Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Back Parking Lot |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.593 |
Description |
Print, Photographic; B&W; snapshot taken at street level; photo shows a vacant lot surrounded by the backs of one story buildings; hand-written notation on back: "Fort Smith, Ark\Aug. 22, 1936", street plan showing where snap was taken and "#9" |
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 |
Fort Smith, Arkansas |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 363 Address: 810 Garrison Avenue Facade Material: 1911 - Brick, cast-iron, plate-glass, pressed metal; 1939 - brick, terra cotta Style: 1939 - Art Deco Primary Building Architect: 1911 - Seymour Burrell; 1939 - Edward F. Sibbert Contractors: |
Date |
22-Aug-36 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 68 photographs, 85 plans, 0.25 inches of documents Book Description: "Seymour Burrell designed this two-story building, built in 1911 to replace an earlier store which was also on Garrison Avenue. The brick façade, with cast-iron and plate-glass show-windows and entrances at street level and pressed metal above, included a cornice, balustrade, sign, and parapet decoration. In 1939, as part of a renovation and expansion project, Edward F. Sibbert designed an Art Deco brick and terracotta facade with multiple pilasters that made the building appear both taller and more recent. The store closed in 1974." |
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 exterior |
Search Terms |
Edward F. Sibbert brick stone cast iron galvanized iron polychrome terra cotta terracotta monochromatic Neoclassical Art Deco plate-glass show window entrance street level metal pressed cornice balustrade sign parapet decoration renovation expansion project pilasters two-story mid-block attached Mercantile district area load bearing masonry wall interior columns iron cast-iron fire damage rebuilt Store 363 Arkansas Fort Smith 810 Garrison Avenue Garrison Avenue S.H. Kress & Co photograph |