Hochschild Kohn's
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Hochschild Kohn's, also known as Hochschild-Kohn or simply Hochschild's, was a 20th-century 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 based in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. It was started in 1897 as a partnership between Max Hochschild, Benno Kohn, and his brother Louis B. Kohn. Hochschild-Kohn & Company opened that year with a downtown-Baltimore store on the northwest corner of
Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
and Lexington Streets. The chain closed in 1984.


History

The company prospered and in 1912 purchased a building at 208 N. Howard Street. When incorporated in 1922, Hochschild-Kohn was Baltimore's largest department store. Space needs led to the purchase of most of the block bounded by Howard, Franklin, Park, and Centre Streets in 1923 in anticipation of building a new, more modern and spacious store, but financial difficulties and Max Hochschild's retirement as president led to the plan's abandonment. (The building now standing at the Howard and Lexington location echoes some of the original building's semi-circular arched door and window profiles.) Benno Kohn died in 1929. Management then consisted of Irving Kohn (Louis' son) president; Walter Sondheim and Walter Kohn, vice-presidents. Although financed by corporate stock, Hochschild-Kohn was still run as a partnership. At that time plans for a new building at Howard and Franklin Streets were abandoned, and the Lexington Street building was leased, improved, and connected to the Howard and Lexington Street property. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Hochschild-Kohn lost more in sales percentages than the aggregate sales lost by other Baltimore department stores. Sales were down almost fifty percent from 1930 in the Depression's worst year. Management also suffered from discord between Irving and Walter Kohn, who retired in 1935. Management then consisted of Irving Kohn, Walter Sondheim, and Martin Kohn. After illness caused Walter Sondheim to be less active in 1943, and Irving Kohn's death in 1945, Martin B. Kohn became president of the store. Louis Kohn II and Walter Sondheim Jr. were his vice-presidents. Martin B. Kohn pioneered the suburban expansion of downtown department stores with the opening of Hochschild-Kohn's Edmondson Village store in 1947. Later expansion included stores at York Road and
Belvedere Avenue This is a list of notable streets in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. A B C D E F G H Heath St. Route 64. (MTA Maryland) K L M N O P R Ramsay st S U W Y Numbered streets In Balt ...
in northern Baltimore in 1948, known as the Hochschild, Kohn Belvedere store, and at
Harundale Mall Harundale Mall, in Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Aquahart Road, was the first enclosed, air-conditioned mall built east of the Mississippi River. Originally built in 1958, ...
south of the city. Other locations included
Security Square Mall Security Square Mall is a mall in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, in the United States. The mall features over 100 stores and restaurants, as well as a food court. One section of the mall, Grand Village Plaza (formerly ...
in Woodlawn and
The Mall in Columbia The Mall in Columbia, also known as the Columbia Mall, is the central shopping mall for the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, United States. It has over 200 specialty stores and the anchor stores are AMC Theatres, Lidl, Main Event Enter ...
in Columbia. In December 1969 Supermarkets General purchased Hochschild's and did not divulge its purchase price. Under Supermarkets General, Hochschild Kohn adopted a "compete-or-get-trampled-on" outlook. The company's
York, Pennsylvania York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populatio ...
store opened on September 27, 1968, followed by its large
The Mall in Columbia The Mall in Columbia, also known as the Columbia Mall, is the central shopping mall for the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, United States. It has over 200 specialty stores and the anchor stores are AMC Theatres, Lidl, Main Event Enter ...
location on August 2, 1971. Chairman Louis B. Kohn II called the Columbia store's opening, "A start of a new era for Hochschild's." Other later locations included Freestate Mall in
Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous c ...
. The Bowie location was the last Hochschild's to open. By 1984, Supermarket's General had closed Hochschild's as a chain, and many Hochschild-Kohn stores were purchased by
Hutzler's Hutzler's, or Hutzler Brothers Company, was a department store founded in Baltimore by Abram G. Hutzler (1836–1927) in 1858. From its beginning as a small dry goods store at the corner of Howard and Clay Streets in downtown Baltimore, Hutzler's ...
later that year. These stores included locations such as
Harundale Mall Harundale Mall, in Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Aquahart Road, was the first enclosed, air-conditioned mall built east of the Mississippi River. Originally built in 1958, ...
and
Security Square Mall Security Square Mall is a mall in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, in the United States. The mall features over 100 stores and restaurants, as well as a food court. One section of the mall, Grand Village Plaza (formerly ...
, which at the time was the highest volume store for Hochschild's. The Hochschild, Kohn Belvedere store was listed 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 ...
in 2003.


References

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Pathmark and Its Super StoresSupermarkets General Holding Company


External links



in the library of th
Maryland Historical Society
{{Authority control Defunct department stores based in Maryland Retail companies established in 1897 Retail companies disestablished in 1983 Defunct companies based in Baltimore Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore