Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Boiler Room |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.690 |
Description |
Print, Photographic; B&W; photograph of utility room interior taken at ground level; picture shows a diagonal close-up view of a hot-water boiler; a very large heavily insulated pipe comes out of the rectangular unit in foreground; a mass of plumbing can be seen under the low overhead; rubber stamp on back "DE LUXE STUDIO\DEC 12 1939\Hot Springs Ark." |
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 |
Hot Springs, Arkansas |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 367 Address: 620 Central Avenue Facade Material: 1910 - Brick, stone; 1937 - Brick, terra cotta; 1966 - porcelain enamel panels Style: 1910 - Classical Revival; 1937 - Unknown; 1966 - Unknown Primary Building Architect: 1910 - Seymour Burrell; 1937 - Edward F. Sibbert Contractors: |
Date |
12-Dec-39 |
Photographer |
De Luxe Studio |
Studio |
De Luxe Studio |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 39 photographs, 79 plans, 0.25 inches of documents Book Description: "A store opened in Hot Springs in 1906; in 1910 it was located in leased space in an eclectic, existing brick and stone building. For the portion occupied by Kress, Seymour Burrell supervised alterations including adding characteristic arrangements of show-windows curving in toward double doors and capping the second floor with Classical Revival cornice and balustraded parapet. In 1937 Edward F. Sibbert designed extensive renovations, including a new and much plainer brick and terracotta facade. The location was updated again in 1966, with new display windows, entrances, and porcelain enamel panels installed over the exterior mezzanine level. The store closed 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 hot water heater |
Search Terms |
Seymour Burrell brick rusticated stone lease alterations additions characteristics arrangements show windows double doors capping cornice balustraded parapet renovations display porcelain enamel panels exterior mezzanine terra cotta terracotta Classic Revival mercantile block downtown attached Store 367 Hot Springs Arkansas 620 Central Avenue Central Avenue S.H. Kress & Co photograph |