M. Rich and Bros. Co.



Click the picture to
read a new history
of Rich's - A Southern
Institution, Published by
The History Press

Rich's 1924 building was an Italian-
Renaissance Palazzo which greatly
expanded the store from its prior
premises.

From 1935 to 1940, Rich's enlarged and remodeled its
store. This highly-idealized postcard view shows the For-
syth street side of the store as it appeared in 1939 and
conveniently ignores the fact that the ornate Atlanta Con-
stitution building occupied the Amabama and Forsyth
corner, here represented by a plain box.

The less-than-distinguished architecture
of the 1939 7th and 8th floor addition is
plainly visible in this view of Rich's at the
corner of Broad and Alabama Streets.

The 1953 Store for Men addition extended Rich's almost
to Hunter Street; the solid-wall portion was a 1939 addition
housing a smaller Store for Men.

The view from the corner of Forsyth and Hunter Streets
shows (from left) The back of the 1948 Crystal Bridge,
the 1939 store addition along Forsyth Street, the blank
back wall of the 1953 Store for Men, and a newer 1-story
portion which filled out the block.

The Crystal Bridge connected the Main
store (known as the Store for Fashion)
and the 1948 Store For Homes along
Hunter Street.

The 1948 Store for homes was a tall,
bulky brute of a building, enlivened by
an undulating wall of brick along
Hunter Street.

Adjacent to the Store for Homes was Rich's Service Building,
extending all the way to Spring Street.

Practically the rest of the block containing the Service Building
and the Store for Homes was filled by Rich's parking deck.
A view down Forsyth Street shows the
aptly-named Crystal Bridge Connecting
the Store for Fashoin and the
Store for Homes.
The Alabama Street side of the Store
for Fashion shows a blank wall and
vacant lot where the Atlanta Con-
stitution Buildign once stood.

M. Rich and Bros. Co. (Rich’s)
45 Broad Street S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30303  
             
DOWNTOWN STORE DIRECTORY (1,241,000 sq. ft.)

STORE FOR HOMES
Plaza Level Auditorium • Music Center • Television Center • Radio Center • Records • Major Appliances • Sporting Goods • Toyland • Plaza Grill


Street Floor Housewares • Small Appliances • The Cooking School • Casual Living • Lifestyle Furniture • Floor Care Center • Craft Shop •  Hardware • Paint • Grill Shop • Garden Shop • Trim the Tree Shop


Second Floor China • Glassware • Fine China •Figurine Gallery • Royal Copenhagen Shop • Georg Jensen Shop • Crystal • The Williamsburg Shop • Gifts • Table Linens • Bed Linens • Bath Linens • Bath Shop • Blankets


Third Floor Curtains • Bedspreads • Draperies • Decorative Pillows • Area Rugs • Broadloom • Piano and Organ Gallery • Pictures and Mirrors


Fourth Floor Modern Furniture • Early American Furniture • Sleep Center • Casual Furniture • Bedroom Furniture • Summer Furniture


Fifth Floor Dining Room Furniture • Living Room Furniture • Connoisseur Gallery • Interior Design Studio • Baker Gallery • Lamps • Chandeliers


STORE FOR MEN
Lower Level

Cockerel Grill
Street Floor Men’s Furnishings • Men’s Dress Shirts • Men’s Neckwear • Men’s Sweaters • Men’s Sport Shirts • Men’s Toiletries • Men’s Shoes • Men’s Hats • Men’s Accessories • Men’s Sportswear


Second Floor Men’s Clothing • Men’s Outerwear • Executive Shop • Men’s Sport Clothing • Designer Menswear • Campus Shop • Shop for Boys • Prep Shop


STORE FOR FASHION
Street Floor Watches • Fine Jewelry • Antique Silver Collection • Fine Silver Salon • Fashion Jewelry • Les Must de Cartier Boutique • Main Floor Sportswear • Hosiery • Hat Bar • Wig Salon • Slipper Bar • World of Beauty • The Parfumerie • Strictly Male • Luggage • The Candy Kitchen • Bakery • Gourmet Foods • Fashion Accessories • Gloves • Scarves • Small Leather Goods • Stationery • Business Machines • Adult Games • Electronics • Cameras • Greeting Cards • Street Floor Blouses • Street Floor Sweaters • Street Floor Sportswear • Notions • Personal Care


Mezzanine Customer Service • Alterations


Second Floor Children’s Shoes • Girl’s Lingerie • Girl’s Shop • Todller’s Shop • Infant’s Shop • Children’s Accessories • Teen’s Shop • Girl’s Accessories • The Shoe Box • Junior Lingerie • Young Junior Shop • Junior Sportswear • Junior Dresses • Junior Coats • Junior Shoes
  Crystal Grill

Third Floor Active Sportswear • Millinery Salon • Fur Salon • Bridal Salon • Insight ‘80 • Fashion Coats • Contemporary Sportswear • Wood Valley Sortswear • Wood Valley Dresses • Wood Valley Sweaters • Wood Valley Blouses • Misses Sportswear • Misses  Dresses • Misses Traditional Dresses • Misses Traditional Sportswear • Fashion Shoe Center • Designer Shoe Salon • Young Sophisticate Shoes • The Shoe Cupboard • Contemporary Shoes • Etienne Aigner Shop •  The Shop for Pappagallo • Cafe III

Rich's Regency Shop Gallerie • Young Couture • Anne Klein • Calvin Klein • RSVP • Contemporary Attitudes • Collector’s Choice • Coats • Designer Sportswear • The Specialty Shop

Fourth Floor Miss Ansley Sportswear • Miss Ansley Dresses • Miss Ansley Casuals • Miss Lenox Shop • Misses’ Coats • All-Weather Coats • Daywear • Foundations • Robes • Sleepwear Shop • Loungewear • Lingerie Shop


Fifth Floor Singer Sewing Center • Fashion Fabrics • Art Needlework • Lady Ansley Dresses • Brookwood Shop


Sixth Floor Beauty Salon • Portrait Studio • Books
Drugs • Post Office • The Magnolia Room • Grill Room • The Little Auditorium




BRANCH STORES
Knoxville, TN (1955)
The Laurel Room Restaurant
Snack Bar











Lenox Square (1959)
333,000 sq. ft.
Magnolia Room
Br'er Fox Room



Belvedere Plaza, Decatur (1959)
85,000 sq. ft.


Cobb Center  (1963)
Smyrna, GA
174,000 sq. ft.
Magnolia Buffet








North DeKalb (1965)
Decatur, GA
177,000 sq. ft.
Magnolia Room
The Inn Between








Greenbriar (1965)
180,000 sq. ft.
Magnolia Room






South DeKalb  (1969)
Decatur, GA
176,000 sq. ft.
Magnolia Buffet










Perimeter Mall (1971)
204,000 sq. ft.


Cumberland (1973)
278,000 sq. ft.













Brookwood Village (1974)
Birmingham AL
196,000 sq. ft.

Century Plaza (1975)
Birmingham AL
60,000 sq. ft.


Southlake Mall (1976)
Morrow, GA
210,000 sq. ft.









Columbia Place (1977)
Columbia, SC
181,000 sq. ft.

Augusta Mall 
Augusta, GA (1978)
151,000 sq. ft.

16 comments:

  1. I remember going to the second floor of the Store For Men to get outfitted with school clothes each year. My Boy Scout uniform came from the BSA counter in that area. Each fall, Rich's had the Harvest Sale and, at least in the 1950s, the sidewalks around the downtown store would have farmers with their produce for sale. The store was also open one or two evenings during the week of the event, something rare in those days. The Harvest Sale paid tribute to the agrarian heritage of the country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. And don't forget the flying pig ride on the roof at Christmas time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My 85 yr old mother found old hats from the 40's, 50's and 60's and some of them were contained in an old Rich's Specialty Shop hat box from Atlanta. I thought I'd look up the title and was surprised that this site even came up. So thank you. It's nice to put together a couple more interesting events to the snapshots of her life and the life of her parents. The hats brought back a lot of memories and I'm sure when I show her the pictures on your site, it'll still jog a few more.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for taking the time to compliment this work. I am only too happy to jog the memories of visitors, and, in fact, that's it's reason for existing. God Bless your mom!
    -Bruce

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice! Glad to see a web site for old department stores. I have an old "Rich's" wind-up watch that I can not find anything about it. Would you know of a web site that I could find a value for the watch? Thanks, Will

    ReplyDelete
  6. I remember in the early 90s, Cobb Center mall had changed it's name to "Four Seasons" and most of the mall was actually boarded up, except for the Rich's and a drug store, maybe one or 2 other places. I use to love going in their, nothing is quite as hauntingly beautiful as a dead mall.. mayeb I am strange for thinking that. As for the Rich's, they tore the mall down but left it. I remember the open sides of it covered with tarps as they enclosed the walls then built the current Publix shopping center around it.

    I believe it is a community College now

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm a native Atlantan and speak many an afternoon as a little girl meeting my mother under the Rich's clock to go shopping after she got off work. Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much Annette Samuels

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Atlanta History Center has the clock now...but the Pink Pig is in storage...so sad!

      Delete
  8. HI there

    there was one more branch - built in the 1980s at Gwinnett Place Mall. My mom was a Rich's employee at the downtown store and loved working there. Thanks for having this site...

    ReplyDelete
  9. We just bought a house in NC that was furnished and there is an OLD bed the sellers said was his Great Great Grandmothers. We took it apart yesterday & saw M Rich Brothers sticker on the frame and the person's name & address that bought it. I was curious as to what this place was & was shocked to see such a big place. I just wonder how old this bed is!! We want to sell it too, and it looks almost brand new. Good quality furniture was made back in the day!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Rich's in Knoxville couldn't make it against the local hometown Miller's Department Store, which died a horrible death in the early 1980s due to all the mergers and bankruptcies...

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have a white Richie teddy bear in excellent condition. Is there a museum I could give it to?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have a number of great tree Christmas ornaments. Any interest?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I acquired a very nice fur coat with your label in it wondering what I could get for it

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have original lithographs of christmas card collection from around 1940. They came from VP of purchasing in an eatate sale. Any intrests or idea of value. They are in original packagi ng.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have a painting with the item number called cubist abstract that says wall #2 which must have been hanging in richs. It says richs department store cubist abstract wall 2 then the item #. I can't find it online anywhere. Any suggestions

    ReplyDelete

Comments - Please do not comment more than once. Your comment must be approved before it is posted.