Bloomingdale Brothers (Bloomingdale’s) (1872/94/1930)
Lexington at 59th Street
New York, New York
ELdorado 5-5900
LEXINGTON AVENUE AT 59TH STREET DIRECTORY (935,000 sq. ft.)
Metro Level
Saturday’s Generation Espresso Bar • Metro Juniors • Workouts
Lexington Level
Lexington Shop Accessories • Lexington Misses Sportswear • Lexington Misses Dresses • Lexington Sport Shop • Lexington Lingerie • 40 Carrots
Lingerie Level
Loungewear Collections • Sleepwear • Body Scene • Daywear • Designer Collections • John Kloss Boutique • Junior Lingerie
Escalator Level
The Men’s Store Suits • Outerwear • Peterborough Row • Islander Cruise Shop • Pro Shop • G.U.T.S. • Tennis Shop • Via Europa • The Traditionalist • The 59 Shop
The Arcade
Cul-de-Sac • Fine Jewelry • Watches & Clocks • Handbags • Le Sportsac Boutique • Scarves • Gloves • Delicacies Shop • The Bakery • Au Chocolat
Street Floor
b’way The Beauty Spot • La Parfumerie • Beauty at Bloomingdale’s • Shiseido Skin Spa • Lauder Perspectives • Adrien Arpel • Orlane Institut de Beauté • Baubles (Costume Jewelry) • Shoe-bert Alley • Vanities (Slipper Bar) • Carry-Ons (Handbags) • Clinchers (Small Leather Goods) • 59th & Legs (Hosiery) • The Leg Show (Leg Fashions) • Headliners (Millinery) • Parade Dress • Rain Checks (Umbrellas) • Center Aisle • Wigs • Notions • Closet Shop
The Men’s Store Men’s Accessories • Alfred Dunhill Ltd. • For Men Only • Harry’s Bar • Collection Sportswear • Equipment • Back Country • Aquascutum Shop • The Boardroom • Calvin Klein Shop for Men • Hunt Club Shop • Polo Shop • Christian Dior Shop • Bert Pullitzer Collection • At His Service • La Plage • “Sutton East” Gallery
Balcony
Stationery • Personalized Card Shop • Watch and Jewelry Repair
Second Floor
Plaza 2 Sportswear • Plaza 2 Dresses • Plaza 2 Coats • Plaza 2 Suedes & Leathers • Plaza 2 Shoes • Plaza 2 Handbags • The Top Shop • Good Measure • Career Shop • New Editions Sportswear • New Editions Dresses • New Editions Shoes • Plaza 2 Juniors • Guys ‘n’ Dolls • Studio 59 • "Supermarket"
Young World Baby Shop • Infants Furniture • Toddlers • Children’s Accessories • Girls 3-6x • Girls 7-14 • Girls’ Lingerie • Boys’ Clothing • Izod for Boys
Third Floor
Sutton Place Dresses • Sutton Place Sportswear • Sutton Place Shoe Salon • Sutton Place Coats • Comforting Coats • Pure Jeanius • Paradox • Beekman Place • Sixites East • Town and Country Shop • Sport Shop • Place Elégante • Passage Elégante • Missoni Boutique • YSL/Rive Gauche • Halston • Cacharel • Sonia Rykiel • The Green Room • Fur Salon • Bridal Salon
Young East Sider Dresses • Sporstwear • Coats • Y.E.S. Shoes • Positively Y.E.S.
Fourth Floor
Silver • China • Rosenthal Studio • Glassware • His & Ms • The Gift Shop • The World of Gems and Minerals • Lamps • Curtains and Draperies • Slipcovers • Ensembles • Custom Fabrics for the Home
Fifth Floor
Furniture • Sleep Shop • Gifts for the Home • Mirrors • Extraordinary Shop • The Gallery • The Indian Nation • Photographic Copy and Restoration Service
Five on Five Harry's Bar • Naturally • Cook's Tour • Perspectives • Traditional Gifts
Sixth Floor
Housewares • Au Gourmet • Gifts • Rugs • Broadloom • Art Needlework • Kit Crafts Shop • Fashion Fabrics • Radio/Television • New Diversions • Sporting Goods • Pro Shop • Ski Shop
6-1/2 Floor
Le Train Bleu
Seventh Floor
Domestics • Towels • Sheets • Pillows • Bedspreads • Blankets • Bath Shop • Linens • Poster Gallery • Trim-a-Tree Shop • The Snack Shop
7-1/2 Floor
The Book Stalls
Eighth Floor
Photo Reflex Studio • Optical Salon • Casual Furniture • Concept Furniture • Kartell Shop • Peanuts Gallery • Toytown
BRANCH STORES
New Rochelle (1947)
554 Main Street
Fresh Meadows (1949)
Stamford, CT (1954)
160,000 sq. ft.
The Chanteclair
Bergen County
Riverside Square NJ (1959)
188,000 sq. ft.
The Pavilion
Short Hills (1967)
The Mall at Short Hills NJ (1967)
247,000 sq. ft.
The Colonnade
Garden City (1972)
Ondine
White Plains (1975)
260,000 sq. ft.
White Flint (1977)
Kensington MD
259,000 sq. ft.
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| In the 1970s, Bloomingdale's commissioned artists to create shopping bags for the store. These examples are from the collection of Caroline, who provided the image to The Department Store Museum. |
Was the CHanteclair restaurant in Stamford re-named sometime in the '60s? The restaurant was re-modeled.
ReplyDeleteIn checking our Vertical Files, I found the information you requested. In 1952 when the store was first opened, the restaurant was called The Chanteclair. A 1976 brochure refers to the Ondine Restaurant.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Stamford Historical Society
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe best Bloomingdale's stores were located in Westchester County, Chestnut Hill, MA and Manhasset. These were the "Home Stores" built and opened in the early 1970's and remained till the 1980's. Full line Home store with great service. The Manhasset store was replaced by Filene'd Basement (in Manhasset!!) The Chestnut Hill store actually still exists BUT with a Men's store taking up most of the space.
ReplyDeleteI was in the White Plains store recently...it has been completely renovated. WOW!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid growing up, we always went to the Fresh Meadows store on 188th street near the LIE (Horace Harding Expwy). It was small but it had everything, and their service was excellent. By the mid 70's they expanded the store. it included an enlarged men's dept and more housewares on the lower level. It was always a pleasure going there. By the early 70's they had opened stores in Manhasset (a home store only) and Garden City. By the 90's the home store closed and the Garden City store was moved to Roosevelt Field. I am pretty sure the Fresh Meadows store closed in the 90's and today it is a Kohl's.
ReplyDeleteWasn't the Bloomingdale's Home Store in Manhasset originally (before the 70's) an Arnold Constable store? That is another long lost name in retail.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Westchester County,NY and I always loved going to the Bloomingdale's in White Plains, NY. The Christmas trim a tree shop was one of the best that I could and still remember. I found lots of "one of a kind ornaments" for our family Christmas tree. I am also proud to say that my very first suite was from the men's department at Bloomingdale's.
ReplyDeleteBloomingdale's was like no other store in the world!
ReplyDeleteAnybody have any brochures of Bloomingdale's White Plains, Tyson's Corner, and White Flint stores from the 1970s? I'm curious if it was different from what we have today.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. But I don't understand the site. Many of these stores still exist, like Bloomingdale's, NYC. Please advise.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I would advise you to read the opening paragraph of the blog. Names still exist, but these stores are no longer the same. Not bad, in some cases - I shopped and dined at Bloomingdale's in New York City only very recently - but it is very different from the "classic" Bloomingdales which I have tried to represent.
ReplyDeleteBAK
Today Bloomingdale's is "like every other store in the world"... It is nothing special
ReplyDeleteBloomingdale's in Garden City was such a fun store to shop in,the replacement store in Roosevelt Field (although a nicer building)is just not fun. There is a certain "spirit: that is just lacking (the same is true at the Huntington - Walt Whitman store).
ReplyDeleteThey also had a store in Jenkintown, PA which opened in the early to mid '70s. At first it was just a Home Store, but a later addition added the Mens Store. This store was closed in 1981 when the full-line store was opened at the new Willow Grove Park Mall.
ReplyDeleteBloomingdale's built a store in Dallas right next to the #1 producing Sanger-Harris store at Valley View (big mistake) the Bloomingdale's store in Dallas was enormous and beautifully merchandised. It did well for a few years but ultimately closed. I suspect the store would have been sustainable if Federated execs had chosen better real estate, free-standing would have been better than Valley View. Northpark or the Galleria would still have a Bloomies had they parked at either of these malls. Bloomingdale's has yet to return to Texas. The Dallas area has multiple Macy's stores 10, Dillard's 8, Neiman-Marcus 4, Nordstrom 4, Saks, Bendel's, Barney's NY, H&M and many more...
ReplyDeleteChanteclair restaurant in the Stamford Store was renames Ondine
ReplyDeleteI currently own a Florentine Rose marble top coffee table that was purchased from the Stamford store. I live in Camden, SC, so the table has come a long way. I purchased it from an estate 25 years ago in Aiken, SC.
ReplyDeleteAs a Bloomie's customer since the 70's, as someone who worked in Bergen County Bloomingdale's during college, and who still shops there and is in their highest level shopping tier, I must state "It is like every store in the world". The luster is gone. The flash is gone. The service is gone. In its heyday of the 70s it was the most trend setting, the most amazing store to shop. The NYC store was like no other. I was in it last year, after its "uptinth" redo, and while interesting, it just isn't the same.
ReplyDeleteWhat is so different from the Bloomie's today, and the Bloomie's of 1975-1980? What can we do to bring that back to the bloomingdale's of today?
ReplyDeleteAnd what was the flash and the luster and service like?
ReplyDeleteMichael
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, The Bloomingdale's of 1975 to 1980 was NOT called Bloomies! Cursive rather than print! Special Fall events where the entire store followed a theme (France one year for example). World class service! sales associates knew you by name! Clothing you couldn't find at every other store in the mall! Other than Riverside Square there weren't any mall locations! You can't recreate that today...the world sadly has changed
Can I have an example of world class service? Was it like nordstrom? And did the store sell any odd items?
ReplyDeleteI just started working at Bloomingdale's White Plains and I have to say that we have many regulars whom salespeople know by name, we have seasonal and weekly events and we are VERY much trying to give the experience that some of you are so fondly recalling. It will never be the same but it is like no other store!
ReplyDeleteReally ...I was in White Plains just last week...the service was terrible! Certainly it IS like every other store today.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Short Hills store from 1983 to 1994, back then it was like no other store. It was an honor to work there because they would only hire the cream of the crop in all areas, from management to sales. There was an energy in the store that you could not find in any other and when they had there semi annual country promotions the place was even more alive with all sorts of events. After the store changed hands in the late 80s and then filed for bankruptcy the store started to lose its allure and when the chairman Marvin Troub left the magic was gone. The store became like every other store and they cut budgets and staff as fast as they could.
ReplyDeleteWhat can we do to bring that energy back?
ReplyDeleteThe Bloomingdales Store at White Flint Mall in Kensignton, MD closed recently.
ReplyDeleteBloomingdale's Riverside Square Mall was originally the free-standing Hackensack NJ branch built in 1959; the mall was quite literally built around it in the '70's. It was an "upscale" store and not the place to find affordable back-to-school clothes for four young children! Mom usually went to Bloomingdale's only when she had to buy a wedding gift. She was very proud of her Bloomingdale's charge plate (in those days they weren't plastic cards they were metal plates). It was her first charge account opened years before when she worked in New York City. Mom always said her wedding gown came "off the rack" from Bloomingdale's. That was also where she bought her service of sterling flatware; a full luncheon, dinner, and dessert service for twelve, each place setting wrapped in brown anti-tarnish cloth printed with the Bloomingdale's script B in silver. The entire service wrapped in the original cloths remains in the family. Mom always said Bloomingdale's meant quality.
ReplyDeleteGuys, I have acquired vintage Bloomingdales directories of the 59th street store from 1981. One is a regular directory, the other is a special promotional directory for the Ireland promotion. I took pics of them and I wish to have the directory transcribed onto this page. Please tell me what to do and where to send them.
ReplyDeleteI HAVE A ROUND TABLE WITH A METAL TAG ON IT "MADE FOR BLOOMINGDALES IN FRANCE". IT WAS MY GRANDMOTHERS AND I REMEMBER IT IN HER NYC APARTMENT IN THE EARLY 40'S. AT THAT TIME I WAS 5 OR 6 YEARS OLD. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT.
ReplyDeleteBloomingdales @ Lexington & 59th Street, NYC... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ was the shopping experience. Macy's has taken over and it shows in the merchandise offered for sale....ZZZZZZZZZZZ... nothing special/unique. The glory days are over for Bloomies @ 59th Street. They should discontinue the motto like no other store in the world"... while 59th Street store has been remodeled recently, once Macy's Herald Square remodel is complete both stores will be VERY similar.. again, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ReplyDeleteBloomingdales @ Lexington Ave, NYC..... where have you gone? Yes, you constantly remodel and keep current and are convenient to the Upper East Side... BUT, you have become another department store with bland merchandise @ a lower price point and scream sale AKA Macys and poor customer service. Your Boulivard 4 designer floor is a ghost of its former self, heck the whole store is a ghost of it's former self.
ReplyDeleteI note during my current visits you are trying to return to upmarket in the first floor and mens clothing and I applaud your effort. Shoppers want you to return to your past and not be an Upper East Side Macys clone.
Bloomingdale's sadly lost its upscale fashion-forward merchandise orientation in the years following parent company Federated's 1994 merger with the much larger mainstream Macy's.
ReplyDelete.
During the pre-shopping mall suburban retail era, Bloomingdale's 1972 Garden City store was a landmark on Franklin Ave, the "Fifth Ave of Long Island", along with prominent Saks and Lord & Taylor stores. After the Macy's merger, Federated shut down its Abraham & Straus chain and moved the Garden City Bloomingdale's into a nearly new A&S store in nearby Roosevelt Field mall. Today only L&T remains on Franklin Ave and the formerly tony Bloomingdale's building there is a Sears.
Do you know who Bloomingdale bought the 749 Lexington Avenue property from? I've been doing research and found that a relative owned the property not long before the store opened.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
I have a question: Does anyone know if Bloomingdales in New York City was open on the Sunday before Christmas in the early 50's (specifically 1952)?? Would greatly appreciate any help with this one!
ReplyDelete- Alex
If I were you, I'd look it up in the New York Times
ReplyDelete-Bruce
I would like to answer Michael; he asked "what can we do to bring that energy back?". I remember shopping with my mother and aunt in Bloomingdales, Saks, Bambergers, Hahnes, etc. and the common thread of service was that the sales people made you feel as if it was their pleasure to provide service to you. We were not wealthy and did not spend large amounts of money but yet we were never made to feel as if we were interrupting someone's day or they definitely had something better to do than assist you. I know that corporate hires bodies that will accept the rate of pay offered and will work the miserable hours most of these employees must work. But treat your employees as if they matter, that their lives and the lives of their faimilies are important - treat them well. In short, take a page out of the lesson book of Bamberger's and maybe shoppers will once again speak of Bloomingdales with respect.
ReplyDeleteDuring a shopping trip with my step-mother and sister in the Summer of 73 or 74 we had the chance of running into Paul and Linda McCartney in the Junior's department at the Stamford CT store. My step-mother who was 29 at the time almost had a stroke. Paul actually asked if our mother was ok. Both Paul and Linda were very nice, shook our hands, and wished us a nice weekend and returned to their shopping.
ReplyDeleteThis may sound completely outlandish, but I am hoping someone else remembers (and possibly has a photo or better description/explanation) a room sort of behind the children's section at the flagship New York Bloomingdale's, where you were allowed to play. You enter and on the far side of the rather dark rectangular room was a sort of indoor play area, almost like a castle shape of various climbable ramps, mounds, and nooks. It was entirely carpeted, and the whole thing was a sort of maroon, purple, dark pink, and/or red kind of color scheme. In retrospect, it was almost like a giant cat playground for kids. There was one little nook that was a circle on its side (like a bass drum)---again, all carpeted---but it had plexiglass of some kind on the outer side so you could look out at the moms and dads and kids not in or on the actual play structure. You could sit in the bass drum nook sideways with your feet up, curled, but there were always other kids trying to get in. My family all remember this playroom to varying degrees, but my sister least of all and I have been searching the internet for any mention of it, to no avail. If I were alone I'd think I was remembering a hallucination, so maybe this comment at least will help someone else. I am hoping someone who worked at or visited Bloomingdale's in the time period (probably around 1976-1982) has more information of any kind or at least can say "yes, I remember that also!"
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, I think there's going to be a failure trying to communicate the kind of experience old-fashioned department stores (and even other stores) used to provide. There just isn't that kind of care, courtesy, or service anymore. Even when you go to really expensive places, it's not the same. The people there are working hard to imitate it because they've been instructed to, but they rarely really care about you or feel fulfillment meeting your needs. They are just doing what they are paid to do, with luck in a genuinely civil manner. I don't know what happened to cause the change, but people are simply different now.
My family pointed out that a large percentage of the salespeople used to be older adults with long careers with the same company, and now it's largely very young people not interested in the jobs they have, only using them for a temporary paycheck to a completely different job elsewhere. That could have a major effect. It's sad because I remember my mom and aunt talking with or having friends who were saleswomen and they really took pride in and enjoyed their jobs, and found pleasure in trying to do them well, not just take a sales position as a placeholder while they distractedly half-tried and hoped for something better.
Does anyone remember the names of the restaurants in the Garden City Bloomingdale's or Lord & Taylor in the late 70s - early 80s? I remember going to one whenever shopping with my mother that had fountains and lots of white and blue porcelain basins and vases but can't remember the name or the store in which it was located. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI worked at the Garden City store and helped open it in the fall of 1972. It was a gala event with bars on all three floors. There was trend setting design in all the departments. I worked in the Stationery and Luggage departments, later in Linens. I loved the Ondine restaurant, I was introduced to a Croque Monsieur there. At one time there was an Asian inspired antiques department on the top floor that was the furniture level. I worked in between the escalators selling fine antiques. That winter I managed the Christmas shop, Bloomingdales had beautiful ornaments, I still have a collection of German wooden ornaments that I bought while working there. There also used to be a fabric department in the basement, I splurged and bought some beautiful Liberty of London fabric there, it was 36" wide and cost me $5/yard, outrageously expensive at that time!!!
DeleteIt was the Birdcage at Lord & Taylor, and Ondine at Bloomingdale's.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Bloomingdale's on 59th Street in 1992-1993 and while I was there, there was a little restaurant/bakery off the 59th street side that had the best black russian bagels. Does anyone remember what the name of the restaurant was called? Or have a lead on who made those yummy bagels? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIn 1967 there was a display, organised by the Ceylon Embassy, to mark 100 years of Ceylon Tea. Are there any records of this event
ReplyDeleteThe bagels were part of the Bloomingdales bakery , that ran along the 59 street side of the store adjacent to the coffee shop. The food hall was there and replaced with the Armani shop around 92. The bagels were made/ sold by the former menus designer buyer when she left that position and went out on her own. I believe her name was milly.
ReplyDeleteI still recall shopping with my mother on the 6th Fl., Lexington Ave branch. She custom-made a beautiful mother-of-the-bride dress. It was a silk ribbon fabric in rose pink. Unfortunately, she passed, and saved the dress in memory of a special time we shared.
ReplyDeleteMy late mother made my sister's wedding dress, too. I can remember tagging along when we went to downtown Detroit in order to by lace, trimmings, beads, etc. for her.
ReplyDelete-Bruce
I worked at the flag ship store from 1991 to 1993 on 59th street and Lexington Avenue. It was the best time in my retail career! The sale associates and managers were considered the cream of the retail crop. During my time there I met many famous people of both stage and screen. The store treated everyone as equals. I made many friends and was always proud to wear my gold and back Bloomingdale's b on the lapel of my sport coat.
ReplyDeleteI have many fond memories of Bloomingdales in the 70's and early 80's. I worked in the city and frequented the store. I remember being on an elevator one rainy night and a yellow raincoat clad Raquel Welch got on...just ravishing! Another time, I was having lunch and the actress Kathleen Noone (from All My Children, and then later Knots Landing) was sitting next to me at the counter reading an All My Children script. I told her I had watched the show when I was not working but now I could not as I had just started a new job. She commented..."It's good that you are working"...and that was before VCR's were popular. I also remember the complimentary blueberry muffins they offered with every selection. The main floor was hyper energetic...I always had the feeling that you could lift your feet and be carried by the energy! I remember the Mrs. Fields chocolate chip concession and the Espresso Bar...Bloomingdales always offered something different and special. Today, they have Magnolia Bakery on the 3rd Avenue side of the ground floor. But my best memory by far was walking through the candy department (which later housed David Burke) during a snowstorm the Friday before a Valentine's Day, and a woman announcing "Can I give you a kiss?" As people approached her, she gave them a Lindt truffle sample! I am sure they must have sold tons of them that day!
ReplyDeleteMy late Mother shopped at the 59th st.store back in early 40's .She said the store did not have the cache it had in the 1970s but was still a nice store. She and Dad bought their wedding bands there in 1946.
ReplyDelete