Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Outdoor Front Entrance Store Sign |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Collection |
S.H. Kress & Company |
Catalog Number |
1989.13.1.299b |
Description |
Black and white photographic negative of store front taken at street level. Print shows the recently remodeled facade where the awning windows have been covered over by a panel that runs from the top of the roll-up awning to the bottom of the second story windows. The panel features a full width "KRESS" sign. Full width starkly unadorned sidewalk display windows run the width of the store interrupted by two symmetrically place double-door entries. Signs in window announce "Grand Opening Sale". Also includes one print (1989.13.1.299a) and one negative (1989.13.1.299c). |
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: 23 Address: 3008 27th Street North Facade Material: Brick, terra cotta Style: Unknown Primary Building Architect: E.J.T. Hoffman Contractors: |
Date |
4/2/1964 |
Photographer |
Joe Aloia, Jr. |
Orig/Copy |
Original Negati |
Medium |
Photographic paper |
Object Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Donor |
Genesco Inc. |
Notes on Related Objects |
Related Units: 6 photographs, 33 plans, 4 inches of documents Book Description: "Built in 1928, this North Birmingham store was designed by architect E.J.T. Hoffman. The façade, clad in light colored brick and terracotta cornice and trim, is typical of many stores he designed with double entrances flanked by curved plate-glass show-windows, a strip of mezzanine windows, and a sign almost as wide as the façade. Renovations in 1964 included new show-windows, entrances, and porcelain enamel panels over the mezzanine windows. The location was purchased by McCrory Stores 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 negative of exterior sign, taken in April 1964 by Joe Aloia |
Search Terms |
outdoor front entrance store sign street remodel facade awning window panel sign unadorned display symmetrical double door entry grand opening sale Joe Aloia, Jr. E.J.T. Hoffmann E.J.T. Hoffman Terra Cotta Business District 3008 27th Street North Birmingham Alabama Store 23 S.H. Kress & Co terracotta attached 27th Street north clad light colored cornice trim double entrance flanked curved plate-glass show windows strip mezzanine windows sign wide façade porcelain enamel panels McCrory Stores purchased photograph negative |