Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Interior View of Sales Area |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.44 |
Description |
Black and white photographic print of store interior taken from slighlty elevated position facing the back; merchandise counters are now lined up with side walls. Store-length fluorescent strips mounted flush with pressed metal ceilings. Central row of support columns end in a front-to-back ventillation duct. Merchandising signs abound, including cutouts for "KITCHENWARE", "INFANTS" and "NOTIONS" as well as other Kress store mantras of "Charge It!" and "Better Quality Best Values" hang from supporting columns. Discernable merchandise includes lamps and lampshades, throw rugs and towels. Mannequins, framed prints and other merchandise are mounted to store walls just above sight line. The notation on back reads: "4-30-64/Bessemer, Ala." and rubber stamp "RECEIVED/JUN 3 1964". |
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 |
Bessemer, Alabama |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 5 Address: 1912 Second Avenue North Facade Material: Brick, sheet metal cornice, marble base to show windows, iron grillwork, prismatic glass transom Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: E.J.T. Hoffman Contractors: |
Date |
4/30/1964 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 61 photographs, 20 plans, 6.5 inches of documents Book Description: "Built in 1915, this rather plain store was enlarged and renovated in 1924 under Kress architect E.J.T. Hoffman, whose addition matched the existing cast-iron and brickwork façade. Like almost all Kress stores of its era, this one featured a band of mezzanine windows under a sign running the width of the façade, a denticulated cornice, a parapet with the company logo in its center, and two sets of double doors, each set flanked by show-windows. The sales area, also typical of early stores, featured a high, pressed-metal ceiling supported by cast-iron columns. The building was renovated again in 1976, when the parapet and galvanized-iron cornice were removed and new show-windows installed. The building was acquired by McCrory Stores in 1980." |
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 depicting interior sales area, taken in April 19 |
Search Terms |
Department store Interior signage domestics lamps towels rugs E.J.T. Hoffmann E.J.T. Hoffman Bessemer Alabama Store 5 1912 Second Avenue North brick sheet metal marble glass iron Mercantile District S.H. Kress & Co cornice base show windows grillwork prismatic transom attached Second Avenue north mid-block structural masonry walls columns beams concrete foundation enlarged façade denticulated cast-iron band mezzanine windows sign width parapet company logo center sets double doors flanked show windows sales area high pressed ceiling metal support galvanized iron removed McCrory Stores purchased photograph |