Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Back Kitchen |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.1707 |
Description |
Print, Photographic; B&W, interior photo taken at ground level; the picture shows a view looking straight into a small low ceilinged kitchen; refrigerator and cooking range show at left; sink along wall at back and refrigerator and industrial dishwasher at right; photographically imprinted notation on lower right of image "S. H. KRESS & CO.\Metcalf Plaza Shopping Center\Santa Ana California\Exposure made: Oct 8 1959 "; stamp on back "RECEIVED\OCT 13 1959\BUILDING"; pencilled "(#2)"; numerous sign-off initials |
Context |
The S.H. Kress & Company, founded by Samuel H. Kress, opened over 300 5-10-25 cent stores in thirty states from New Jersey to Florida and across to California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii. The first Kress store opened in Memphis, Tennessee in 1896. Many of the early Kress stores started out in rented spaces. By 1909, the Company began to open its stores in new structures created by S.H. Kress & Company architects like Edward F. Sibbert and Seymour Burrell, or built for it by contractors and held under lease. The Kress stores particularly thrived during the Great Depression, as they sold inexpensive products in luxurious spaces. Kress stores ranged in architectural styles, from Neoclassical to Art Deco to Modern and International. Towards the end of the S.H. Kress & Company life, shopping centers and malls overtook free-standing commercial buildings as the preferred retail locations, and new Kress stores were placed in large multistore structure. In 1964, the S.H. Kress & Company was purchased by Genesco, Incorporated, and the company was liquidated in 1980 and 1981. Some of the buildings have been demolished, while others have been renovated and adapted. The documents, plans, photographs, and objects that were gifted to the National Building Museum by numerous donors provide a rich array of information relevant to business, social, architectural, land use, race relations, and commercial history in the United States. |
Credit Line |
Courtesy of National Building Museum, gift of Genesco, Inc. |
Place |
Santa Ana, California |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 893 Address: Metcalfe Plaza Facade Material: Plate-glass, stone, stucco, porcelain enamel Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: Unknown Contractors: |
Date |
10/8/1959 |
Photographer |
Gibson-Naill |
Studio |
Gibson-Naill |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 54 photographs Book Description: "In 1959 Kress opened a discount variety store in a large one-story building in the Metcalfe Plaza shopping center. The storefront consisted of large plate-glass windows surrounded by stone and a stuccoed parapet. Rising above the roofline at one corner of the parapet were porcelain enamel panels with large Ks." |
Related Publications |
Wilkerson, Susan, and Hank Griffith. A Guide to the Building Records of S.H. Kress & Co. 5-10-25 Cent Stores at the National Building Museum. Edited by Joyce Eliiot. Washington, DC: National Building Museum Publication Office, 1993. |
Caption |
Black and white photograph of back kitchen |
Search Terms |
discount variety one-story Metcalfe Plaza shopping center plate-glass stone stucco parapet porcelain enamel panel Store 893 Santa Ana California S.H. Kress & Co photograph |