Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Exterior view of Kress building |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.4490 |
Description |
Print, photographic; B&W; exterior photo taken at ground level; picture shows a view looking up diagonally at the vertical neon sign "KRESS" on a store; this juts out from the corner at 45 degrees to the facade; stamp on back "BOYD'S STUDIO\P. O. BOX 856\FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.\MAY 2 1938 |
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 |
Fayetteville, North Carolina |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 207 Address: 113 Maxwell Street Facade Material: 1914 - Brick; 1962 - porcelain enamel additions Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: 1914 - Unknown; 1962 - James B. Bell and Associates Contractors: |
Date |
5/2/1938 |
Photographer |
Boyd's Studio |
Studio |
Boyd's Studio |
Orig/Copy |
Original |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 56 photographs Book Description: "This store opened in 1914 in a two-story brick building on a corner lot. The Hay Street elevation had the usual double entrances, show-windows, raised central parapet, and heavy cornice. Expansions on Maxwell Street were made in 1929, a matching three-story addition, and 1962, when the new construction and parts of the existing building were clad with porcelain enamel as part of a design by James B. Bell and Associates. The Fayetteville store closed in 1979." |
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 Kress store featuring the hanging sign |
Search Terms |
two-story brick corner Hay Street vestibule prismatic glass mezzanine show-window expansion three-story addition clad porcelain enamel James B. Bell and Associates Store 207 Fayetteville North Carolina 113 Maxwell Street photograph |