Filene's (formally William Filene & Sons Co.) was an American
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 ...
chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in
Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-price sister store
Filene's Basement
Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, was a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms.
The oldest off-price retailer in the United States, Filene's ...
in 1908. Filene's, in partnership with
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company ...
,
Lazarus, and
Shillito's
John Shillito & Co. (commonly known as Shillito's) was Cincinnati's first department store.
In 1817 John Shillito (November 1808-September 1879) arrived in Cincinnati (from Greensburg, Pennsylvania). The nine-year-old lad was soon working for th ...
, was an original member of the holding company
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...
upon its establishment in 1929.
Filene's expanded into
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
s throughout
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in the later half of the twentieth century, and was rivaled by fellow Boston-based department store
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The o ...
. Federated sold Filene's to
The May Department Stores Company
The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many ch ...
, and spun off Filene's Basement into a separate company, in 1988. With this reorganization, the Filene's nameplate replaced the
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
-based
G. Fox & Co. in 1992 and Steiger's in 1994; the store assumed control of the
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
-based department store chain
Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Summary
The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regi ...
in 2002.
May itself was ultimately acquired by Federated in 2005; the Filene's brand was retired and most stores were converted into the Federated-owned,
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 ...
-based
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
nameplate by September 2006. Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc., in 2007. The former Filene's
flagship store
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
at
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...
in Boston is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
; its current tenants include advertising agencies
Arnold Worldwide
Arnold Worldwide is an American advertising agency headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The agency is part of Havas, a global advertising holding company based in France. Some of Arnold's clients include Progressive Insurance, Cox Communicatio ...
and
Havas Media
Havas Media Group is the media division of the global marketing and communications group Havas. It incorporates the media assets of Havas, which includes predominantly entities which were formerly known as Media Planning Group (MPG). MPG was crea ...
, and
fast fashion retailer
Primark
Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...
.
This building was designated as a
Boston Landmark
A Boston Landmark is a designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission for historic buildings and sites throughout the city of Boston based on the grounds that it has historical, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to New Engla ...
by the
Boston Landmarks Commission The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is the historic preservation agency for the City of Boston. The commission was created by state legislation i1975
History
Urban renewal in the United States started with the Housing Act of 1949, part of Preside ...
in 2006.
History
Early history
![Washington st Boston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Washington_st_Boston.jpg)
The precursor of the main company was a store opened in 1881 by William Filene. Filene was a German Jewish immigrant from Posen,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
(now
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
). He immigrated to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in 1848. Although William Filene is credited with creating Filene's, it was his sons,
Edward Filene and
Abraham Lincoln Filene, who expanded the business greatly.
[Dshistory.com](_blank)
Remembering Great American Department Stores Edward and Lincoln were two of the best known businessmen in America and were responsible for converting their father's clothing store into one of the largest department stores in the country. The two sons assumed management of the store in 1891 and inherited the store upon their father's death in 1901; by that the company was known as William Filene's Sons & Company.
In 1908 Edward Filene opened ''the automatic bargain annex'' or
Filene's Basement
Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, was a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms.
The oldest off-price retailer in the United States, Filene's ...
as a way to sell excess merchandise from the upstairs department store. He also developed an automatic mark-down schedule to reduce the price of merchandise, used thereafter for decades. Edward's influence gave Filene's an early reputation as a customer oriented store with slogans like “money back if not satisfied.”
A new main store,
Filene's Department Store
Filene's Department Store was a department store building at 426 Washington Street in Downtown Crossing, Boston, Massachusetts. It was the flagship store of the Filene's department store chain. The building has been renovated and now serves as ...
, was completed in 1912 in Boston on the corner of Washington and
Summer
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
streets, by Chicago architect
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...
as his last major project. By 1929 Filene's expanded the main building, converting the block around Washington, Summer,
Hawley and Franklin streets into one department store.
Filene's is also a founding member of the
International Association of department stores
The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to the ...
in 1928, which is still active as of today.
1929–1987: Ownership by Federated
Also during 1929, Filene's joined
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company ...
and
Lazarus as the founding members of
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...
. From the 1930s through 1990s Filene's continued expanding beyond
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
with the country growing and adapting to new
shopping malls
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
. Filene's main rival company during this period was
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The o ...
, whose main store, like Filene's, was located in
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...
in Boston, and was also making the transition, expanding into shopping malls. In 1947, the Filene's Basement trade-name was first applied to an annual
bridal gown sale. Lines extending around the store made it famous.
1988–2004: Ownership by May
In 1988, after the leveraged buyout of
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...
by
Campeau Corp. of
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada, the division was sold to
May Department Stores Co. along with
Foley's
Foley's was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. On August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's ...
of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. It was then that the Filene's and
Filene's Basement
Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, was a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms.
The oldest off-price retailer in the United States, Filene's ...
trade-names were disassociated. In 1992, Filene's absorbed
G. Fox & Co. of
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, and Steiger's in 1994, two other divisions of
May Company. During the 1990s there was a doubling of the Filene's organization as May invested in new stores and variegated Filene's price and product assortments. In 2002 Filene's assumed operational control of the
Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Summary
The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regi ...
stores in
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 ...
,
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, ...
,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, and western
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state.
2005–2006: Federated–May merger and closing
Speculated since the early 2000s, Federated announced its planned acquisition of May in February 2005. The likelihood that the May nameplates would be replaced by the Federated-owned
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
was acknowledged, citing the "considerable success in re-branding
ederated'sregional stores as Macy's" and that "operating regional stores primarily under one brand means
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
can advertise nationally, unlike regional retailers, which is more cost-effective;" the changes were unlikely to occur before 2006. Indeed, the company-wide conversion to Macy's was confirmed in July,
and the merger was completed in August.
Federated continued to divest "duplicate" properties in shopping malls where Filene's and Macy's were both present; prior to consolidation, Filene's operated 47 locations across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In regards to Downtown Crossing, however, the company remained uncertain whether the Filene's Department Store or the neighboring former Jordan Marsh flagship store (that became Macy's in the mid-1990s) would be retained.
Then-Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...
expressed his preference for "marrying Macy's to the Filene's building."
Ultimately, the existing Macy's location was left intact and the Filene's store was closed in 2006.
The last remaining Filene's stores closed on September 9, 2006, with the conversion of the May-owned nameplates, Macy's had become a national retailer with over 800 stores. Upon receiving approval from shareholders that Federated itself be renamed
Macy's, Inc.
Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito' ...
in 2007, then-CEO Terry Lundgren admitted that business was struggling from "
aving throwna lot of change on the May company stores very quickly."
Legacy
![PRIMARK store Boston Massachusetts 09172015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/PRIMARK_store_Boston_Massachusetts_09172015.jpg)
When Filene's closed, the
Boston Landmarks Commission The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is the historic preservation agency for the City of Boston. The commission was created by state legislation i1975
History
Urban renewal in the United States started with the Housing Act of 1949, part of Preside ...
voted unanimously to protect the two oldest buildings that housed Filene's, the main 1912 store and a 1905 former glassware and china seller's building on the opposite corner. Two newer buildings, built in 1951 and 1973, were demolished in 2008.
Surprisingly, though many Bostonians felt a sense of loss, the public did not protest the closing, unlike that of
Marshall Field's
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
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and
Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Summary
The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regi ...
in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Boston had already lost many local companies to larger companies in the region, especially
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
s acquisition of the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' and the subsumption of the
Bank of Boston
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
and
Fleet Bank
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America.
Histor ...
into
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
.
The Boston Landmarks Commission only protected the façade of each buildings, allowing developers to rip out the building's interior, including the original paneling installed in 1912. When the project ran out of money, the buildings were left completely gutted.
In mid 2014, advertising and public relations company
Havas
Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...
opened offices for several of its divisions (including advertising agency
Arnold Worldwide
Arnold Worldwide is an American advertising agency headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The agency is part of Havas, a global advertising holding company based in France. Some of Arnold's clients include Progressive Insurance, Cox Communicatio ...
and media planning division
Havas Media
Havas Media Group is the media division of the global marketing and communications group Havas. It incorporates the media assets of Havas, which includes predominantly entities which were formerly known as Media Planning Group (MPG). MPG was crea ...
) in the former Filene's Department Store. Earlier that year, Irish
fast fashion retailer
Primark
Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...
announced that they would open their first location in the United States in the since-renamed Burnham Building.
The four-level, flagship store opened in September 2015, a mural inspired by the Filene's origin of the building was installed on the second floor.
Filene's Basement
By the direction of company president
Edward Filene, Filene's opened its famous "Automatic Bargain Basement" in 1909, which became a much-visited tourist attraction. The concept of the
bargain basement
A bargain bin refers to an assorted selection of merchandise, particularly software, tools and CDs, which have been discounted in price. Reasons for the discount can range from the closure of a production company to a steep decline in an item's p ...
was not new (
Marshall Field's
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 ...
created the first in 1879), but Filene's basement was well lit and decorated ostentatiously. The basement had its own staff which bought surplus, factory clearances, overstock, or closeout merchandise - Filene boasted that he had once sold more than 7,000 pairs of woolen underwear during two July days. Goods were marked down according to an automatic schedule; an item that had been on sale for 12 days was marked down by 25 percent, after 18 days by 50 percent, after 24 days by 75 percent, and after 30 days it was given away. Ninety percent of goods sold in the basement were purchased within the first 12 days of sale.
Filene's Basement was separately owned and operated by Retail Ventures, Inc. until 2009 when it was sold to Buxbaum Group, a liquidation company. The Filene's Basement stores were not affected by the Filene's/Macy's merger. However, in 2007, the original Filene's Basement location was closed while the old Filene's building was being gutted and rebuilt. At the time of the closing, the store was expected to relocate back into its basement space in 2010; however, the Filene's Basement company began its third Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2011, liquidating and permanently closing all of its stores in December 2011.
See also
*
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...
, shopping district in which its flagship store was located
*
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The o ...
, another Boston-based department store chain acquired by Federated and replaced by Macy's
*
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 ...
*
Edward Filene
References
*
*
External links
Official Filene's website(Archive)
Magazine article (1912) about the architecture of Filene's* Boston Public Library
{{Macy's history
1881 establishments in Massachusetts
2006 disestablishments in Massachusetts
American companies established in 1881
Retail companies established in 1881
Retail companies disestablished in 2006
Clothing retailers of the United States
Companies based in Boston
Defunct companies based in Massachusetts
Defunct department stores based in Massachusetts
Macy's
May Department Stores