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| The Hecht Co.'s terra-cotta faced F Street store at the corner of 7th Street NW in the Nation's capitol. |
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| The new building of The Hecht Co. opened to great fanfare on November 12, 1925 |
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| In 1941, the store was expanded to E Street by a modernistic addition. |
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| The various buildings of The Hecht Co. began to fill an entire block and were advertised as the "Greater Hecht Co. Store." |
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A 1957 view from 6th and F Streets, NW, shows
The Hecht Co.'s expanded store and adjoining parking decks. |
The Hecht Co.
F Street
Washington, D.C. (1896/1925)
NAtional 8-5100
Downstairs
Thrift Center
Street Level
Fine Jewelry • Watches • Diamonds • Clocks • Costume Jewelry • Real Thing Jewelry • Scarves • Umbrellas • Handbags • Small Leather Goods • Belts • Gloves • Hosiery • Sunglasses • Ladies’ Accessories • Cosmetics • Wig Salon • Boulevard Sportswear • Boulevard Sportswear “Directions” • Blouses • Sweaters • Boulevard Shoes • Calculator Boutique • Cameras • Stationery • Notions • Luggage • Candy • Gourmet Foods • Bakery • Live Shop Healthy Foods • Telephones • Calculator Boutique • Cameras • Fabrics • Art Needlework • Optical Dept. • Pet Shop • Fabrics • Men’s Furnishings • Men’s Sportswear • Men’s Accessories • Young Men’s Club • Books
Mezzanine
Boulevard Dresses • Boulevard Coats • Daytime Dresses
Second Floor
Men’s Clothing • Men’s Outerwear • Men’s Hats • Men’s Shoes • Men’s Sportswear • Tots’ & Toddlers’ Wear • Infants’ Wear • Infants’ Furniture • Girls’ Wear • Girls’ Sleepwear • Sub-Teen Wear • Boys’ Wear • Jr. Deb Wear • Children’s Shoes • Maternity
Third Floor
Fourth Floor
Furniture • Bedding and Sleep Furniture • Orient Express Shop • Interior Design Studio
Fifth Floor
Stereos • Televisions • Radios • Televisions • Appliances • Domestics • Blankets • Pillows • Linens • Bath Shop
Sixth Floor
Bedspreads • Curtains • Draperies • Slipcovers • Decorative Pillows • Pictures and Mirrors • Rugs and Broadloom • Slipcovers
Seventh Floor
Housewares • Electrical Appliances • China • Glassware • Gifts • Silver Shop • Lamps and Shades • Dinettes • The Loft • Hardware • Garden Shop • Vacuums • Cleaning Supplies
(555,000 sq. ft.)
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| Silver Spring (1947) 255,000 sq. ft. The Maryland Room |
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| Parkington (1951) 285,000 sq. ft. The Virginia Room |
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| Prince Georges Plaza (1958) Hyattsville, MD 198,000 sq. ft. The Maryland Room |
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| Marlow Heights (1960) 196,000 sq. ft. The Maryland Room |
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| Laurel Shopping CenterBaltimore Ave & Montrose St. Laurel, MD 84,000 sq. ft. The Snack Bar |
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| Landmark Center (1965) 162,000 sq. ft. |
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| Montgomery Mall (1968) Bethesda, MD 217,000 sq. ft. The Garden Spot |
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| Tysons Corner Center (1968) McLean, VA 234,000 sq. ft. The Garden Spot |
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| Landover Mall (1972) 155,000 sq. ft. The Castle Keep |
Lakeforest Mall (1978)
Gaithersburg, MD
150,000 sq. ft.
Coming in Due Course.
I'm sorry to bother you! If any of you know of a lady who used to work at the Hecht Museum in D.C. in the late '60's & '70's, please give her my email so she can contact me.
ReplyDeleteHer name is Helen Drivas and she was responsible for taking my grandfather on a tour there (after his exhibit at Macy's) where another exhibit was arrange at the D.C. location!
Thanks,
Chrysoula
kryskreations@yahoo.com
My first job was at the Hecht Company at 7th and F Sts. N.W. at the age of 16. My paycheck for the week was about $38.00 if my memory serves me correctly. The year was 1958. I stood behind the counter on the first floor selling ladies gloves at Christmas time. Across the street on F was the White Tower where we would go to share a cherry coke a hamburger and play the jukebox at lunch. I remember the elevator operators wearing uniforms. The biggest perk of all was to see the magical window displays for Xmas at Hechts, Woodies, Lansburghs and Kanns Department Stores. Neisners was another wonderful place to go for teens. We could sit and listen to 45 rpm rock and roll hits for free. Hop on a street car to get home. Nobody had a car back then, and nobody cared. We were having too much fun.
ReplyDeleteDear Sharon:
ReplyDeleteYou, like many others, have related a great tale of how these stores formed a background to our lives at the time . . . an aspect of life I find missing in our throw-away, cookie-cutter society. It wasn't just stores, I believe - there are many other things (neighborhoods, hotels, modes of transport, amusement parks) that managed to add richness to life, so that people actually enjoyed mundane things things like shopping.
My favorite part of your comment is that you were having "too much fun" to care about a car, since downtown shopping, taking the streetcar, etc. made life itself fun. I think we could all use a little less hassle and more sheer enjoyment out of the simple things in life. Enough philosophizing, though, for me.
I visited Woodward & Lothrop, The Hecht Co., and Garfinckel's in 1973 on my Junior class trip from De La Salle Collegiate H.S. When we were allowed some free time, I high-tailed it to 'F' Street and bought some souvenirs for my family. It was a little tattered (Lansburgh's had closed already, Kann's was on the way out, but Woodies was all one would expect of a high-class metropolitan department store, and Garfinckel's was such a beautiful palace of a store, one could imagine Washington Society making a big deal out of shopping there. While none of this was a consistent part of my daily life, I know now that it was for many people like you, if the comments received on this site are any indication.
Thank you again for sharing memories of a time and place we'll probably never see again.
BAK
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI just found your site looking to see if all the Hecht Co. stores have closed. I remember watching the Landover mall store being built and shopping there (I lived in Landover & the area). We also used to shop at PG Plaza. When I started working in DC, I rode the Metro and would go shopping at the Hecht's and Woodies by getting off the train at Metro Center and going up stairs. Loved those two stores. Hecht's was my favorite. Also, Hecht's had a store/warehouse on New York Ave, in DC, across from the railroad tracks. Drove by it all the time on my way to work or just to go into DC. Is it still there?
ReplyDeleteMany times I wish those store were still here. I always found everything I needed in clothes, shoes, gifts.:(
I too had noticed that this Hecht Company tribute page was missing the mention of the fantastic Hecht Company warehouse located on New York Avenue in NE Washington. That huge building still stands today but it has been vacant for 10-20 years I believe. The art deco style architecture of the building helps to maintain its symbolic presence and a memory of days gone by.
ReplyDeleteThis is an incredible website. Thank you for creating it. I grew up in DC in the late 40s and 50s and knew all of these department stores very well. My late husband and I used to go to Woodie's almost every Saturday to buy "this or that." It didn't matter what we needed. Woodie's would have it. In the early 60s, my mother was hired as a salesperson at Garfinckel's. Walking into that store was like walking into the Land of Good Taste. Everything was beautiful. Every store had a special appeal for me. When I began to make my own clothes, I made a beeline for Kann's in Arlington, which had the best selection of fabrics. Of the ones that were in DC, only Hecht's is left. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every other Saturday morning, Mom would take me with her to shop. First stop, we parked the car at Hecht's, walked by the candy counter with Mom promising me I could have chocolates when we returned. Sometimes we go right out to F Street to shop at all the stores in the area: Landsburgh's, Kann's, Jellef's Garfinkel's and lunch at "Woodies." I loved their wood paneled dining room with their monogram silverware. We felt like royalty!
ReplyDeleteThank you for creating this wonderful website which has provided a wonderful walk down memory lane. My grandmom and I rode the streetcar from her home in Georgetown to the stores. At Christmastime every year, my Dad drove me and my sisters downtown to see the beautiful window displays. As a teen, I took the bus from our house in Maryland downtown to spend the day shopping. My first job was at 7th and Pennsylvania, so on my lunch hour I would walk up 7th Street to visit Hechts. DC's department stores were wonderful shopping destinations and I so wish I could have shared them with my children as my mom and Grandmom did with me!
ReplyDeletei worked as a Display Trimmer at the DC store in the early 70's -- the salesclerks throughout the store were a great bunch of folks to know-- very friendly. There was a restaurant across the street -- I think it was called Carroll's-- there's a Starbuck's there now. Carrolls had a blue plate special for $3.99 and on our salaries, that was the best place to go to for great food and company. If you were REALLY broke, you could go across the street from Carroll's (7th street) and get a 39 cent hoagie from Kress's 5&10.
ReplyDeleteI just learned that my great grandfather worked for the Hecht Co. as a young man in Washington, D.C. Also, I have a love letter written from my grandfather to my grandmother on the inside of a handkerchief box with the Hecht company logo that starts something like "I'm sitting here eating a sandwich..." and proceeds to how he can't quit thinking about her...my family is a D.C. family from way back so Hecht's was part of our life!
ReplyDeleteI have a trollie car that has the name Hecht company on it and must have been a promotional. Would like to see if any collectors or museum about the Hecht would be interested in the tin car which is in very good condition. It was found in an actic on Park Ave in 1973.
ReplyDelete