Photo Record

Images

1 of 1977

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Metadata

Title

Exterior view of Kress display windows

Object Name

Print, Photographic

Collection

S.H. Kress & Company

Catalog Number

1989.13.1.4845

Description

Print, photographic; B&W; exterior photo taken at street level; the night picture shows a view looking almost head on at the store display window; a double door entryway is deeply recessed into the full height window; rounded plate glass sheets form the corners of the entryway; notation in white ink on lower right "PHOTO BY RUSSELL 11-15-40\SHAWNEE STORE\S. H. KRESS OWNER\EDW. F. SIBBERT ARCH\COWAN CONST. CO. CONTR."; stamp on back "RECEIVED\IN. ARCH. DIV.\DEC 20 1940"

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

Shawnee, Oklahoma

Additional Notes

Genesco Store Number: 547
Address: 109 East Main Street
Facade Material: 1907 - Brick, cut-stone; 1965 - porcelain enamel
Style: Unknown
Primary Building Architect: Potentially Seymour Burrell
Contractors:

Date

11/15/1940

Photographer

Russell

Studio

Russell

Orig/Copy

Original

Medium

Photographic paper

Object Category

8: Communication Artifact

Donor

Genesco Inc.

Notes on Related Objects

Related Units: 45 photographs
Book Description: "A Shawnee store opened in 1907 in a two-story brick building on a streetcar line. The building is similar to the Trenton, Missouri, and Anderson, South Carolina, stores, both designed by Seymour Burrell, with an identical parapet and brick- and cut-stone pilasters. The rounded window tops are unusual. New show-windows, entrances, and vestibules were installed during 1940 renovations. The store was renovated again in 1965, when the basement was converted to sales space and part of the facade was covered with porcelain enamel panels. The location closed 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