Welcome to the Museumlife insurance cost

Please note that The Department Store Museum is undergoing renovation at present - "Pardon us while we improve to serve you better!"

Currently, many of the exhibits have been updated with more accurate information, better pictures, and written histories of each store. See The J.W. Robinson Co. and The Broadway for examples of renovated exhibits. There is much more to come.

The Department Store Museum is an on-line homage to America's great, late-lamented department stores. There is an extraordinary amount of information about many of these stores - logos, floor directories, ads, etc., and it is hoped that, by displaying them in a museum format, visitors may reminisce about their experiences with them. Since the traditional department store exists only in the memories of those fortunate enough to have experienced them in their heydey, it seems appropriate to share the information with anyone who enters. The goal is to spread history, fond memories, and a sense of what it was like to shop in these stores, which were individual, and unique to their time and respective places.

On an editorial note, the museum asks the question: why are we not good enough for such a gamut of retail options today? Take a look inside and formulate your own opinion.

RECOGNITION FOR

THE DEPARTMENT STORE MUSEUM

ON A GLOBAL SCALE

French publisher Dessous' Italian-based magazine, "The Best of Intima" is a trade publication for the undergarment industry. Recently, the magazine featured a multi-page spread on The Department Store Museum. It will be published in English, Italian, French, German, Russian and Chinese. To read the article, click the picture above, and go to page 114.

Familiar with Toledo's department stores? Do you have pictures of The Lion Store, Lamson's, or Lasalle's, or interesting stories about your experiences with them? I need your help with a new book project, The Three 'L's: Shopping in Toledo's Big Three Department Stores. If you would like to contact me about this exciting project, you may do so by e-mailing me at bakgraphics@comcast.net

NEWS: I WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE A PICTURE OF A YOUNG TOLEDOAN "RIDING" ONE OF THE LION STORE'S LIONS. IF YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF YOURSELF AS A CHILD ON ONE OF THE ICONIC LIONS, AND WOULD LIKE TO BE IN THE UPCOMING BOOK, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

It is my intention to make this new book as interesting and valuable as my first effort, Jacobson's: I Miss It So! If you have anything to add, I would be delighted to hear from you!

The publication of The Three 'L's has been postponed to 2013 . . . and I am still gathering data and anecdotes for the book.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

See a lecture about Jacobson's,
as presented at the Baldwin
Public Library on 24 Jan. 2012
(click the photo)
photo by Carroll DeWeese

Jacobson's-I Miss It So!
has just been honored by
the State of Michigan as a
"Michigan Notable Book."

Read a review

Hear an interview with the author!

Return to the elegance of Jacobson’s, a beloved Michigan institution

for well over one hundred years. Reenter the marvelous stores

and meet the personalities who transformed Jacobson’s

from its humble Reed City origins to a staple of sophistication

throughout the region and in Florida.

The brainchild of a retail genius, this deluxe specialty store

gave customers a peerless social, shopping and dining destination.

Experience anew the refined beauty of its Williamsburg-style
Grosse Pointe store, the chic designer world of its
Birmingham ensemble or the charm and allure of its original
Florida branch in Sarasota revealing, along the way,
secrets that made Jake’s the dazzling store it was

and why it remains so profoundly missed by anyone
who entered through its solid wooden doors.

(Over 100 illustrations, most never published

before - a true scholarly study of this

beloved, lost specialty department store)

Jacobson's: I miss it so! is available from The Department Store Museum. I have a limited number of autographed copies for sale for the list price of $19.99 (plus $4 shipping). Please email bakgraphics@comcast.net if you are interested in an autographed copy.

Alternately, order from Amazon.com

Jacobson's: I Miss It So!

LONG AWAITED:
L.S. AYRES & CO.

Prof. Ken Turchi has
worked with the Indiana
Historical Museum to
produce a book about
this beloved store

A FINE NEW BOOK

Christopher Sawyer's

treatment of the story

of Denholms is re-

markable because of the

author's passion for the

history of this long-lost

Worcester retail landmark.

A RECOMMENDATION

OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

Easily one of the most beautiful and informative

books ever written about department stores.

A brilliant revelation, emphatically endorsed!

Another outstanding book
by Michael Lisicky -
comprehensive, entertaining.
well-illustrated and very much
up to the standard set by this
premier author

The Department Store Museum has developed an exhibit of vintage

department store credit cards, thanks to the generosity of a specialist.

Click the photo to go to the exhibit. Updated December 31st, 2012.

From its inception in 2010, The Department Store Museum has
included an exhibit of bags from various stores. While the offerings
have been small, the display has been improved and updated.
If you have examples of store bags which are not shown,
you may send a photo or scan to bakgraphics@comcast.net
and they will be included.

Owing to the generosity of a reader, The Department Store Museum features a
new display of department store security badges.

Click the photo to go to the exhibit. Updated June 5th, 2012.

Click the Picture
to go to the new
directory (beta)

-or-

Click on a store name below to go to that store's exhibit. If the name is not linked to an exhibit, it is in preparation, and not available for viewing at the moment. Please check back again.

Alaska
Anchorage
Northern Commercial Company

Alabama

Birmingham

Loveman’s Pizitz

Mobile

Gayfer’s

Montgomery

Gayfer’s Montgomery Fair

Arizona

Phoenix

The Broadway Diamond’s Goldwaters

Tucson