Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Exterior view of Kress sign |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.3582 |
Description |
Print, photographic; B&W; exterior photo taken at street level; the picture shows a close-up view looking at a a tall two story building in a commercial strip from across the street; the masonry facade is divided into two bays by a wide pilaster topped by a terra cotta capital; a strip of clearstory windows runs above the roll-up awning; store-wide signboard "S.H. KRESS & CO...."; two sets of connected sets of three high windows span the second floor; pencilled notations on back "Pitcher" and "Fort Scott, Kans\8/22/58" |
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 |
Fort Scott, Kansas |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 429 Address: 15 South Main Street Facade Material: Unknown Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: Unknown Contractors: |
Date |
8/22/1958 |
Photographer |
Falk-Green |
Studio |
Falk-Green |
Orig/Copy |
Original |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 27 photographs Book Description: "The first Kansas Kress store opened in Fort Scott in 1905. The store leased space in a building that was renovated after a 1929 fire; Kress then expanded to ocupy more of the structure, installing new signs and mezzanine windows and replacing the door to the second-floor offices with a show-window. The interior was renovated again in 1963, when the basement was converted to sales space. 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 sign from a zoomed in perspective |
Search Terms |
lease renovate fire expansion new replacement Store 429 Fort Scott Kansas 15 South Main Street S.H. Kress & Co photograph |