Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Air Conditioning Machinery |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.2820 |
Description |
Print, photographic; B&W, exterior photo taken at roof level; the picture shows a view looking at a roof-top penthouse; both the small structure and a large condenser at right sit on a set of heavy I-beams; steps in foreground lead up to penhouse door; typed notation on back "S. H. KRESS\MACON, GA,\AIR CONDITIONING PENT HOUSE AND EVAPORATIVE\ CONDENSERS"; very faint stamp "RECEIVED\IN ARCH. DIV\SEP 27 1937" |
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 |
Macon, Georgia |
Additional Notes |
Genesco Store Number: 121 Address: 612 Cherry Street Facade Material: White terra cotta Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: Unknown Contractors: |
Date |
9/27/1937 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Orig/Copy |
Original Print |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 14 photographs Book Description: "The Macon store opened ca. 1899 and moved to this new two-story building in 1926. The façade is white terracotta with polychrome cartouches in three second-story false windows flanked by pilasters and with the Kress name surrounded by polychrome molding on the parapet. Additional façade ornamentation includes festoons and a frize of cartouches underneath a shallow denticulated cornice. Deeply recessed twin entrances provided space for generous vestibules with long show-windows. The store closed in 1970." |
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 air conditioning machinery |
Search Terms |
two-story white terracotta terra cotta polychrome cartouches pilaster molding parapet ornamentation festoon frieze cartouches denticulated cornice twin entrance vestibule Store 121 Macon Georgia 612 Cherry Street S.H. Kress & Co photograph |