May Company California (Redirected from Hamburger's)

May Company California
FormerlyA. Hamburger & Sons
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryDepartment store
FoundedOctober 29, 1881; 142 years ago (1881-10-29) in Los Angeles, California as A. Hamburger & Sons, Inc.
FounderAsher Hamburger
DefunctJanuary 31, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-01-31)
FateMerged with J.W. Robinson's
SuccessorRobinsons-May (1993)
Macy's (2006)
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Area served
Southern California and Las Vegas
ProductsClothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
ParentMay Department Stores Company

May Company California was an American chain of department stores operating in Southern California and Nevada, with headquarters in North Hollywood, California. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California subsidiary, J. W. Robinson's, in 1993 to form Robinsons-May.

May Company California was established in 1923 when May acquired A. Hamburger & Sons Inc.. (founded in 1881 by Asher Hamburger). The company operated exclusively in Southern California until 1989 when May Department Stores had dissolved Goldwater's, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and transferred its Las Vegas, Nevada store to May Company California.

Two well-known stores were the flagship Downtown store on 8th Street between Broadway and Hill streets, and the May Company Wilshire at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The 1926 garage building at 9th and Hill Streets was one of the nation's first parking structures (Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1001). The Wilshire location has been featured in several vintage films, including Behave Yourself!

History

A. Hamburger & Sons "The People's Store"

Hamburger's People's Store Spring Street Early 1880s

Main Street store

May Company California can trace its roots to the store that Asher Hamburger and his sons Moses, David and Solomon had established in Los Angeles after their recent move from Sacramento. This store first opened on October 29, 1881, in a 20-by-75-foot room on Main Street near Requena Street and was original known as The People's Store featuring clearly printed "One Price" tags.

Spring Street store

In 1882, only one year later, Hamburger's moved to the Ponet-Bumiller Block at 45 North Spring Street (post-1890 numbering: 145 North Spring), southwest corner of Temple, in a space of 46 by 100 feet. Later, it expanded into the north half of the ground floor of the newly built Phillips Block, northwest corner of Spring and Franklin, then in 1887 into the south half. In April 1899 it added the Ponet store 20 feet to the north of the Bumiller Block.

Phillips Block — largest store in the West

In 1899, Hamburger's renovated and took over the entire Phillips Block, all four floors plus the cellar. The space officially opened June 1, 1899 and the store claimed at that time to have 3.5 acres (150,000 sq ft; 14,000 m2) of floor space and to be the largest retail store in the Western United States. Later Hamburger's added an additional 2,500 square feet (230 m2) onto its back side on New High Street

1908: An even larger “largest store in the West”

By the start of the 20th century, A. Hamburger & Sons had outgrown its Spring Street location, which had 520 employees working on five floors. The Hamburger family decided to build a much larger store at the southeast corner of Broadway and Eighth, a location that was outside of then current retail district. Construction started in 1905, with a grand opening held in 1908. This location, which was also known as the Great White Store, was the largest department store building west of Chicago at the time and would eventually become the flagship location for the May Company California. At the time that the Great White Store was opened, the store could boast of having one of the first escalators on the West Coast, several restaurants, a drug store, grocery store, bakery, fruit store, meat market, U.S. post office, telegraph office, barber shop, a dentist, a chiropractor, a medical doctor, an auditorium, an electricity and steam power plant in the basement that was large enough to support a city of 50,000 inhabitants, a private volunteer 120 men fire brigade, 13 acres of retail space (482,475 sq.ft., larger than all the department, clothing and dry goods stores in the city), and 1200 employees. The Los Angeles Public Library was also located on the third floor from 1908 until it was forced to move to a larger location when it outgrew the Hamburger space by 1913. For a short time, Woodbury Business College briefly was also located on the fifth floor. Circa 1912, there was a temporary free public menagerie on the fourth floor of 50 animals including a cassowary, a sun bear, an orangutan, a 28 ft (8.5 m)-long python, monkeys and iridescent birds.

Expansion to over one million square feet

The store continued to expand until it took up the entire block bounded by Broadway, Hill, 8th and 9th. In 1923, a nine-story addition was built on Hill Street. With the addition of a new nine-story, 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2) building in 1930 it then measured over 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2) of floor space. In the mid-1920s May Company also built a warehouse at Grand and Jefferson and in 1927 a nine-story parking garage at 9th and Hill streets.

1923: Sale to May

On March 31, 1923, the Hamburgers sold their store to the May family of St. Louis for $8.5 million (~$114 million in 2022). Thomas and Wilbur May, sons of the founder of the May Company, were sent to manage the former Hamburger store. One of the first things that they did was to expand the store again by building adjacent additions on the other parts of the city block. After several more years, the May Company store eventually occupied almost the entire block between Broadway and Hill and between 8th and 9th Streets. The old Hamburger store was officially renamed the May Company in 1927.

1939: first branch, Wilshire Boulevard

The 1939 Streamline Moderne style May Company Wilshire building, now The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

To keep pace with the extreme growth in population within Southern California during the Great Depression, May Company opened the first branch store in 1939 on Wilshire at Fairfax at a cost of $2 million (~$33.2 million in 2022).

1947: Crenshaw branch

After World War II, a second branch store was opened on October 10, 1947 along Crenshaw Boulevard at the northeast corner of Santa Barbara St. (now M. L. King, Jr. Blvd.). The store would later be integrated into the Broadway-anchored Crenshaw Plaza directly across the street to the south.

A proposed store in Hollywood that was planned at the same time was never built.

1952–1992: suburban expansion

From 1952 to 1992 May opened stores across suburban Los Angeles and Southern California (see table below). May Company-Lakewood opened at Lakewood Center on February 18, 1952, the four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m2) May Company-Lakewood was the largest suburban department store in the world.

The North Hollywood store, opened in 1955 and originally marketed as part of the Valley Plaza shopping district, was a very large at 452,000 square feet (42,000 m2), and claimed to be the second-largest suburban branch department store in the country, outsized only by a branch of Hudson's in suburban Detroit.

1992: Merger into Robinsons-May

On October 17, 1992, May Company California's parent, May Department Stores, announced the merger of May Company California with its sister company J.W. Robinson's to form Robinsons-May, thus ending the May Company California existence. It was also announced that the Wilshire store along with the stores in West Covina, Buena Park, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino were scheduled to close by the end of January 1993.

Disposal of older stores

During the early part of this division existence, May Company was also the developer of some other early shopping centers and malls which grew around the initially stand-alone stores, with the Crenshaw location being the first example.

The first May Company store, the original Hamburger's, at Broadway and 8th in downtown Los Angeles was closed when it was replaced by the just opened 7th Market Place store in 1986. This building is designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 459. After its sale, the building was primary used by small clothing manufacturing companies. In 2013, the then current owners were trying to sell the building since the surrounding area is being actively redeveloped. It was announced in April 2014 that Waterbridge Capital agreed to purchase the property, but had not given out too many details on how they might go about to develop it, except to state it would be mixed-use.

During the 1980s, the parent corporation tried to replace the iconic Wilshire store for several years by getting involved with mall development at Farmers Market. However the development that eventually became The Grove at Farmers Market was delayed for nearly two decades. The St. Louis-based parent company eventually withdrew from the project and the Wilshire store was never replaced when May Company California was later merged with Robinson in 1993. After closing, the Streamline Moderne style building was sold to Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1994 and is currently slated to house The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Store list

City Suburban region Mall or address Opened Closed Notes
opened as Hamburger's
Victorian Downtown Los Angeles Main Street near Requena Oct 29, 1881 1882 20-by-75-foot room, 1,500 square feet (140 m2). Known as The People's Store.
Bumiller Block, Temple and Spring, northwest corner of Spring Street and Franklin Avenue 1882 1908
  • Originally a space of 46 by 100 ft. (4,600 square feet (430 m2)) in the Bumiller Block, northwest corner of North Spring Street and Franklin Avenue.
  • July 1888, expanded into the north half of the ground floor of the new Philips Block, adding 60x120 ft. (7200 sq. ft.) of selling space plus basement stockroom.
  • April 1899 added the Ponet store 20 ft to the north of the Bumiller Block
  • Renovated and on June 1, 1899, officially opened the entire 4-story Philips Block, 3.5 acres of floor space
  • Later added 2,500 sq. ft. onto back (New High St.) side
Broadway, Downtown L.A. City block bounded by Broadway, Hill, Eighth and Ninth Streets August 10, 1908 1986 482,475 sq. ft. at opening. Originally built as Hamburger's, who sold it to May Co. on March 31, 1923. Extensively expanded, with over 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2) of floor area by 1930. Now the Broadway Trade Center (mixed use).
See May Company Building (Broadway, Los Angeles)
opened as May Company
Miracle Mile Northeast corner Wilshire Boulevard & Fairfax Avenue September 7, 1939 January 1993 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2). Now houses the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
See May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles)
Crenshaw District, Los Angeles Northwest corner Crenshaw and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevards (the latter was formerly Santa Barbara Avenue). October 1947 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2). Opened as a freestanding store across the street from Crenshaw Center. Integrated into Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall in the 1970s.
Lakewood South Bay/Long Beach Lakewood Center Feb 18, 1952 Upon opening, the four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m2) May Company-Lakewood was the largest suburban department store in the world. Drew business from Long Beach and competed with Downtown Long Beach shopping district anchored by Buffums.
North Hollywood San Fernando Valley Laurel Plaza Sep 9, 1955 Originally planned a store in Hollywood, then Valley Plaza, in the end this free-standing store was built; featured men's, women's and childrens apparel and accessories, Boy and Girl Scout uniforms, notions, jewelry, small and major appliances, silverware, toys, books, sporting goods and stationery departments. Services included a beauty salon, tearoom, snackbar, auditorium, and parking for 3,000 cars. A mall was added later on. At 452,500 square feet (42,040 m2), largest suburban branch department store in the West. Turned into mixed retail use after Macy's closed in 2016. Architect Albert C. Martin Sr. & Assoc. Store manager at launch Norman Caldwell.
West Covina San Gabriel Valley Eastland Center 1957 January 1993 Now demolished for Target and Burlington Coat Factory since 1996
Redondo Beach South Bay LA Co. South Bay Galleria 1959
Mission Valley San Diego Mission Valley Center 1960 The May Company Building at Westfield Mission Valley is empty now but considered an architectural landmark
Buena Park North Orange Co. Buena Park Mall 1963 January 1993 First became Fedco in 1993, now demolished for Walmart since 2003
Canoga Park San Fernando Valley Topanga Plaza Shopping Mall 1964
Rancho Park Westside LA Co. Pico and Westwood Boulevards (later part of Westside Pavilion) 1964
Whittier Southeast LA Co. The Quad at Whittier 1964 March 31, 1987 Closed just six months before the Whittier Narrows earthquake which took place at 7:42 a.m. October 1, 1987. The store's three-level parking structure fell almost flat to the ground as a result of this quake, and the store itself suffered internal damage but remained intact until its controlled implosion (via dynamite) a few years later.
Costa Mesa Orange Coast Costa Mesa 1966
Arcadia San Gabriel Valley El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center 1966 Victor Gruen & Assoc., architects; Welton Becket & Assoc., Spanish colonial interiors. 240,000 sq. ft. Was a Vons supermarket, currently empty.[citation needed]
San Bernardino Inland Empire Inland Center 1966 January 1993 First became Gottschalks in 1995, now JCPenney since 2016, new Robinsons-May store built 5 years later in same mall (now Macy's)
Montclair Inland Empire Montclair Plaza 1968
Carlsbad North Co. San Diego Plaza Camino Real 1969
Oxnard Ventura Co. Esplanade Mall November 2, 1970
El Cajon East San Diego Co. Parkway Plaza 1972
Riverside Inland Empire Tyler Mall 1973
Eagle Rock Northeastern Los Angeles Eagle Rock Plaza 1973 Became Macy's in 2006, Macy's closed in September 2023.
City of Orange North Orange Co. The City Shopping Center 1974 July 1991 Closed two months after the one at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California opened
Westminster Orange Coast Westminster Mall 1974
Culver City Westside LA Co. Fox Hills Mall 1975
Brea North Orange Co. Brea Mall 1977
Thousand Oaks Ventura Co. The Oaks 1978
Mission Viejo South Orange Co. Mission Viejo Mall 1979
La Jolla San Diego La Jolla Village Square 1979
Sherman Oaks San Fernando Valley Sherman Oaks Galleria 1980
Pasadena San Gabriel Valley Plaza Pasadena 1980 1989
Bonita South Bay, San Diego Co. Plaza Bonita 1981
Palos Verdes South Bay LA Co. Promenade on the Peninsula 1981
Palm Desert Coachella Valley Westfield Palm Desert 1983
Montebello Southeast L.A. Co. Montebello Town Center 1985
Escondido North San Diego Co. Escondido 1986
Downtown Los Angeles Seventh Market Place March 13, 1986 After a long period of declining sales, the original Downtown flagship store at 8th and Broadway was closed and replaced by this smaller store. The parent company had previously relocated the main corporate offices for the May Company California division from the former Hamburger Building to the North Hollywood store at Laurel Plaza in 1983.

The store is now the site of Nordstrom Rack (level M1), Target (level M2), and H&M (level M3).

Bakersfield Valley Plaza Mall 1988
Las Vegas, Nevada Fashion Show Mall converted 1989 acquired from sister company Goldwater's in 1989 when parent company May Department Stores decided to cut costs by consolidating divisions. The Las Vegas store is one of two locations in which a pre-existing store was acquired from another organization instead of being built from scratch, the other being Orange, originally constructed as Walker-Scott Department Store.[citation needed]
Santa Maria San Luis Obispo Co. Santa Maria Town Center 1990
Downey SE LA Co. Stonewood Center 1990
Santa Ana Central Orange Co. MainPlace Mall May 1991
Santa Clarita Santa Clarita Valley Valencia Town Center September 1992
Moreno Valley Inland Empire Moreno Valley Mall October 1992 The last new store to open which was open for three months when the merger with J.W. Robinson's took place and became Robinsons-May.

Gallery

References in popular culture

  • On the Jack Benny radio and television programs, Benny was said to have met his girlfriend Mary Livingstone (played by his real-life wife, Sadie Marks) at the May Company when she worked there in the hosiery department. This is one of the few instances in radio or television history where a real business was made part of the story. (Jack and Mary Benny actually met through friends and not at a department store.)

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-20 22:14 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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