Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Exterior view of Kress construction site |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.6022 |
Description |
Print, photographic; exterior B&W photo taken at street level; the picture shows a view looking head on at a construction site from across the street; masonry side walls at right rise to full right; row of slim posts runs down the middle of the space; steel beam spans open front; wooden scaffolding appears in front; signboard on posts at left "THIS BUILDING WHEN COMPLETED WILL BE OCCUPIED BY\S. H. KRESS & CO.\5-10-25c STORE"; photographic inscription in bottom right corner "Store - Houston, Harrisburg Blvd., Texas\Owner - S. H. Kress & Co.\Architect - Edward F. Sibbert\Contactor - Bond & Laycock\Date - September 15, 1947"; small logo "LIITTERST\COM'L\PHOTO CO." |
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 |
Houston, Texas |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 643 Address: 6704 Harrisburg Boulevard Facade Material: Unknown Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: Edward F. Sibbert Contractors: |
Date |
9/15/1947 |
Photographer |
Litterst |
Studio |
Litterst |
Orig/Copy |
Original |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 36 photographs, 12 plans, 7.5 inches of documents Book Description: "Edward F. Sibbert was the architect of this 1947 one-story building. A pair of double doors, each flanked by show-windows, the mezzanine strip windows, and the red horizontal sign recall stores built twenty years earlier. The sales area, which was essentially unadorned, lacked the crown moldings and other details typical of Kress building prior to World War II. The store was purchased 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 of Kress construction site with the frame being |
Search Terms |
Edward F. Sibbert one-story mezzanine red sign unadorned crown molding World War II McCrory Stores Store 643 Houston Texas 6704 Harrisburg Boulevard S.H. Kress & Co photograph |