Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
View of Interior Sales Area |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.119b |
Description |
Black and white photographic negative of store interior taken from elevated position. Rows of ceiling-suspended light fixtures are at the camera's eye-level. Picture shows two rows of mirror covered square support columns. Transverse waist levels sales counters appear on both sides of a wide front-to-back aisle. Hanging displays on interspersed with mirrored panels on walls behind row of counters parallel to side wall. Notation on front: "Birmingham, Ala." Includes one print (1989.13.1.119a). |
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 |
Birmingham, Alabama |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 7 Address: 1900 Third Avenue Facade Material: Terra cotta Style: Modern with Art Deco details Primary Building Architect: Edward F. Sibbert Contractors: |
Date |
1/4/1938 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Orig/Copy |
Original Negati |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 67 photographs, 154 plans Book Description: "This streamlined Art Deco store, designed by Kress architect Edward F. Sibbert, is on a corner lot in the main retail district. The sleek five-story building, clad with white terracotta, has rounded corners, and fenestration that creates strong horizontal lines. The main sales are features wood-paneled walls, a travertine floor, and a ceiling twenty-five feet high with geometric motifs. Like other locations in the South, Birmingham's Third Avenue store had racially segregated drinking fountains and restrooms. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, this building housed a Kress operation from its completion in 1937 until the store was liquidated in 1981." |
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 negative of interior sales area (date and photographer unkn |
Search Terms |
interior sales area elevated suspended light fixture mirror column counter hanging display panel Edward F. Sibbert Terra Cotta Art Deco National Register of Historic Places 1900 Third Avenue Birmingham Alabama Store 7 Mercantile District S.H. Kress & Co Third Avenue terracotta corner location attached steel frame exterior streamlines lot main retail district sleek five-story clad white rounded fenestration strong horizontal lines sales area wood paneled walls ceiling feet travertine floor height geometric motif racially segregated drinking fountain restroom liquidated photograph negative |