HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Maison Blanche (''White House'' in French) was a
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 ...
in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and later also a chain of department stores. It was founded in 1897 by Isidore Newman, an immigrant from Germany. Maison Blanche is perhaps best remembered for introducing the locally popular
Mr. Bingle Mr. Bingle is a fictional character marketed and sold by department store Dillard's during the holiday season. Originating as a mascot of the Maison Blanche department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Bingle has become an important part of ...
Christmas mascot and for its landmark flagship store on Canal Street.


Corporate history

Maison Blanche was acquired in 1923 by
City Stores 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 ...
Company, which merged Maison Blanche with Loveman's in 1950. City Stores Co. filed for bankruptcy in July 1979. While in bankruptcy, they initially intended to consolidate the seven Maison Blanche stores with four B. Lowenstein's stores in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, to form the Maison Blanche Department Stores group, but in early 1982 the Memphis stores were shuttered. Instead, three of the seven existing Maison Blanche stores, as well as the name, were purchased by Goudchaux's, Inc. of
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
, owned by the Sternberg brothers. Operating as Goudchaux/Maison Blanche, the new company eventually reopened the original Canal Street flagship in 1984, leasing three floors from the new owners. In the late ‘80s,
May Department Stores 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 c ...
abandoned
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
by selling 2 chains, which allowed the company to enter the fast-growing
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
market. In 1987, the 10-unit
Robinson's of Florida Robinson's of Florida was a chain of department stores on Florida's Gulf Coast and Orlando and based in St. Petersburg, Florida, starting with a store at Tyrone Square Mall in 1972. It had been founded in the 1970s as an attempt by Associated Dry G ...
on Florida's Gulf Coast (
Tyrone Square Mall Tyrone Square (also referred to as Tyrone Square Mall) is an enclosed shopping mall in St. Petersburg, Florida. Opened in 1972, it features Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Five Below, J. C. Penney, Macy's, and PetSmart as its anchor stores. H ...
,
University Square Mall A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
,
WestShore Plaza WestShore Plaza is one of two enclosed shopping malls located in the Westshore business district of Tampa, Florida, developed by Albert L. Manley of Boston, MA. WestShore Plaza was opened in 1967 and was touted as Tampa's first shopping center ...
, Countryside Mall, Southgate Plaza,
Edison Mall Edison Mall is an enclosed, super-regional shopping mall in Fort Myers, Florida. The mall opened in 1965, and has been expanded three times since. Edison Mall is owned by Washington Prime Group, which took over the mall in 2014. The mall is named ...
, and
Coastland Center Coastland Center is a shopping mall located in Naples, Florida. Opened in 1976, it features Macy's, JCPenney, and Dillard's as its anchors. It hosts a food court and many other specialty stores. The food court is the main attraction. The mall it ...
) and Orlando (
Orlando Fashion Square Orlando Fashion Square is a split one-story, two-story indoor shopping mall located in Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1973, it features 79 stores in over one million square feet of shop space. The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Floor & Decor, and Di ...
,
Altamonte Mall Altamonte Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Altamonte Springs, Florida, United States, a suburb of Orlando. Mall anchors are Dillard's, JCPenney, and Macy's with one vacant anchor once occupied by Sears, and other notable tenant ...
, and
The Florida Mall The Florida Mall is a super regional enclosed shopping mall located south of Orlando in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States, on the southeast corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Road; it opened in 1986. The facility w ...
), plus an 11th at
Lakeland Square Mall Lakeland Square Mall is a shopping mall located on the northern side of Lakeland, Florida. It is one of two enclosed malls serving Polk County and the only shopping mall located off of I-4 between Tampa and Orlando. It is currently anchored by ...
were sold to them. A year later, they also bought the 5-unit Jacksonville-based "May Florida" (formerly May Cohens) by taking over 3 Jacksonville stores (Roosevelt Square, Regency Square, and
Orange Park Mall Orange Park Mall is a shopping mall located in Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace, an unincorporated suburban area just west of Orange Park, Florida, United States. It features Dillard's, JCPenney, Belk, Dick's Sporting Goods, and AMC Theatres as ancho ...
), and
Volusia Mall Volusia Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the largest retail shopping center in the Volusia- Flagler market. Opened on October 15, 1974, the mall comprises more than 120 stores on one level, as well a ...
in
Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...
, while closing the Gateway Mall location. The Goudchaux name was removed and all stores were renamed Maison Blanche. After opening 2 more stores in 1990-one replaced an existing store at Orlando Fashion Square and a 4th in Jacksonville at the brand new
Avenues Mall The Avenues (also referred to and often known as Avenues Mall) is a two-level regional shopping mall located on the southside of Jacksonville, Florida, and opened in 1990 on the Interstate 95 in Florida, Interstate 95 corridor, and is off exit 33 ...
-the number of Florida stores were added to 16. However, both the rapid expansion and the oil-related recession in Louisiana proved to be too much for Maison Blanche to manage. In August 1991, eight stores on Florida's Gulf Coast were sold to
Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an upscale American department store chain with approximately 282 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The ...
, giving them those locations (Tyrone, university, WestShore, Countryside, Southgate, Edison, Coastland, and Lakeland). This also left MB with 8 stores each in both
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and Florida until
Mercantile Stores Mercantile Stores Company Inc. until 1998, was a traditional department store retailer operating 102 fashion apparel stores and 16 home fashion stores in 17 states. The stores were operated under 13 different nameplates and varied in size, with t ...
Inc. purchased the 16-store unit in February 1992, thus converting the rest of their Florida stores to
Gayfers Gayfer's was a regional department store chain in the southern United States. Based in Mobile, Alabama, the chain of stores operated from 1879 until 1998 when it was taken over by Dillard's. History C.J. Gayfer migrated to Mobile, Alabama, from ...
, which gained these units (Roosevelt, Regency, Fashion Square, Orange Park, Volusia, Altamonte, Florida, and Avenues). The Louisiana stores continued to operate under the Maison Blanche name before Dillard's acquired Mercantile Stores in 1998. The Little Rock retailer subsequently closed the Canal Street store after briefly operating it. The acquisition of Maison Blanche came nearly a decade after Dillard's had purchased another New Orleans area retail institution and Canal Street landmark — D.H. Holmes.


Canal Street landmark

Maison Blanche's original building was on Canal Street. This was demolished around 1908. A distinctive new building, which still stands, was constructed around 1908–1909. At one time there were many medical and dental offices in the top floors; later they became largely empty. The Canal Street store was closed in 1982 by the City Stores Company and reopened in 1984. In 1997 work began to use the upper floors as part of a new
Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
hotel. The original plan was for the lower floors to continue to operate as a Maison Blanche department store. However, after Dillard's acquired the store with the purchase of the remainder of the Maison Blanche chain, they closed the Canal Street store. The whole building, along with the neighboring Kress building, is now part of the New Orleans Ritz Carlton, which had a grand opening on October 6, 2000. The hotel was occupied during and immediately after
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. It suffered considerable damage; for example the basement was flooded and the electrical systems, laundry, and staff cafeteria, among other things, were damaged. The Ritz-Carlton reopened on December 4, 2006, after a $106 million refurbishment.Reinventing The Ritz
New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, December 2006. Last retrieved January 21, 2007.


See also

* D. H. Holmes


Notes

* Sternberg, Hans J. ''We Were Merchants: The Sternberg Family and the Story of Goudchaux's and Maison Blanche Department Stores''. Baton Rouge, LA.:
Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...
, 2009 {{ISBN, 978-0-8071-3449-8 Companies based in New Orleans Defunct department stores based in Louisiana Retail companies established in 1897 History of New Orleans Retail companies disestablished in 1998