Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Construction |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.1369 |
Description |
Print, Photographic; B&W, exterior photo taken at street level; the picture show a view looking head on towards the back of a corner construction site; a wooden fence covers both sides; poured ground floor flooring is in place; steel columns rest on their sides in the foreground; truck-mounted crane sits on heavy timbers near the middle of the floor; photographic inscription on top center "Store - Huntington Park, Calif.\Owner - S. H. Kress & Co.\Contractor - Baruch Corp.\ Date - 11-1-1950" in corner "49746"; stamp on back : "HAWTHORNE STUDIOS\COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS\CRYSTAL CLEAR PINTS\659 BENDIX BUILDING\LOS ANGELES 15 - CALIFORNIA\PROSPECT 0763"; "RECEIVED\ OCT 25 50" 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 |
Huntington Park, California |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 819 Address: 6901 Pacific Boulevard Facade Material: Steel frame, reinforced concrete Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: Kress Architectural Staff Contractors: Baruch Corp. |
Date |
11/1/1950 |
Photographer |
Hawthorne Studios |
Studio |
Hawthorne Studios |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 77 photographs, 15 plans, 11.75 inches of documents Book Description: "A Kress store opened in Huntington Park in 1924. By 1933 it was at 6363 Pacific Boulevard, where the store remained until it moved in 1951 to this corner lot in the commercial district. The steel-framed structure, designed by the company's architectural staff, had a reinforced concrete exterior with vertical corner accents, square panels above each of the second-story facade windows, which formed a band, and a Kress sign on a pylon that projected from the middle of the band of windows and rose above the roofline. The sales area had the same high ceiling and floor configuration as prewar stores but was stark by comparison, with simple finishes and moldings. McCrory Stores acquired the store 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 of construction |
Search Terms |
steel framed reinforced concrete exterior vertical corner accents square panels windows pylon sign roofline ceiling high floor prewar simple finishes moldings McCrory Stores Pacific Boulevard Saturn Avenue commercial district Store 819 Huntington Park, 6901 Pacific Boulevard California S.H. Kress & Co photograph |