Diamond's was a
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
chain headquartered in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
that operated from 1897-1984.
Originally named The Boston Store,
it was founded by brothers Nathan and Isaac Diamond
History
The Boston Store was founded in 1897 by brothers Nathan and Isaac Diamond, Jewish immigrants who had in 1891 begun a dry-goods mercantile in
El Paso
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
called The New York Store. Hearing of great potential in Arizona the brothers moved to Phoenix.
They set up a store on Washington Street in Downtown Phoenix. by 1941 the Diamond brothers had enlisted the help of family to run the store. Nathan's sons Harold and Bert and Isaac's son Herbert were all involved with management of the store. The Boston Store was renamed Diamond's in 1947 in honor of the store's 50th anniversary. Harold and Ralph Diamond eventually took over ownership. Roberts Brothers of Portland, Oregon purchased Diamond's in 1957. That same year the store opened its first branch location at
Park Central Mall, the building on Washington Street was subsequently closed. In 1962 the firm considered expanding into the Tucson market but would hold off on doing so until 1974.
In 1968 Diamond's was sold to Dayton Corporation of Minneapolis. In 1970 Diamond's acquired Las Vegas based
Ronzone's and converted its store at
The Boulevard Mall to a Diamond's. On January 14, 1984 Diamond's consolidated its operations in Mesa by closing its
Tri-City Mall location due to its close proximity to the newer
Fiesta Mall location. Diamond's had expanded to twelve stores throughout the Southwest when in September 1984 then owner,
Dayton-Hudson Corporation, sold the chain to
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 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 company a ...
.
Locations
The locations of the former Diamond's department stores.
The Original Flagship Store on Washington Street operated from 1897-1957.
References
External links
Harold Diamond, A Pioneer Retailer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond's
Companies based in Phoenix, Arizona
Defunct companies based in Arizona
Defunct department stores based in Arizona
Retail companies established in 1897
Retail companies disestablished in 1984
Target Corporation