Mandel's (a.k.a. Mandel's Shoe Stores and Mandel's Fascinating Slippers) was a chain of shoe stores in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

for many decades of the 20th century. For a time it advertised its wares as "Mandel's Fascinating Slippers". Maurice Mandel headed up the stores through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Later Mandel would later serve as General Merchandise Manager (GMM) of chain

Mullen & Bluett Mullen & Bluett was a Los Angeles-based department store specializing in men's clothing. Founding It was founded by Andrew Mullen and W. C. Bluett in the 1880s, at the corner of First and Spring streets in Downtown Los Angeles. Arthur R. Mullen ...

and president of Harris & Frank. Among its branches were: in

Central Los Angeles __NOTOC__ Central Los Angeles is the historic urban region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Geography The City of Los Angeles The Los Angeles Department of City Planning divides the city into Area Planning Commission (APC) areas, each fur ...

: *

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, flagship store at 518 W. 7th St., opened March 1936, claimed to be the largest shoe store in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, 9670 Wilshire Boulevard, opened 1954 *

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

- 2

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

locations *

Miracle Mile Miracle Mile may refer to: Places in the United States * Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, a district of Los Angeles * Miracle Mile (Coral Gables), a shopping area in Coral Gables, Florida * Miracle Mile (Manhasset), New York, a premium sh ...

- 5480

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...

, closed in 1970s. One of the earliest commercial structures in the Miracle Mile, built in 1927–9 in

Spanish Colonial Revival style The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

and remodeled in 1949 by Eugene Burke and Charles M. Kober in "ultra-modern California style featuring soft color contrasts". in the rest of

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

: *

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

- 327 N. Brand Ave., opened 1953 *

Lakewood Center Lakewood Center is a super-regional shopping mall in Lakewood, California. Lakewood Center opened in 1952 and was enclosed in 1978. The interior mall is anchored by Costco, Forever 21, JCPenney, Macy's, a Round One Entertainment center, and Targe ...

, Lakewood, remodeled 1962 *

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

- 3rd and Pine *

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

- 246 S. Lake St., opened 1957, , cost $160,000, at that time the 10th store in the chain * Santa Ana 406 N. Main St. Elsewhere: *

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

- 208 N. Mesa *

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

In 1957, a California Appellate Court rules that Mandel's could not refuse to sell merchandise to Africa Americans, as a retail store was a "place of public accommodation", overruling a previous decision that stores were not covered by state anti-

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

References

{{History of Retail in Southern California Shoe companies of the United States Footwear retailers of the United States