Baltimore’s Downtown Department Stores Part 3
Compiled by K. Meghan Gross, former JMM curatorial assistant. Originally published in Generations – Winter 2001.
1929: Brager of Baltimore and Eisenberg’s Underselling Store merge.
Albert Brager founded Brager of Baltimore on Eutaw Street after he dissolved his partnership with Ferdinand Bernheimer in 1888. In 1927, Brager’s was sold to American Department Stores, a chain, and merged with Eisenberg’s Underselling Store I n1929. Brager-Eisenberg became a well-known bargain store. It returned to the name “Brager’s” after World War II.
1929: “Hutzler’s Downstairs” opens.
1932: “The Greater Hutzler’s” opens on October 11.
This thoroughly modern building, erected next to the 1888 palace building on Howard Street, was called “the greatest triumph yet experienced by the Hutzler Brothers Company…[It] was felt that this unprecedented crowd [of at least 50,000 came to] express their respect for the institution which had gone ahead with its plans for expansion in the midst of a general business depression, thus giving evidence to the courageous faith of its management in the future of Baltimore.” “Baltimore’s only art deco ‘skyscraper’” was built to expand the already massive facility of the Hutzler Brothers’ Company.
1936: Hutzler’s begins use of Charg-A-Plate system.
While purchase of items on credit was not a new idea, the use of the Charg-A-Plate system made this service a more convenient and efficient way to record credit purchases. Filene’s in Boston was the first department store to use the service, which was launched by the Farrington Manufacturing Company of Massachusetts. Soon, the Charge-A-Plate system was used widely in Baltimore department stores and around the country. Later, as its technology improved, the Charg-A-Plate machines reportedly reduced customer waiting time by 40 percent.
1936: Hochschild Kohn and Co. stages the first Toytown Parade on Thanksgiving Day.
Watching this “annual parade of weird beasties, strange creatures, huge menagerie creations and painted performers, all accompanied by music, fanfare and pageantry,” became an annual tradition for many Baltimore families. The parade started at Charles and 31st Streets and marched for three miles through Baltimore City and the downtown retail district. The Toytown Parade was established to encourage buyers in the midst of the Great Depression. It continued for several generations as the kick-off for the annual Christmas shopping season.
1941-1942: Hutzler’s adds five stories to The Greater Hutzler’s.
The war-time boom in Baltimore’s economy led to expansion in several downtown stores. In 1942, Hochschild Kohn erected a new Furniture and Service Building on Howard Street between Center and Franklin Streets. Also in 1942, Hutzler’s opened its Quixie restaurant, which became a local landmark for generations of shoppers.
1942: War bonds are sold at Hutzler’s.
Between January 9, 1942 and December 8, 1945, Hutzler’s sold $18,720,000 in war bonds through special programs and at the Victory Window on Howard Street.
1947: Hochschild Kohn opens a branch in Edmondson Village.
After World War II many families established homes outside the city limits. To accommodate the suburban shopper, department stores established branch stores in suburban neighborhoods. These stores were originally built to serve as extensions of the downtown store with a limited number of departments. Hochschild Kohn & Co. was the first department store to open a branch store in the Baltimore area. The booming area west of downtown was chosen for this pioneering venture. The Edmondson Village branch was followed by Hochschild Kohn stores at Belvedere Avenue and York Road and in enclosed shopping malls in Baltimore County and York, PA.
1950: Hutzler’s takes steps to reduce returns.
“Because Baltimore has the questionable distinction of having the highest rate of returns in the country and because returns increase cost, the time has come to do something about it. The retail Merchants Association planned a series of ads to instruct our customers on the matter of returning merchandise. Mr. Albert D. Hutzler held two storewide meetings – at the warehouse and at the Main Building – to inform employees on their part in this important campaign. Follow up meetings were held weekly reminding salespeople to help the customer to be sure at the store, reminding wrappers to check merchandise with the salescheck before wrapping; reminding the people handling telephone and mail orders not to substitute without the customer’s approval. And on it goes…constant reminders of the need for reducing the returning of merchandise.” (Tips and Taps, November 1950.)
1952: Hutzler’s Towson opens at Dulaney Valley and Joppa Roads.
Hutzler’s, as the premier department store of Baltimore, pushed farther outside of the city to establish its first branch location in Towson. While the store’s location was not easily accessible (at one of the busiest intersections in the area), the architect decided to build the store underneath the road, allowing access to the store on two levels, one straight form the large parking area. Windows ran the length of the exterior and allowed customers an overview of the entire store, rather than specific displays, which were a staple of the downtown experience. Hutzler’s also opened branch locations in Westview and Eastpoint.
1954: O’Neill’s closes its downtown store.
Thomas O’Neill, an immigrant from Ireland, became involved in the dry goods business in 1882, when he opened a small store on the southwest corner of Charles and Lexington Streets. He, like other merchants, expanded his store and eventually occupied the entire corner of that intersection. O’Neill’s had a six-story building with two floors for retail and four floors for office space. After the department store closed, it was demolished for the construction of Charles Center.
1954: Hecht’s Northwood opens at Loch Raven Boulevard and Hillen Road.
To accommodate the suburban shopper and her automobile, Hecht’s opened its first Baltimore branch store north of the city I the growing suburb of Northwood. (The Hecht Company had already expanded its Washington, DC operation into the suburbs.) The Northwood branch featured roof-top parking above its vast facility, in addition to a regular parking lot, with a combined capacity for 1,200 cars.