Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Exterior |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.574 |
Description |
Print, Photographic; B&W; photo of building exterior taken at street level at a slight oblique; facade features six columns of windows with surrounds that strongly emphasize the vertical; the two outer parts of the facade are blank stone; the front is topped by an art-deco style frieze; a very decorative "KRESS" sign appears between the top of the windows and the frieze; "S. H. KRESS & CO 5.10.25 CENT STORE" shows in raised letters directly on the stone facing below the windows; nearly equally high art-deco style store on the left abuts the Kress building; of very wide canopy covers entire sidewalk in front; typed notation on back of print "PHOENIX, ARIZ. STORE - NOVEMBER 1948", rubber stamp "RECEIVED\NOV 15 48", pencilled notation, "Return to S.L. Shaw" |
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 |
Phoenix, Arizona |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 769 Address: 22 West Washington Street Facade Material: Beige terra cotta Style: Art Deco Primary Building Architect: Edward F. Sibbert Contractors: |
Date |
Nov-48 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 25 photographs, 141 plans Book Description: "In 1933 Kress built this Art Deco store in downtown Phoenix. Edward F. Sibbert designed it, with a bronze marquee sheltering the sidewalk in front of the store and a beige terracotta façade with abstract ornamentation. Above the first store, the windows and spandrels formed verticals capped with polychromed terracotta decorations. The attractive coping is also polychrome terracotta. Inside, the sales area had marble wainscoting, plaster panels with floral motifs, and decorative grills. The store closed in 1974, and the building was demolished in the 1980s." |
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 exterior |
Search Terms |
Edward F. Sibbert terra cotta terracotta metal steel bronze marble plaster façade polychrome beige marquee marquis frame sidewalk front cover floral panels abstract wainscoting ornamentation decorations street motif grills windows spandrels coping Mercantile Art Deco attached mid-block block area Phoenix Arizona Store 769 22 West Washington Street west Washington Street S.H. Kress & Co photograph |