the Rivercenter opening, but Dillard's acquired the Joske's chain shortly after the store closed for remodeling. The massive flagship store was divided up, with Dillard's occupying only a portion of the five-level building. The remaining area of the building

567-489: The store became known as "The Big Store." The store was expanded and renovated again in 1939, sporting a new Art Deco facade as well as the first escalators installed in a Texas store. To make way for this expansion, the rooftop electric sign, the largest in Texas, where a cowboy was shown lassoing a steer came down. When Joske's wanted to expand again in 1945, nearby St. Joseph's Catholic Church refused to sell its land. Nevertheless, Joske's kept expanding, and St. Joseph's

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594-628: The wake of the Greensboro sit-ins in North Carolina that received wide publicity, desegregation in San Antonio was carried out voluntarily by most eating places in March 1960 after hearing demands from African-American leaders and both black and white churches. However, the management of Joske's declared that blacks could eat in its basement lunch counter, but its two restaurants would remain open to whites only, and hired guards to keep blacks out. However, after

621-401: Was built, and tenants would be added for the 200,000 sq ft (20,000 m ) of retail space currently vacant on two upper floors. San Antonio's Historic and Design Review Commission approved the redevelopment plan on October 4, 2006. It was reported in June 2008 that the historic Joske's building was purchased by the Rivercenter property owners from Dillard's, with plans to revitalize

648-472: Was converted into lease space and a retail atrium for Rivercenter and an AMC movie theater. Even with the division of the building into other uses, portions of the structure, including 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m). of space on the top two floors, as well as the old "bargain basement," remained unoccupied. In October 2006, plans were revealed to redevelop the property over a number of years. Five-star restaurants and more outdoor seating would be added in

675-471: Was eventually surrounded on three sides by the store and was jokingly called "St. Joske's." By 1953 the flagship store had been expanded several times. The 551,000 sq ft (51,200 m ) five-level store was the largest department store west of the Mississippi until its closure in 1987. The long-time slogan for the chain was "the biggest store in the biggest state." At one time, a shopper could get

702-529: Was the fourth Catholic parish in the city. The church is an example of a holdout or nail house; when the archdiocese refused to sell the church to a property developer, a large shopping mall had to be constructed around it. The church occupies the probable second site of the Missión San Antonio de Valero (later known as the Alamo ), before it was moved in 1724 to its present location. The cornerstone of

729-507: Was under construction at the time of the buyout) and an AMC movie theater. Even with the division of the building into other uses, portions of the structure, including the old "bargain basement," remain unoccupied to this day. A redevelopment plan was revealed in October 2006, in which the Joske's facade along Commerce Street would be restored, bringing back the windows and brick that were covered in one of Joske's own renovations before Rivercenter

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