Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Exterior view of Kress block |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.6610 |
Description |
Print, photographic; exterior B&W snapshot taken at street level; picture shows view lookning at an angel at a four story building; a couple of roll-up awnings cover display window that spans ground floor; pencilled on back "Bldg acrsoo street\fom McGill property\directly over Gt Northern\R R Illegible" |
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 |
Everett, Washington |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 945 Address: 2822 Colby Avenue Facade Material: Terra cotta, brick Style: Art Deco Primary Building Architect: Edward F. Sibbert Contractors: |
Date |
c. 1930 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Orig/Copy |
Original |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 37 photographs, 26 plans, 6 inches of documents Book Description: "In 1930 an Art Deco structure designed by Edward F. Sibbert was built in downtown Everett. While not one of the well-apointed Class A stores, its interior details, fixtures, and trim were of higher than usual quality. The exterior at street level offered a pair of recessed double entrances flanked by show-windows on marble bases. The first floor of the facade was clad in terracotta, the remainder in brick, laid to form large and small piers dividing the building in vertical sections. Pier caps, window surrounds, parapet coping, and other trim were terracotta. 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 Kress block |
Search Terms |
Art Deco Edward F. Sibbert downtown marble base clad terracotta terra cotta brick pier cap parapet coping trim Store 945 Everett Washington 2822 Colby Avenue S.H. Kress & Co photograph |