Marshall Field & Company (
colloquially
Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation am ...
Marshall Field's) was an American
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 founded in 1852 by
Potter Palmer. It was based in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before
Macy's, Inc. acquired it in 2005.
The company's flagship
Marshall Field and Company Building on
State Street in the
Chicago Loop
The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...
is a
National Landmark for its importance in the history of retail. It was officially branded ''Macy's on State Street'' in 2006, when it became one of Macy's
flagship stores.
History
Early years

Marshall Field & Company traces its antecedents to the P. Palmer & Company, a
dry goods
Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and Common ...
store opened at 137 Lake Street
[PDX History of Marshall Field's]
Retrieved August 20, 2006. in 1852 by
Potter Palmer. In 1856, 21-year-old
Marshall Field
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...
, from
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...
, moved to Chicago on the southwest shores of
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
, and found work at
Cooley, Wadsworth & Company, then the city's largest dry goods firm. In 1860, just before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Field and bookkeeper
Levi Z. Leiter became junior partners in the firm, then known as Cooley, Farwell & Company. In 1864, the firm, then led by senior partner
John V. Farwell, Sr., was renamed Farwell, Field & Company.
[Encyclopedia of Chicago History – John V. Farwell & Co.]
Retrieved August 19, 2006. only for Field and Leiter to soon withdraw from the partnership with Farwell when presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.
Retrieved August 20, 2006.
Potter Palmer, plagued by ailing health, was looking to dispose of his thriving business; thus, on January 4, 1865, Field and Leiter entered into partnership with Palmer and his brother Milton. The firm of P. Palmer & Company became known as Field, Palmer, Leiter & Company, with Palmer financing much of their initial capital, as well as his own contribution. After Field and Leiter's immediate success enabled them to pay him back, Palmer withdrew from the partnership in 1867 to focus on his own growing real-estate interests on one of the burgeoning city's important thoroughfares,
State Street; Milton Palmer left at this time as well. The store was renamed Field, Leiter & Company, sometimes referred to as "Field & Leiter".
The buyout, however, did not bring an end to Potter Palmer's association with the firm. In 1868, he convinced Field and Leiter to lease a new, six-story edifice
[Jazz Age Chicago]
. Retrieved August 20, 2006. he had just built at the northeast corner of State and Washington Streets. The store was soon referred to as the "Marble Palace", owing to its costly
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
stone face.
The Chicago Fire
When the
Chicago Fire, broke out on October 8, 1871, news reached company officials Henry Willing and Levi Leiter, who decided to load as much of their expensive merchandise as possible onto wagons and take it to Leiter's home, which was out of the path of the fire. The company's drivers and teams were ordered out of the barns. Horace B. Parker, a young salesman, rushed to the store's basement, broke up boxes, and built a fire in the furnace boiler so the steam-powered elevators could be operated. These employees worked feverishly through the night to move vital records and valuable goods to safety.
At one point, the gas tank exploded, which put out the store's gaslights. The men worked on by candlelight and the glow from the approaching flames. The employees got enough steam up to operate the store's powerful pumps in the basement, and volunteers went to the roof and used the store's fire hoses to wet down the roof and the wall on the side of the oncoming fire. Early the following morning, however, the city's waterworks burned, thus ending the water supply and making further efforts useless. The last employee had scarcely exited the building when it burst into flames, shooting fire from every window.
The store burned to the ground, but so much merchandise was saved that the store was able to reopen in only a few weeks (first the wholesale department on October 28, then the retail department on November 6), albeit temporarily relocated to a horse-streetcar barn of the
Chicago City Railway Co. at State & 20th Streets. In April 1872, Field & Leiter reopened at a building at Madison and Market Streets (the location of present-day West Wacker Drive). Salesman Parker stayed with the company for 45 more years, rising to the level of General Sales Manager.
After the Great Fire
In October 1873, Field and Leiter returned to State Street at Washington, opening a new five-story store at their old location, which they now leased from the
Singer Sewing Machine Company; Palmer had sold the land site to finance his own rebuilding activities. This store was expanded in 1876, only to be destroyed by fire again in November 1877. Ever tenacious, Field and Leiter had a new temporary store opened by the end of the month, this time at a lakefront exposition hall which they temporarily leased from the city, located at what is now the site of the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
. Meanwhile, the Singer company had speculatively built an even larger, six-story building on the ruins of their old 1873 store, which, after some contention, was personally bought by Field and Leiter. Field, Leiter & Company then reclaimed their traditional location at the northeast corner of State and Washington for the last time in April 1879.

In January 1881, Field, with the support of his junior partners, bought out
Levi Leiter, renaming the business Marshall Field & Company. As Palmer had before, Leiter retired to tend his significant real estate investments, which included commissioning the
Second Leiter Building at State Street and Van Buren in 1891 to house
Siegel, Cooper & Company. In 1932, this building (known as one of the earliest steel-framed commercial buildings built and still standing in the U.S., along with the
Equitable Building in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
) was leased to the later famous nationwide mail-order firm
Sears, Roebuck & Company.
In 1887, the seven-story,
Romanesque-styled Marshall Field's Wholesale Store, designed by
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
, opened on Franklin Street between Quincy and Adams. The wholesale division sold merchandise in bulk to smaller merchants throughout the central and western United States, and did six times the sales volume of the local retail store. Chicago's location at the nexus of the country's railroads and
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
shipping made it the center of the dry goods wholesaling business by the 1870s, with Field's largest rival being
John V. Farwell, Sr., his former partner from before the war. It was the scale of the profits generated by the
John G. Shedd-led
wholesale division that made Marshall Field the richest man in Chicago, as well as one of the richest in the country.
State Street store
Following the departure of Leiter, the retail store grew in importance. Although it remained a fraction of the size of the wholesale division, its opulent building and luxurious merchandise differentiated it from the other wholesale dry goods merchants in town. In 1887,
Harry Gordon Selfridge
Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. (11 January 1858 – 8 May 1947) was an American retail magnate who founded the London-based department store Selfridges. The early years of his leadership led to his becoming one of the most respected and wealthy re ...
was appointed to lead the retail store and headed it as it evolved into a modern
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 ...
. That same year, Field personally obtained Leiter's remaining interest in the 1879 Singer building and in 1888 started buying the buildings adjoining his for additional floor space.
In 1892, the structures between the building on State Street and Wabash Avenue to the east were demolished, and architect
Daniel H. Burnham and his firm
D.H. Burnham & Company were commissioned to erect a new building in anticipation of the influx of visitors from the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
scheduled for 1893. The nine-story "Annex" at the northwest corner of Wabash and Washington Streets opened under the direction of Burnham associate
Charles B. Atwood[Chicago Architecture Info]
Retrieved August 20, 2006. in August 1893, towards the end of the Exposition. In 1897, the old 1879 store was rebuilt and had two additional floors added, while the first of Marshall Field's iconic Great Clocks was installed at the corner of State and Washington Streets on November 26.
. Retrieved August 20, 2006.
In 1901, Marshall Field & Company, previously a private partnership, was incorporated. Spurred on by Selfridge, Marshall Field razed the three buildings north of it that had been occupied since 1888, as well as the
Central Music Hall at the southeast corner of State and Randolph Streets.A massive, twelve-story building fronting State Street opened in their place a year later, including a grand new entrance. In 1906, a third new building opened on Wabash Avenue north of the 1893 structure, then the oldest part of the store.
In the midst of the construction, Selfridge abruptly resigned from the company in 1904, buying rival store
Schlesinger & Mayer, only to sell it three months later to
Carson Pirie Scott. Schlesinger & Mayer had commissioned the
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...
-designed Carson Pirie Scott Company Building (now known as the
Sullivan Center) in 1899. After trying retirement, Selfridge went on to establish
Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Shedd era
Marshall Field died on January 16, 1906, in
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 ...
. On the day of his funeral, all the stores along State Street, big and small, closed and the
Chicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...
suspended afternoon trading in his honor.
The board of Marshall Field and Company appointed
John G. Shedd, whom Field had once called "the greatest merchant in the United States", to serve as the company's new president.
Shedd became head of a company that employed 12,000 people in Chicago (two-thirds of them in retail) and was doing about $25 million in yearly retail sales in addition to nearly $50 million in wholesale.
Under Shedd's leadership for the next 16 years, Marshall Field & Co. continued to rebuild its store, fulfilling plans approved by Field himself to pull down the 1879 structure later in 1906. In its stead rose a new south State Street building with a continuation of the 1902 street façade. Opened in September 1907, it included a
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...
-decorated ceiling that is both the first and largest ceiling ever built in
favrile glass, containing over 1.6 million pieces. With completion of the building, Marshall Field's momentarily possessed the title of "world's largest department store" over
John Wanamaker & Co. in
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 ...
and
R.H. Macy & Co. in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
.
In 1912, the 16-story
Trude Building at the southwest corner of Wabash and Randolph was acquired and demolished, an act that was considered to be one of the first demolitions, if not the first, of a high-rise skyscraper of those just recently being built.
[. Retrieved August 20, 2006.] In its place rose the 1914 building designed by
Graham, Burnham & Company, completing the modern-day Marshall Field's store and now encompassing the entire square city block, bounded by Washington, State, Wabash, and Randolph Streets.
Also in 1914, Graham, Burnham & Company supervised the opening of a new twenty-story Marshall Field Annex across the street at 25 East Washington, which housed "Marshall Field's Store for Men" on its first six floors. These buildings recaptured its status as the world's largest department store, with its many restaurants and separate men's and women's lounges making it a popular social destination in upscale Chicago.
Shedd continued to expand Marshall Field's wholesale business and grew its manufacturing business, buying textile mills in the South in 1911 (see
Cannon Mills Company), as well as overseeing the purchase of the Marshall Field Trust's interest in the business in 1917. The Field family eventually retained only a ten percent stake. Shedd retired in late 1922.
1913 Illinois State Senate investigation
In 1913, representatives of Carson Pirie Scott and Marshall Field's were called to the
state capital
Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities.
National capitals
*List of national capitals
*List of national capitals by latitude
*List of national capitals by population
*List of national capitals by area
*List of ...
of
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
for the
State Senate
In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states.
A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...
's investigation of the low wages of female employees at major department stores. At Marshall Field's, women were not only typists or other types of clerical workers, but also had a major role in the sales department. Female sales clerks were trained in etiquette and acquired a thorough understanding of the merchandise. The presence of saleswomen was a crucial part of the success of Marshall Field's, as they made female customers more comfortable and therefore made shopping at the store more enticing.
The opportunities available for women at Marshall Field's created a subculture of working women. During the early and middle decades of the 20th century, many women migrated into the labor force, often becoming adrift in a new city with new opportunities. Many of these women lived apart from family and relatives, were young and single and came from varied backgrounds and ethnicities. This subculture of women was greatly affected by wages and opportunities offered through Marshall Field's.
However, the wages of the female employees were not representative of their role in the company, and therefore became the subject of the 1913 Illinois Senate investigation. Women were paid very low wages, the average being $5 to $8 per week. The "testimony at an Illinois Senate investigation in 1913 from spokesmen for the
Illinois Manufacturers' Association; banks;
Sears, Roebuck; and Marshall Field's revealed that most major employers paid women workers as low as $2.75 (~$ in )." Even in 1913, that was not a living wage. During the hearing, Marshall Field's revealed that it could double the women's salaries, but refused to do so. Furthermore, women faced more mistreatment within the company, such as sex segregation, which limited their mobility within the company.
First branch stores and the Frango brand
James Simpson was appointed president following
John G. Shedd's retirement. Despite being considered to have favored the declining wholesale division, Simpson expanded its retail operations, first buying
A. M. Rothschild & Co., which Field's operated as a discount store called "The Davis Store", in December 1923. In 1924, the 1893–1914 buildings that the store occupied were acquired from the Marshall Field Trust.
The first branch of Marshall Field's itself opened at
Market Square
A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
in
Lake Forest in May 1928.
A location in
Evanston followed in September 1928, later relocating to a French Renaissance-style building at Sherman Avenue and Church Street in November 1929.
[Evanston Galleria]
Retrieved August 20, 2006. The
Oak Park location opened at a building similar to the Evanston store in September 1929.
[Jazz Age Chicago – Field's Branches]
. Retrieved August 20, 2006.
Frederick & Nelson, a
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
-based department store founded in 1890, was also acquired by Marshall Field's in 1929, with its own 1914 downtown Seattle building at Pine Street and Fifth Avenue. Frederick & Nelson retained its name, although its logo was soon rewritten in Field's iconic script. Frederick & Nelson created
Frango mints, a Seattle tradition. The mints were later also produced in the candy kitchen in the State Street store and became popular in Chicago as well.
Marshall Field & Company became a public company in 1930, early in the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The retailer needed capital due to the expense of opening the massive new
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building in Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it opened in 1930, it was the List of largest buildings, world's largest building, with of floor space. The Art De ...
to house its flagging wholesale division. Ground was broken in 1927 and the Mart, then the largest building in the world, opened in 1930. The 1887 Wholesale Store, designed by
Richardson at Franklin between Quincy and Adams Streets, was closed and demolished at this time. The new building, faced with a change in retail distribution and wholesale patterns in addition to the deepening Great Depression, could not save Field's wholesale division. Simpson left the company, and
James O. McKinsey
James Oscar McKinsey (June 4, 1889 – November 30, 1937) was an American accountant, management consultant, professor of accounting at the University of Chicago, and founder of McKinsey & Company.
Biography
McKinsey was born in 1889 in Gamma, ...
, a
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
professor and founder of the
McKinsey and Company
McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...
consulting firm, was hired to reform Marshall Field's. The wholesale division, once the core of the company, was liquidated by 1936. The Davis Store was closed in 1936, and its building was sold to
Goldblatts. In 1939, the land underlying the main State Street store was acquired from the Marshall Field Trust. Meanwhile, McKinsey also reorganized the company's vertically integrated operations, notably by merging its varied textile operations under the
Fieldcrest name.
Suburban expansion
In 1945, the
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building in Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it opened in 1930, it was the List of largest buildings, world's largest building, with of floor space. The Art De ...
building was sold to
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., significantly improving Marshall Field's finances and enabling the store to cope with the suburban residential and commercial boom following
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 ...
. Marshall Field's presciently followed its customers to their new homes outwards to the suburbs, including opening a store in 1950 in partnership with pioneering suburban developer
Philip M. Klutznick (a famous Jewish leader and later
U.S. Secretary of Commerce) at his new
Park Forest Plaza
Park Forest Plaza was a shopping center located in the planned community of Park Forest, Illinois, United States, that opened in 1949. The center was developed by Philip M. Klutznick (1907–1999), who was also a prominent leader in the nation ...
, which utilized revolutionary new concepts in land use and architecture.
In 1956, Klutznick and Field's jointly opened
Old Orchard Shopping Center in
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...
, which Klutznick developed on land that Field's already owned; the development included a new Field's store. This was followed by the 1959 opening of a Field's store at the
Mayfair Mall in
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwa ...
, and stores at later Klutznick-led shopping centers opened at
Oakbrook Center in
Oak Brook in 1962 and
River Oaks Center in
Calumet City
Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
History
Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 ...
in 1966.
Marshall Field's even expanded further in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
, acquiring
The Crescent department store in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, in 1962. In 1970, it moved east with the purchase of
Halle Brothers Co., a leading department store in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. Field's also continued to expand its hometown base in Illinois, opening a store at
Woodfield Mall
Woodfield Mall is a shopping mall located in the northwest Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois, United States, near the interchange of Golf Road and Interstate 290 (Illinois), Interstate 290. The mall is the largest shopping mall in the state ...
in
Schaumburg in 1971.
Marshall Field's locations at
CherryVale Mall in
Rockford and
Hawthorn Mall in
Vernon Hills followed in 1973, and stores at
Water Tower Place in Chicago and
Fox Valley Mall in
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
opened in 1975. The suburban expansion continued in 1976 with a location at
Orland Square Mall in
Orland Park, followed by the
Louis Joliet Mall in
Joliet in 1978. In 1979, Marshall Field's expanded south into
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
with a store at
The Galleria in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.
1980 saw the rapid acquisition of
J.B. Ivey Co., a department store chain with roots in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, and
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, as well as
The Union Co. in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
; the
Lipman's stores in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
; and several
Liberty House stores in
Washington state
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
. Field's existing
Frederick & Nelson unit in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
absorbed the Lipman's and Liberty House stores under its name, but after initially merging The Union with its earlier
Halle's stores from Cleveland, it decided to sell the combined chain in November 1981; the new owners quickly liquidated it.
The early 1980s saw slower expansion, with just two store locations in Illinois added: one at
Spring Hill Mall
Spring Hill Mall was a shopping mall in West Dundee, Illinois with a small portion in neighborning Carpentersville, Illinois, Carpentersville. The mall's anchor tenants are currently Kohl's and Cinemark. There are four vacant anchor stores that ...
in
West Dundee in October 1980, and one at
Stratford Square Mall in
Bloomingdale in 1981. Another Texas store opened at the
Dallas Galleria in 1982.
BATUS
In 1982, Marshall Field & Co. ceased to be a public company, being acquired by
British-American Tobacco (BAT). As part of
BATUS Retail Group, the American retailing arm of BAT, Field's and its Frederick & Nelson, Ivey's and
The Crescent department stores and the John Brueners home furnishings stores joined retailers
Gimbels
Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the comp ...
,
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...
and
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation (Kohl's is stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain store, chain. currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwe ...
. Field's continued to expand under BATUS, adding stores at Houston's
Town & Country Mall in 1983 and at the
North Star Mall in
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
in 1986.
Only four years after buying Marshall Field's, BATUS scaled back its retail operations in 1986, selling Frederick & Nelson and The Crescent to a local investor group. Frederick & Nelson quickly deteriorated and became defunct in 1992. Its 1914 building, the one acquired by Field's in 1929, was eventually bought by
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...
; the structure was renovated and reopened in 1998 as a replacement for Nordstrom's own Seattle parent store.
In 1986, BATUS closed its
Gimbels
Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the comp ...
division and transferred five of its Wisconsin locations to its Marshall Field's division: downtown Milwaukee,
Northridge Mall and
Southridge Mall in Milwaukee,
Hilldale Shopping Center in Madison, and in downtown
Appleton. The former Gimbels locations in Northridge and Southridge were retained by Field's for only three years; due to poor performance, they were sold to H.C. Prange Co. of Sheboygan in 1989.
The Evanston and Oak Park stores were closed in 1986, their 1929 buildings deemed out of date and too costly to operate. A major restoration and renovation of the State Street flagship store led by Director of Construction and Maintenance Bill Allen commenced in 1987.
BATUS initially kept Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Field's, and Ivey's. However, it sold all its remaining U.S. retail assets in 1990, with Saks going to Bahrain-based
Investcorp
Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...
, Ivey's 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 Marshall Field's sold to then Dayton-Hudson Corporation (now
Target Corporation
Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...
).
Dayton-Hudson, Target, and May
Dayton-Hudson Corporation renamed itself
Target Corporation
Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...
in 2000, and converted its
Dayton's
Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high-end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years. Although i ...
and
Hudson's
The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the talles ...
department stores (which were outside of Field's existing markets) to Marshall Field's locations in 2001. Target Corporation introduced some of the brands carried there to the Marshall Field's stores, displacing some of Field's more expensive merchandise.
In 2004, Target Corporation sold the Marshall Field's chain to
May Co., exiting the traditional department store business entirely. It was hoped that aligning with the May Company instead of the discounter Target would "let Field's be Field's" and allow it to recapture its former cachet and upper-class customer base. However,
Federated Department Stores, Inc. acquired the May Company in 2005.
Federated acquisition, renaming and protest
After the Federated purchase, Marshall Field's stores joined
L. S. Ayres and existing
Macy's
Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
stores in the new
Macy's North Division. On September 9, 2006, all Marshall Field's stores, most
Filene's and all the stores of nine other May-owned chains were converted to Macy's locations. Many Chicagoans resented Macy's, based in
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 ...
, for replacing their local brand.
Hundreds of protesters gathered under Marshall Field's famous clock that day, and returned a year later on September 9, 2007. Dozens attended "Field's Fans" rallies each anniversary from 2008 to 2012.
Many Chicagoans felt betrayed by Macy's takeover of Marshall Field's when the company began to change its aesthetics and customer service standards, and demoted many Chicago-based brands. In December 2006, Macy's reported 30% slower sales in former Marshall Field's stores; the focus shifted to promoting the State Street location in 2007.
Renovations
The
Marshall Field and Company Building at State and Washington Streets in Chicago was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1978 and is part of the Loop Retail National Historic District. The building was designated a
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...
on November 1, 2005. With approximately two million square feet of available floor space, the building is the second-largest department store in the United States.
In 1987, while under BATUS ownership, Field's State Street store underwent significant restoration. In 2004, while Field's was still owned by Dayton Hudson/Target, another extensive restoration of the landmark State Street store began, costing $115 million (~$ in ); the renovation was completed after the May acquisition. The 2004 renovations included the installation of new lower-level shops, the removal of steel grates from the upper portions of the store's historic light wells, and the addition of an eleven-story atrium in what had been an alley and mid-store light shaft.
In 2004, Field's also introduced significant upgrades to merchandise and the introduction of luxury vendor relationships, in which 10% of the floor space was leased to outside vendors in a manner similar to
Selfridge's in London (founded by former Field's executive Harry Selfridge, who based his business model on Marshall Field's; likewise, the Selfridge's building in London was based on the architecture of the Marshall Field's store).
Firsts, noted events, community leadership

Among the "firsts" by Marshall Field's was the concept of the department store
tea room. In the 19th century, ladies shopping downtown returned home for lunch; having lunch at a downtown restaurant unescorted by a gentleman was not considered ladylike. But after a Marshall Field's clerk shared her lunch (a chicken pot pie) with a tired shopper, Field's hit on the idea of opening a department store tea room, so that women shoppers would not feel the need to make two trips to complete their shopping. To this day, the Walnut Room serves the traditional Mrs. Herring's chicken pot pie.
Marshall Field's had the first European buying office, which was located in
Manchester, England
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, and the first
bridal registry. The company was the first to introduce the concept of the personal shopper, and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store, right up to the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It was the first store to offer
revolving credit
Revolving credit is a type of credit that does not have a fixed number of payments, in contrast to installment credit. Credit cards are an example of revolving credit used by consumers. Corporate revolving credit facilities are typically used t ...
and the first department store to use
escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
s. Marshall Field's book department in the
State Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "
book signing
Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. Book signings are events, usually at a bookstore or library, where an author sits and signs books for a period.
Book signing
Book signing is popu ...
." Moreover, every year at Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated
displays
A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form (the latter used for example in tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information that is supplied has an electrical signal ...
as part of the downtown
shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their ingenuity and beauty, and visiting the Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for Chicagoans and visitors alike, as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street.
Marshall Field
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...
was famous for his slogan "Give the lady what she wants," as well as for his integrity, character, and community philanthropy and leadership. After his death, the company remained to the very end a major philanthropic contributor to its Chicago-area community.
Field, the store he created, and his successor
John G. Shedd helped establish Chicago's prominence throughout the world in business, art, culture, and education. The
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
, the
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
(as renamed in 1905 for its first major benefactor), the
Museum of Science and Industry, the
John G. Shedd Aquarium and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
have all been aided by the philanthropy of Marshall Field's. Marshall Field was also a major sponsor of the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
.
See also
*
List of department stores converted to Macy's
This is a list of department stores converted to Macy's and sister brand Bloomingdale's by way of mergers and acquisitions. Macy's became a national brand through these conversions, and replaced many regional department stores with local heritage ...
References
Further reading
*
*
* Kozak, Nadine I. "‘Enlightenment on all subjects under the sun’: department store information bureaux in Britain and the United States in the first half of the twentieth century." ''Library & Information History'' 38.3 (2022): 210-231.
* Laermans, Rudi. "Learning to consume: early department stores and the shaping of the modern consumer culture (1860-1914)." ''Theory, Culture & Society'' 10.4 (1993): 79-102.
*
*
*
* Twyman, Robert W. ''History of Marshall Field and Co., 1852-1906'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954).
*
External links
Official website(Archive)
*Map:
1905 Magazine Article with photosJazz Age Chicago (2006): Marshall Field and Company history''Encyclopædia Britannica'': Comprehensive article on Marshall Field'sDan Skoda and his colleagues are bringing new sparkle to Marshall Field's #148, September 1995 Illinois Retail Merchants Association, April 23, 2003
One last stroll down memory lane before big change KARE11.com, April 5, 2006
Darrid.com: A Tribute to Marshall Field'sFieldsFansChicago.org: Marshall Field's fans blog and Macy's boycott siteBring Back Marshall Field'sMarshall Field's Last Day, Friday, Sept. 8, 2006''Chicago Tribune'': "Field's green fades to red"— September 9, 2006
{{Macy's history
History of Chicago
Defunct department stores based in Chicago
Macy's stores
Retail companies established in 1852
1852 establishments in Illinois
2006 disestablishments in Illinois
Retail companies disestablished in 2006
Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago
Target Corporation
May Department Stores
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange