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Hess's, originally known as Hess Brothers, was a department store chain based in
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
. The company was founded a single store in 1897, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its commercial peak in the late 1980s. The chains stores were closed or sold off in a series of deals in the early to mid-1990s.


History


19th century

In the summer of 1896, Max Hess Sr., a
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immigrant from
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, visited
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, and returned to Perth Amboy, advising his brother Charles that Allentown was a major business opportunity for the company. Hess Brothers was founded on February 19, 1897, by Charles and Max Hess. The brothers moved to Allentown that year, and leased space in what was then the Grand Central Hotel at 3rd and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
streets.Hellerich, Mahlon H, and Pennsylvania) Lehigh County Historical Society Allentown. Allentown, 1762–1987: a 225-year history. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987 Hess's first store opened at 9th and Hamilton streets in
Center City Allentown Center City Allentown is the downtown and central business district of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalization process. ...
. In the store's French Room, Charles Hess filled the store with fashions primarily from France. Hess made frequent trips to Paris, and wrote in an Allentown newspaper about what fashionable women were wearing for social engagements or to the
Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
. On February 19, 1897, the Allentown Band was playing in front of the new Hess Brothers store to entertain the shoppers. Hess bought a significant amount of advertising space in the local Allentown newspapers to market the store. Hess Brothers' dry goods business became increasingly popular and in 1901, and Hess expanded the store, taking over the entire Grand Central Hotel.


20th century

On March 6, 1913, as Hess's continued to grow, neighboring properties were acquired so the store could be expanded again. A soda fountain and restaurant that seated 400 patrons was opened in the store. By 1915, the store had expanded to nearly a city block, maintaining a major
Center City Allentown Center City Allentown is the downtown and central business district of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalization process. ...
presence at the northeast corner of 9th and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
streets. In 1922, Max Sr. died at the age of 58. For the next several years, the store was run by his brother Charles. In 1927, an eight-story annex was added to 9th and Hamilton store that included new departments and a new shipping and delivery area. In 1929, Charles Hess died, as Max Hess, Jr. was beginning studies at
Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...
in Allentown. On his 21st birthday, Max left Muhlenberg to join the family business as part of the management team. Three years later, he was appointed president. While the exterior of the store still appeared as separate buildings, the inside was renovated to look as one large building. Displays such as large crystal chandeliers enabled the Hess brothers to succeed at making their store look like a "big city department store." In 1939, they began renovations of the outside of the store. In 1947, the store's façade was updated in
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style, which was an emerging architectural style in the
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. The store eventually expanded to five floors and over of retail space. It was the first store in the world to have automatic talking elevators, notifying its passengers what items were available on each floor. One of the landmarks of Allentown was the large Hess Brothers sign on the store's corner at 9th and Hamilton Street. The sign was the biggest of its type outside
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, weighing eight tons. Its letters, made of porcelain enamel, were each high. The sign was built to resist wind pressure of . The sign was three-sided to make it visible to both eastbound and westbound traffic. The 378 circuits were operated by a clock inside the sign that had eight light cycles timed to spell the name H E S S one letter at a time. The sign was turned on for the first time on December 23, 1947. In his 1953 book, ''America’s Twelve Master Salesmen'', B. C. Forbes listed Hess as the nation's second master salesman. Celebrities were brought in on a regular basis to attract customers and enhance the image of the store. As people dined in the restaurants, models would walk the floor wearing the latest fashions. The restaurant lost close to $20,000 a year, but it was a success in achieving its primary purpose of retaining customers with the store. Hess also cultivated strong relations with store employees, inviting them to regular company barbecues at his country house on Bausch Road in Lowhill Township, outside Allentown, until
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
made travel too difficult for his workers.Allentown, 1762–1987, a 225 Year history, Volume II, 1921–1987, Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987. With offices in London, Paris, and Rome, Hess Brothers Department Store was always at the forefront in selling the latest fashions. Giant toy soldiers were used as
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
decorations, and "Pip the Mouse" appeared in a puppet show at the flagship store. The store hosted an annual flower show in May, which was aired regionally on
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
television, and annual imported fashions and toy shows. Hess invited celebrities to visit the store.
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,
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, Burt Ward, and others made appearances at Hess's primary 9th and Hamilton store in Allentown. In 1968, Hess contacted Philip Berman, who operated a local trucking business for many years with his brother, and offered to sell the store. Berman acquired Hess for $16 million. Several months later, Hess died at the age of 57. Under Berman, the store name was changed from Hess Brothers to Hess's. Berman also brought in Max Rosey, a New York City and Broadway press agent, to promote the store, and they invited celebrities and notable national politicians to visit the store and promote Hess's nationally.Allentown, 1762–1987, a 225 Year history, Volume II, 1921–1987, Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987.   In 1974, among Hess's retail firsts, the store held an over-the-counter sale of pure
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
when bullion sale was legalized, and introduced the
Rudi Gernreich Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich (August 8, 1922 April 21, 1985) was an Austrian people, Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposef ...
topless bathing suit. Hess's was one of only a handful of stores in the entire country to carry the suits, but failed to sell even one. Biannual sales events at Hess's were sometimes semi-disastrous events as shoppers, who often waited outside for the store to open in the morning, proceeded to trample each other and store employees to get to purchase discounted merchandise, leaving the shelves and racks completely stripped bare afterwards. Berman began expanding Hess's, opening new stores in suburban Pennsylvania shopping malls, including the new Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township, an Allentown suburb, which included
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
and Zollinger and Harned department stores. Berman wanted Hess's to be part of the wave of mall construction during the 1970s, and to be anchor stores in them. Additional stores were established in Lancaster and Easton in 1971, in
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in 1973, two in suburban Allentown shopping centers in 1974, and others in eastern and central Pennsylvania by 1979. In October 1979, Crown American, a developer and owner of hotels and shopping malls, purchased the Hess's chain, which then included 17 large stores, as a wholly owned subsidiary. Under Crown American's leadership, Hess's enjoyed the booming retail market of the 1980s. In 1982, Hess's purchased department store chains and converted them to the Hess's nameplate, including Penn Traffic, based in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...
. In 1985, it opened new Hess's stores in
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, Johnstown, and acquired Rices Nachmans in
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. In 1987, Hess's acquired the
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
-based Miller's Department Store chain from Allied Stores by hostile takeover. In September 1987, Hess's agreed to acquire Snyder's, Inc., a privately held
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
-based department store, and five L. S. Ayres stores in
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that Snyder's had agreed to buy L. S. Ayres acquired them from
Stewart Dry Goods The Stewart Dry Goods Company—alternately known as Stewart Dry Goods, or Stewart's—was a regional department store chain based in Louisville, Kentucky. At its height, the chain consisted of seven store locations in Kentucky and Indiana. The ...
and Pogue's a few years earlier. This new division operated briefuly under the Snyder's name. In November 1987, Hess's announced that it would phase out the Millers and Snyder's names in favor of its own moniker in February 1988. By 1990, Hess's had expanded to 76 stores. A number of cost-cutting measures were made following the transfer of the chain to Crown American, including abandoning most of Hess's flower and fashion shows and celebrity appearances. The store's outside windows in the main Allentown store were covered up after their annual holiday window decoration displays were ended, along with the regular store window dressing displays of merchandise. In the early 1990s, Hess's suffered as retail competition increased and the Allentown region was impacted by a national recession. The company responded by selling or shuttering 43 of its stores, especially those in the
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, including the Knoxville stores, which they sold 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 ...
, and 18 other stores that they sold to
Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. The chain was founded in 1919 by David W. Proffitt and James Ellis. In 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk after Belk had acquired the two chains in ...
in two transactions in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, the company's remaining 30 stores were sold off, including the main Hamilton Street store in Allentown in 1994, ending the Hess's 97-year enterprise.
May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...
purchased 10 locations, and
The Bon-Ton Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton () was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. It operated in Western New York, Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, and throughout the Midwestern United States. The former York, Pennsy ...
purchased 20 others. In 1995, Crown American sold the flagship 9th and Hamilton store in Center City Allentown to Bon-Ton Stores, Inc, a regional department company based in
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. However, Allentown had been in economic decline since the 1970s, and the store's operations proved unprofitable. On November 9, 1995, Bon-Ton Stores announced that the 9th and Hamilton store would be closed, and, on January 15, 1996, the store was closed permanently. With the closure of the store, Bon-Ton placed the property for sale, and received inquiries from Mark Mendleson, who had a poor reputation with property management in the city. He was involved in a series of disputes with the City of Allentown with regards to non-payment of taxes, and the properties he owned being permitted to deterioriate to states of disrepair. There also was fear by the city that the property would be left vacant until property values improved, or would be used for a large flea market, tattoo parlors, or adult movie theaters. Allentown Mayor William L. Heydt began a campaign for the city to purchase the property and redevelop the building. In October 1998, the city purchased the store from Bon-Ton, Inc. for $1.8 million (the equivalent of ~$ in .) In addition to the department store building, the adjacent H.L. Green property, which had operated for decades as part of the
McCrory Stores McCrory Stores or J.G. McCrory's was a chain of five and dime stores in the United States based in York, Pennsylvania. The stores typically sold shoes, clothing, housewares, fabrics, penny candy, toys, cosmetics, and often included a lunch coun ...
five and ten store chain and had closed, was acquired by the city. With the purchase by the city, however, a survey of the property revealed that the 9th and Hamilton Street building was in relatively poor condition and considered unsuitable for any other use. The site was considered not worth preserving, and plans were made for its demolition. The seven-story parking deck at 814 Linden Street and the employee parking deck at 826 Turner Street, built in 1970, were retained and transferred to the Allentown Parking Authority. A considerable remediation effort began to rid the old building of hazardous materials.


21st century

In January 2000, the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws ...
authorized the Hess's building for demolition. The demolition was completed by October 2000 and the site was graded with gravel, and a fence erected. During this time, a series of redevelopment options, including the building of
PPL Center The PPL Center is an 8,500-seat capacity indoor sports arena in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It opened on September 10, 2014. It is the home arena for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, the primary development hockey team for ...
, a 10,000 capacity indoor arena that hosts the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Le ...
and various entertainment events and concerts, was reviewed by the city. The former Hess's property was sold to
PPL Corporation PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as and is part of the S&P 500. As of 2022, the compa ...
, which expanded its office complex onto the site with the plaza at PPL Center, a new office building that opened in July 2003 at the former Hess's flagship store site. The building includes one floor of leased office space, and the plaza level of the building includes retail storefronts.


In popular culture

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...
mentions Hess's flagship store in
Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
his '' The Novel'', published in 1991, in which Hess's serves as the location where a fictional author sells his novels' first printings.


See also

* H. Leh and Company * List of historic places in Allentown, Pennsylvania * Zollinger and Harned


References


External links


Hess's
at The Department Store Museum {{Authority control 1897 establishments in Pennsylvania 1994 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Allentown, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Companies based in Allentown, Pennsylvania Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania Defunct department stores based in Pennsylvania Hamilton Street History of Allentown, Pennsylvania Retail companies disestablished in 1994 Retail companies established in 1897