Garfinckel's was a prominent

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 A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

that catered to a

clientele In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for m ...

of wealthy

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

s. Its flagship store at 14th and F in the city's

F Street shopping district Parts of F Street and 7th Street, N.W. and nearby blocks have historically been the heart of the Washington, D.C. downtown shopping district. In the first half of the 20th century there were numerous upscale large department stores along and ne ...

is listed on the

National Register 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 ...

. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 1990 and ceased operations that year.

History

This

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...

business was founded in 1905, as Julius Garfinkle & Co. by

Julius Garfinckel Julius Garfinckel (November 5, 1872 – November 5, 1936) was a prominent American merchant, business executive and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Washington, D.C., department store Garfinckel's. Biography He was born in Syracuse ...

(1872–1936), originally employing 10 clerks. The store opened on October 2, 1905, at 1226 F St. NW in Washington, D.C. By August 1924, the spelling of the store name was modified to Julius Garfinckel & Co. In 1946, it acquired the men's specialty retailer,

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

and in 1950,

De Pinna De Pinna was a high-end clothier for men and women founded in New York City in 1885, by Alfred De Pinna (1831 - 1915), a Sephardic Jew born in England. They also sold menswear-inspired clothing for women that was finely tailored. The flagship sto ...

. It formed the national retail conglomerate, Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc., after acquisition of the

Miller & Rhoads Miller & Rhoads was a Virginia-based department store chain. Throughout its 105-year lifespan, the store played an active role in the Richmond, Virginia community, along with its friendly cross-street rival Thalhimers. The Richmond flagship locat ...

chain in 1967. In 1977, the conglomerate acquired the

Ann Taylor Ann or Anne Taylor may refer to: *Ann Taylor (writer, born 1757) (1757–1830), English writer *Ann Taylor (poet) (1782–1866), English poet and children's writer, daughter of the above *Ann Taylor (actress) (born 1936), British actress, hostess a ...

women's fashion store chain. In 1981, the conglomerate consisted of close to 190 stores in seven chains. That same year,

Allied Stores Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Store ...

acquired Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc. for $228 million. In 1986, Campeau Corp. acquired Allied, and in turn sold the Garfinckel's chain to locally owned

Raleigh's Raleigh Haberdasher, more commonly called Raleigh's, was a high end, local men's and women's furnishings store based in Washington, D.C. History The first store opened on February 16, 1911, at 1109 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, in the Raleigh Hotel. M ...

for $95 million, forming Garfinckel's, Raleigh's & Co. Garfinckel's grew and expanded into a chain of stores, but was eventually pushed into financial collapse due to a series of

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

. On June 21, 1990, the company filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

by its

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

George P. Kelly and went out of business.

Flagship store

In 1918, the store was located at 13th and F Streets at the western end of the city's downtown shopping district. An eight-story department store building was erected at the northwest corner of 14th and F Streets, across from the

Willard Hotel The Willard InterContinental Washington, commonly known as the Willard Hotel, is a historic luxury Beaux-Arts hotel located at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Downtown Washington, D.C. It is currently a member oHistoric Hotels of America the off ...

, and opened in 1929. The $2,000,000 structure was designed by architects

Starrett & van Vleck Starrett & van Vleck (often spelled Starrett & Van Vleck) was an American architectural firm based in New York City which specialized in the design of department stores, primarily in the early 20th century. It was active from 1908 until at least ...

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 * '' ...

. By 1936, there were more than 500 employees. After Garfinckel's bankruptcy in 1990, the store remained vacant for several years until it was redeveloped in 1999. In 1995, it was placed on 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 ...

. From 1997 to 1999, the property was redeveloped into a modern office building and shopping center name
Hamilton Square

Borders Group Borders Group, Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol BGP) was an American multinational book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. In its final year, the company employed about 19,500 people throughout the U.S., primarily in ...

bookstore was a street level tenant until it closed in 2010. The building owner considered a restaurant and retail store to occupy the space.

Branch stores

Unlike its local retail competitors, the

Hecht Company Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores that operated mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States. The firm originated in Baltimore, Maryland. By 20 ...

Woodward & Lothrop Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. that began as the capital's first department store in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Its flagship s ...

, and

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 ...

, Garfinckel's did not open numerous suburban locations during the heyday of the 1950s and 1960s. The first suburban store was an original anchor at the

Seven Corners Shopping Center Seven Corners Shopping Center was the first major shopping center to open in suburban Washington, D.C. It is located in Seven Corners, Fairfax County, Virginia. At its opening in 1956, it was the largest regional shopping center in Virginia. The ...

upon opening in 1956. After that, its Montgomery Mall store opened in 1968. It also operated a Spring Valley Shopping Center store in the Spring Valley section of Washington, D.C., at 4820

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

. This was followed by store openings in May 1970, a location at Tyson's Corner Center; a location at

Landover Mall Landover Mall was a large shopping mall located in Landover, Maryland, directly across from FedExField, off MD 202 and Interstates 95 and 495. The mall was built by Sonny Abramson and Ted Lerner of Lerner Enterprises, and opened in 1972. Like it ...

on May 11, 1972; and a second hotel location - a store in the

Washington Hilton The Washington Hilton is a hotel in Washington, D.C. It is located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., roughly at the boundaries of the Kalorama, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. The Washington Hilton, located on the former site of t ...

, opened July 1972. The Springfield Mall store opened in January 1973. Convinced that the company had expanded enough and that the premiere downtown location would continue to prosper, Garfinckel's did not expand again until the early-1980s. Stores opened in the early 1980s at

Annapolis Mall Westfield Annapolis is a shopping mall, owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and is located near the junction of U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 97 in Parole, near Annapolis, Maryland. As of 2022, the mall features the traditional tenants Macy's and JC ...

Fair Oaks Mall Fair Oaks Mall is a shopping mall in the Fair Oaks census-designated place (CDP) of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, just northwest of the independent city of Fairfax. It is located at the intersection of Interstate 66 and U.S. Route 50. ...

, and a store at

The Shops at Georgetown Park Georgetown Park is a mixed use shopping mall and condominium complex in the Georgetown historic district of Washington, D.C. The Shops at Georgetown Park are located at 3222 M Street, NW. In 2014, the complex received an $80 million renovation a ...

. These would be the last new Garfinckel's suburban locations. After allowing its lease to expire at the Tyson's Corner store at the end of 1988, Garfinckel's announced plans to open a second downtown Washington store at 1130 Connecticut Ave, NW; then the site of a temporary

location. Nine locations were in operation at the time of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990. The Garfinckel's Department Store Records are held at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

References

External links

"Garfinckel's (Department store)"
''Library of Congress''
Garfinckels.com - America's House of Fashion Lives OnHamilton Square, Washington, D.C.
{{Authority control Streamline Moderne architecture in Washington, D.C. Commercial buildings completed in 1929 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places Defunct department stores based in Washington, D.C. Retail companies established in 1905 Retail companies disestablished in 1990 Clothing retailers of the United States Defunct companies based in Washington, D.C. Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990 1905 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1990 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.