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The Stern Brothers Department Store in New York was founded by the sons of German Jewish immigrants that began selling dry goods in Buffalo, New York. From these humble beginnings the Stern Brothers became an important merchandising family in New York City. The entire family worked in this store, which carried both luxury goods and merchandize for the working classes. It was an elegant store noted for its fashionable clothes. This enterprise was distinguished by its elegant door men in top hats and by the generous and friendly service of the Sterns themselves. It eventually was taken over by Federated Stores and the various Stern stores were converted into Bloomingdakes and Macey stores.
From humble beginnings as the children of immigrants in Buffalo, the Sterns became an important merchandising family in New York City. The entire family worked in this store. The store was founded in 1867.
The Jews were not a national group and came from many countries. The vastvoproportion of Jews who emmigrated to America came from Russia and eastern Europe, but primarily Russia. (Large areas of Poland at the time were part of Tsarist Russia.) The reason of course was the terrible oppression visited upon the Jews
by the Tsarist regime and the Cossacks. Not only were there legal restrictions, but vicisious programs massacred Jews in the thousands. The primary impetus for Russian immigration to America was the pogroms directed at Jew in the wake of the assaination of Tsar Alexander II (1881). A substantial proprtion of the Russian
immigrants were Jews. This was the largest group of European Jews to come to America. Earlier Jewish immigrants had been primarily German, but they were realtively small in number compared to the numbers of Russian Jews that began to arrive in America during the 1880s. This same oppression drove Jews into Western Europe, especially Germany which under Bismarck had emancipated the Jews. The Jews are notable for several reasons. Notably the Jews were most likely to stay in America. Few returned to Europe. The Jews were also the immigrant most willing to aid new arrivals. They actively support relief agencies for the new arrivals. The most important impacts of the Jews is surely the impact on American intellectual and political thought.
New York City was at the time and continues to be the fashion capital of the United States.
Chelsea is again a fashionable shopping area of New York. It doesn't begin, however, to achieve the status it once enjoyed. The Prince of Wales (future Edward VII) stayed at the Fifth Avenue Hotel when he visited America (1860). The hotel was located at 23rd Street, which established the social credentials of what came to become Chelsea in Manhattan. The "carriage trade" soon found the area attractive. Tghey built the brownstone row houses they the rea became famous for. After the Civil War (1861-65), merchants opened stores with stylish cast-iron front retail buildings with European window dressing to attract affluent clintele from the browstone residential areas. New York at Chelsea became known for a mile of fashionable retail stores.
The mile began at 9th Street and Broadway in the Village where A.T. Stewart opened shop. A.T. Stewart moved uptown from its Marble Palace on Chambers Street, quickly followed by B. Altman, Arnold Constable, Lord & Taylor, Tiffany, Brooks Brothers, and Gorham Silver, strung to 23rd Street along Broadway and Sixth Avenue. Stern Brothers was at Sixth Avenue and 23rd, seven stories high and 200 foot wide, while R.H. Macy had been located at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street since 1858. Lord & Taylor�s five-story building had steam elevators plushly carpeted and furnished with comfy divans for the ladies, fatigued from shopping, to rest a minute.
The Stern Brothers flagship store was located at 32 to 36 West 23rd St & 23 to 35 West 22nd St, New York City. The building was designed by Henry Fernbach and erected in 1878. It was enlarged according to a design by W. M. Schickel in 1892. The enormous, six-story cast-iron building was executed in the Renaissance Revival style. W.M. Schickel's typically 19th century addition tripled the dimensions of the original structure on the eastern portion of the site. The tall central section of this addition animates the long and delicately detailed facade. The company's monogram is located above a central arch.
Stern Brothers was a family business. The family for decades ran the store and family members filled mant positions in the store. It was not uncommon for customers to be greeted by the brothers themselves. The family was joined by A.D. Brandeis (1914). His daughter previously had married Irving C. Stern, one of the Directors of Stern Brothers. Arthur D. Brandeis was President of the J. H. Brandeis Company of Omaha, Neb., the biggest department store west of Chicago.
The Stern Brothers Department Store carried both luxury goods and merchandize for the working classes. This enterprise was distinguished by its elegant door men in top hats and by the generous and friendly service of the Sterns themselves.
The Grace building was built in 1974 for the W.R. Grace chemical company to 42nd Street as the company relocated from downtown Manhattan, replacing the Stern Brothers department store.Sterns was acquired by Allied Stores (1951). Compeau acquired Allied (1986). Compeau acquired Federated Department Stores (FDS) Beginning od Allied FDS tandem operations (1988). FDS closed its Stern's Division, locations mostly converted to Bloomingdales or Macey's (2001). The flagship Stern's Manhattan store was closed because it was only 2 blocks away frpm Macy's flagship store and the two stores would compete with each other. The store is currently empty.
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