Kaufman-Straus was a local department store that operated in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1879 to 1969. In 1879, local retail clerk Henry Kaufman opened the first store on Jefferson between 7th and 8th. Four years later, Benjamin Straus entered into partnership with Kaufman. In 1887, the Kaufman-Straus store moved to South 4th Street in space leased from the

Polytechnic Society of Kentucky From 1876 to 1913, the Polytechnic Society of Kentucky was an educational, cultural and scientific organization based in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The creation of the society was to serve as a funding source for the Public Libra ...

. The new flagship store opened in 1903, at 533-49 South 4th Street, designed by local architect

Mason Maury Johnson Mason Maury (May 1, 1847 – January 2, 1919) was an American architect and inventor who designed and built over 700 residential and commercial structures, mostly in Louisville, Kentucky where he pioneered Richardsonian Romanesque and Pr ...

. In 1924, Kaufman-Straus was acquired by

City Stores Company CSS Industries, Inc., was founded in 1923, as City Stores Company. Its headquarters is at 1845 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with showrooms in New York City, Memphis, Tennessee, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Hong Kong. The company desi ...

and the following year the flagship store underwent extensive renovations. City Stores rebranded the company as Kaufman's in 1960. It operated two stores in suburban Louisville at The Mall and Dixie Manor. In 1969, Kaufman's was acquired by

L. S. Ayres L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fas ...

, and the downtown Louisville store was subsequently closed in 1971. The flagship store was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is a six-story building. With .

References

Defunct retail companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Louisville, Kentucky Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Commercial buildings completed in 1902 Commercial buildings in Louisville, Kentucky Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places Retail companies established in 1879 Retail companies disestablished in 1969 National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky American companies established in 1879 Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements architecture {{Louisville-stub