Harzfeld's was a

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

-based department store chain specializing in women's and children's high-end apparel.

History

The company was founded in 1891, as "Parisian Cloak Company" by Siegmund Harzfeld and partner Ferdinand Siegel. Harzfeld served as president until succeeded by Ferdinand Siegel's son, Lester Siegel, Sr. In February 1966, Lester Siegel, Jr. began serving as the company's third president In 1959, Harzfeld's went public, with its common shares traded on the local over-the-counter stock exchange. In 1972, the chain was acquired for $3 million by the retail conglomerate Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc. With the 1981, acquisition of its parent conglomerate, it became a part of

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 ...

. In 1984, the chain was closed.

Flagship store

The original location of the Parisian Cloak Company was at 1108 and 1110 Main Street,

. In 1913, the store moved to Main Street and Petticoat Lane and its name was changed to Harzfeld's. The new flagship was designed by noted architect

John McKecknie John W. McKecknie (1862–1934) was an American architect working in Kansas City, Missouri, who applied the principles of reinforced concrete in the construction of commercial structures clad in a repertory of classical motifs. He produced desi ...

as an office building. The store eventually expanded into an adjoining building, thereby extending its reach from Main to Walnut Streets. After closing in 1984, the flagship was integrated into the

Town Pavilion Town Pavilion is a 38-story skyscraper at 1111 Main Street on the northeast corner of 12th and Main Streets in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, around the corner from Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park. The tower occupies the former site of seve ...

complex. The store was renowned for a 1947 mural commissioned by the store and painted by Thomas Hart Benton. After the store closure, the mural, known as "

Achelous and Hercules ''Achelous and Hercules'' is a 1947 mural painting by Thomas Hart Benton. It depicts a bluejeans-wearing Heracles (Roman Hercules) wrestling with the horns of a bull, a shape the protean river god Achelous was able to assume. The myth was one o ...

", was acquired by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

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, ...

Branch stores

In 1929, Harzfeld's opened its first branch location in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

. The store catered to the local college student population of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acade ...

, and Columbia College. On April 10, 1954, Harzfeld's opened its first branch in Kansas City at

Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately-owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it was the first planned suburban shopping center and the first regional shoppi ...

. In 1958, a second branch was opened in the Blue Ridge Mall shopping center. Further expansion occurred in 1963 with the opening of the Corinth Square store. A fifth store in greater Kansas City was opened in the Metcalf South shopping center in 1967. Shortly after its parent conglomerate acquired two Gus Meyer locations in Oklahoma in 1974, it converted them to Harzfeld's."Garfinckel to Buy Two Stores," ''The Washington Post'', Oct 31, 1974, p. D11.

References

{{reflist

External links

Harzfeld's website, by Joe & Michele Boeckholt (retrieved Sep 13, 2008).
Defunct department stores based in Missouri Clothing retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1891 Retail companies disestablished in 1984 Companies based in Kansas City, Missouri Defunct companies based in Missouri