B. Altman and Company was a luxury
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
and chain, founded in 1865 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
New York, by
Benjamin Altman. Its flagship store, the
B. Altman and Company Building at
Fifth Avenue and
34th Street in
Midtown Manhattan, operated from 1906 until the company closed the store at the end of 1989. Branch stores were all shuttered by the end of January 1990.
One of the first American department stores to open out-of-town branches, Altman's eventually opened locations in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
(
St. Davids in 1965 and
Willow Grove in 1983),
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
(
Short Hills in 1958—replacing an earlier nearby
East Orange
East Orange is a city in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was the state's 20th most-populous municipality in 2010, after having been the state's 14th most-po ...
store—and
Ridgewood/
Paramus
Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
in 1967); and
New York state (
Manhasset
Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...
in 1947 and
White Plains in 1930). A short-lived location in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, opened during the
L.J. Hooker ownership period (1987–1989), and two mall locations in
Buffalo and
Syracuse, New York, were physically completed but never occupied by Altman's during that same time.
History
The store that would become B. Altman and Company began on Manhattan's
Lower East Side as a family-owned store, which by 1865 had come to be solely owned by
Benjamin Altman, one of the brothers in the family,
and was located at
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
and
10th Street. In 1877, the store, wanting to expand, relocated to 621
Sixth Avenue between
18th
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.
In mathematics
* Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
and
19th Streets.
This
neo-Grec
Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec v ...
building was put up in four stages, and was designed by
David and John Jardine
The brothers David (2 July 1840 - 4 June 1892), John E. (1838 - 23 June 1920) and George Elliott Jardine (1841 - 1902) were architects of Scottish nationality, sons of a Scottish architect-builder, Archibald Jardine, of Whithorn, Wigtownshire; ...
(the original building, 1876–77, and the 1880 extension), William Hume (1887) and Buchman & Fox (1909–1910).
By 1906, though, Altman's had moved to its new block-long
B. Altman and Company Building running from
34th to
35th Military units
*35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force
*35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I
*35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...
Streets, which was expanded in stages through 1913 to 188–89
Madison Avenue. The original Fifth Avenue building and the extensions were all designed by
Trowbridge & Livingston
Trowbridge & Livingston was an architectural practice based in New York City in the early 20th-century. The firm's partners were Samuel Beck Parkman Trowbridge and Goodhue Livingston.
Often commissioned by well-heeled clients, much of the fir ...
in
Italian Renaissance style.
Altman's was the first big department store to make the move from the
"Ladies' Mile" shopping district, where the dry-goods emporia had been located, to Fifth Avenue. That neighborhood was still almost entirely residential at the time, and the design of the new building, across the street from the grand residence of department-store rival
A. T. Stewart's and diagonally across the avenue from the residence of
Mrs. Astor
Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the The Four Hundred (1892), Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later ...
, was planned to fit in with these palatial mansions around it. Following Altman's example, other big stores made the move uptown, such as
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...
, which moved to
another Fifth Avenue building in 1914.
In the 1930s, Altman's made one of the early entries in the suburbs, with branches opening in
East Orange
East Orange is a city in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was the state's 20th most-populous municipality in 2010, after having been the state's 14th most-po ...
(later relocated to
Short Hills), White Plains and Manhasset. The foresight of the organization in geographical selection can be seen in that the Short Hills location is now
The Mall at Short Hills
The Mall at Short Hills, also known as the Short Hills Mall, is a shopping mall located in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey, United States. It is located west of Newark Airport and west of Manhattan, and is situated near both M ...
, the White Plains location is now
The Westchester
}
The Westchester is an upscale shopping mall located in downtown White Plains, New York. It is operated by , which owns 40% of the mall, and is home to many well-known retailers, some with their only location iWestchester County, New York It is an ...
shopping mall, and the Manhasset location is adjacent to the
Americana Manhasset Americana Manhasset is an upscale, open-air shopping mall located in Manhasset, in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located along a stretch of Northern Boulevard commonly referred to as the '' Miracle Mile'' of Manha ...
, which opened nine years after the Altman's store.
File:Nightgown MET CI43.113.1 TQL.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
File:Dress MET C.I.42.131.3ab S.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1883), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Lingerie MET CI39.24a F.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1881), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Nightgown MET CI43.113.1 d.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Corset cover MET CI43.113.11 F.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Slippers MET 49.3.45 S.jpg , Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1850), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Slippers MET 49.3.45 F.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1850), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Lingerie MET CI39.24c d.jpg, Artist Creator:B. Altman & Co (1881), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After Altman's death
When Benjamin Altman died in 1913 at the age of 73, his stock in the stores was placed into the Altman Foundation. Altman's art collection, which included many
Rembrandts, went to New York City's
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
. In 1986, due to changing
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
rulings, the foundation sold the stores to an investor group that included members of the
Gucci
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...
family and two principals from financial firm
Deloitte & Touche
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...
.
In 1987, Australian real estate development company
L.J. Hooker and its chief executive officer, George Herscu, purchased the controlling interest in the B. Altman stores (as well as
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller & Co. was an American luxury department store in New York City, New York, founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street, and later a chain of department stores.
In 1897, Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the par ...
,
Sakowitz and a majority of
Parisian). Hooker used these chains as anchors in poorly located, yet extravagant, new shopping centers across the country. With Hooker and Herscu knowing virtually nothing about how to operate these various retail chains, and then placing them in locations with no regard for market recognition or demographics, their strategy failed miserably, and in August 1989 B. Altman filed for bankruptcy, with the last store closing in 1990. The suburban Buffalo location at the huge
Walden Galleria
Walden Galleria is a regional shopping mall located in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, New York located east of Interstate 90 and New York State Thruway Exit 52 off Walden Avenue. The Walden Galleria comprises more than of retail space, with 1 ...
complex was, in fact, fully completed and fixtured but never occupied by Altman's. It would later be occupied in 1991 by local department store
AM&A's
Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Company (AM&A's) was a chain of department stores based in Buffalo, New York. It was an institution to generations of shoppers in the Buffalo area. The company remained family owned until its sale to The Bon-Ton in 1995. ...
and eventually a
Bon-Ton
Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...
, which vacated in 2006. This never-opened Altman's location was demolished for a new cinema complex and mall expansion. The
Carousel Center
Destiny USA (stylized as destiny usa and also known by its former name Carousel Center) is a six-story, automobile-oriented super-regional shopping, dining, and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in the city of Syracuse, New Yor ...
Mall location in Syracuse was under construction at the time and redesigned to house a succession of several discount anchors, one on each of the two floors.
The store had a reputation for gentility and conservatism. It was regarded as similar to
Marshall Field & Company
Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_name ...
. Highlighting its sober reputation, the stores included a satellite location of
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...
'
Craft Housethat sold classic colonial reproductions. Two lost treasures from the store are the famous
Christmas window
A Christmas window is a special window display prepared for the Christmas shopping season at department stores and other retailers. Some retailers around the world have become noted for their Christmas window displays, with some becoming touri ...
s, which rivaled those in the
Lord & Taylor Building
The Lord & Taylor Building is an 11-story commercial building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that formerly served as Lord & Taylor's flagship department store in the city. It is at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets.
...
, a few blocks up Fifth Avenue, as well as the
Charleston Gardens restaurant, which housed a full-sized facade of a Tara-like
Charleston home. The St. David's location and the other branch stores also had a Charleston Garden restaurant.
Buildings
On March 12, 1985, Altman's Fifth Avenue building was designated a
New York City landmark.
When Altman's closed, the building stood vacant until 1996, when the exterior was restored by
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates' (HHPA) was an internationally recognized American architecture firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Established by Hugh Hardy, Malcolm Holzman and Norman Pfeiffer in 1967 in New York, HHPA was noted ...
and the interior reconfigured by
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. The Fifth Avenue side was used by the
City University of New York's
Graduate Center
The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the ...
, while the Madison Avenue side was used by the
New York Public Library's
Science, Industry and Business Library
The Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) was a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) system in Midtown Manhattan. SIBL was created in 1996 when materials relating to science, business, and related fields were relocated fr ...
and by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
In addition, Altman's Sixth Avenue building is part of the
Ladies' Mile Historic District
The Ladies' Mile Historic District was a prime shopping district in Manhattan, New York City at the end of the 19th century, serving the well-to-do "carriage trade" of the city. It was designated in May 1989, by the New York City Landmark Preser ...
created in 1989.
In popular culture
The Manhattan B. Altman store featured in the storyline of the 2017
Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
television series ''
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as ...
'', in which the main character, Midge Maisel, takes a job on the shop floor. Exterior scenes were filmed at the store's former Fifth Avenue building, while interior scenes were shot in a disused bank in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
See also
*
List of companies based in New York City
*
List of defunct department stores of the United States
This is a list of defunct department stores of the United States, from small-town one-unit stores to mega-chains, which have disappeared over the past 100 years. Many closed, while others were sold or merged with other department stores.
De ...
*
List of department stores of the United States
This is a list of department stores of the United States currently operating.
Department stores
Corporate chains national
* Hudson's Bay Company
** Saks Fifth Avenue
** Saks Off 5th
* Macy's
**Bloomingdale's
* Neiman Marcus Group, Inc ...
*
List of defunct retailers of the United States
Below is a list of defunct retailers of the United States.
Across the United States, a large number of local stores and store chains that started between the 1920s and 1950s have become defunct since the late 1960s, when many chains were either ...
References
External links
Altman Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, B. And Company
Defunct department stores based in New York City
Clothing companies based in New York City
Companies based in Manhattan
Defunct companies based in New York City
Retail companies established in 1865
Retail companies disestablished in 1990
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989
1865 establishments in New York (state)
1990 disestablishments in New York (state)