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| Wieboldt's State Street Store, acquired from Mandel Bros. in 1961. The portion facing State Street was built in 1911. |
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| Wieboldt's Wabash Avenue building was older, having been erected in 1905 as an addition to Mandel Brothers ancient quarters on State Street. |
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In the 1970s, Wieboldt's modified the ground
floor of the building with fieldstone,
coach lamps, and weathered-copper
canopies in the style of many suburban stores.
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| The east side of State Street from Randolph to Madison, with (left to right) the long-gone Columbus Memorial Building, Chas. A. Stevens, and Wieboldt's. |
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| Wieboldt's - Where you buy with confidence |
W. A. Wieboldt Co. (Wieboldt’s)
1 North State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601
STate 2-1500
Basement Floor
Wieboldt's Budget Store
First Floor
State Cosmetics • Suburbia Shop • Suburbia Blouses & Tops • Costume Jewelry • Gloves • Handbags • Hosiery • Rainwear • Fashion Accessories • Notions • Fine Jewelry
Wabash Men’s Furnishings • Men’s Sportswear • Optical Shop
Second Floor
State Luggage • Girls Wear • Infants Wear • Toddler Shop • Nursery Furniture • Girls Accessories • Tot’s Wear • Stationery • Calculators • Candy • Books
Wabash Men’s Suits • Men’s Slacks • Men’s Sportswear • Men’s Outerwear • Men’s Shoes • Men’s Hats • Boys Wear
Third Floor
State Lingerie • Robes • Sleepwear • Loungewear • Bedding • Towels and Linens
Wabash Bras and Girdles • Dr. Scholl Shoes • Fashion Fabrics • Art Needlework • Travel Service
Fourth Floor
State The Crystal Room • Misses PM Dresses • Misses Dresses • Misses Blouses and Tops • Misses Sportswear • Town and Country Shop • Coats • Fashion Coats • Maternity Shop • Junior Sportswear • Junior Dresses • Young Juniors • Junior PM Dresses • Junior Contempo Dresses • Junior Coasts
Wabash Contempo Dresses • Contempo Sportswear
Fifth Floor
State Fashion Shoes • Wiggery • Junior Shoes • Bazaar • Hats
Wabash Women’s Shoes • Casual Shoes • Music Center
Sixth Floor
State Draperies • Rugs and Carpeting • Lamps • Lighting Center • TVs • Stereos
Wabash Sporting Goods • Summer Furniture • Books • Health & Beauty Aids • Records
Seventh Floor
State Gifts • Glassware • Silverware • China • Trim-a-Tree
Wabash Housewares • Hardware • Major Appliances
Eighth Floor
State Furniture
Wabash Sleep Shop • Furniture
Ninth Floor
State Toys • S&H Geen Stamp Redemption Center
Wabash The Travertine Room • Wabash Grill • Beauty Salon
Tenth Floor
State Wieboldt Center
(881,000 sq. ft.)
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Milwaukee and Paulina
1884
Chicago
322,000 sq. ft.
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Lakeview
1912
Lincoln & Belmont, Chicago
280,000 sq. ft.
|
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Oak Park
1937
Lake & Harlem
River Forest
288,000 sq. ft;
Forest Room
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Harlem-Irving Plaza
May, 1957
Norridge
174,000 sq. ft.
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Randhurst
1962
Mount Prospect
198,000 sq. ft.
|
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Ford City
August,1965
76th and Cicero
219,000 sq. ft.
Prairie Room-Lincoln Room
The Terrace Snack Bar
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Lincoln Mall
August,1973
Matteson
175,000 sq. ft.
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Coming in due course.
On the either the 8th or 9th floor, was a major S&H Green Stamps redemption center. It was acutally 1960 when Wieboldt's acquired Mandel Bros. on State Street and Lincoln Village. Harlem-Irving opened in 1957, Meadowdale in 1959, and Jefferson Square in 1974. Plus two more in 1981, Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Orland Court (later Orland Park Place) in Orland Park. Well done and keep up the dept. store history!
ReplyDeleteMy first job was at the Wieboldt's store at the HIP. I worked on the 3rd floor in the S & H department. What a great memory!
DeleteThe S&H Green Stamps Redemption Center was on the 9th floor. According to their ad, it was the largest in the world at the time!
ReplyDeleteMy mother, Virginia Cleek, was the credit manager on the 5th Floor Credit office for years and years, until the store closed (State Street). My siblings and I have wonderful memories of meeting her for lunch in the Travertine Room and shopping the store while she went back to work. Christmas Holidays were the best!
ReplyDeleteI worked at the Wieboldts Store at 1 N. State Street in Chicago back in 1983-1984. It was a great experience, my first job that I got on my own without my dad's assistance! I was happy to be part of the last of the Glory Days of State Street! I started in the bargain basement where pants were 1.97 a pair, and then moved up to the Wabash Ave side in the men's department selling Lee, Levi's and Dungaree pants. Christmas was still magical back then and most stores didn't unveil their windows until the day after Thanksgiving! -That's a long lost tradition! We had a decent toy department, although it was waning from the heydays of the 30's through the 60's. People's tastes changed....the candy department in the middle of the second floor was still decent, and they did have great prices! Alas, all good things come to a bungled end....how come this store could survive the depression, but not the stupid 1980's? Bad Management should have been fired and the store could have survived!
ReplyDeleteJames M.
My dad was the men’s wear buyer. Bad management , for sure. Drug parties at Lake Point Tower.That was not my dad’ and my grandmother’s Wieboldts. They ran a Chicago classic into the ground.
DeleteHi Rudy,
DeleteMy partner, Stephen, and I were men's wear buyers for Wieboldt's in the mid-80's and can confirm the LPT parties at TT's apartment. We did not partake in the drug scene either!
Regards, Ben
Wish i saw your comment earlier. My dad was the men’s wear buyer- dress shirts and ties. Loved his job because the employees were all class.
DeleteI remember the store at Lincoln-Belmont-Ashland. On the day after Thanksgiving we would stand on the corner of Lincoln-Marshfield and School Street to watch the Lakeview Christmas Parade. We would marvel at the mechanical display window on that corner. Then, after the parade, it was downstairs to see Santa Claus in the toy department. If we were especially good we could get a Coke at the Snack Shop under the stairs! I miss those good old days!
ReplyDeleteof all the stores that are now gone this was my absolute favorite. i bought the most beautiful clothes there when i was a young woman. and they had "lay-away"!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a picture of my mother cutting the grand opening ribbon of the Harlem and Irving store when she was about 7 y.o. She was the daughter of Williams brother Elmer Wieboldt. That is about all I know. The family was not close as I remember.
ReplyDelete"how come this store could survive the depression, but not the stupid 1980's?" James, they did not have the corporate raiders back then.
ReplyDeleteBut I remember that store at Harlem Iriving Plaza (the HIP). When I was growing up my family and I went there a lot. I also remember the State Street Store. After awhile, the HIP became an indoor mall. The store is now a Carson Pirie Scott.
Wiebold'ts went out of business when I was about 18 or 19 y/o. Around 1985 or so, Wieboldt's began selling junk merchandise that you would then find at Kmart. Then they closed all of their stores except for Yorktown, the HIP, and a couple of others. They of course said it was the big reorganization. Brand names came back and Wieboldt's assured us improvements were coming.
But in reality they were just selling off what they had left in the warehouse. The third floor of the HIP store was vacated, except for the credit office. The DuPage sheriff seized the Yorktown store. Wieboldt's didn't make it to the 1987 Christmas season. In fact the HIP store became an outlet to sell seasonal goods. I remember a sign saying, "We are no longer Wieboldt's".
Sure it wasn't the only one that did and went under later on.
DeleteAre you familiar with a candy that they made called "Rose Jellies". My mother and I thought they were such a wonderful treat! I would love to know if I can buy them somewhere or is there a recipe book in the museum? Oh please!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous from Dec. 16, Wieboldt's closed in 1987. They filed bankruptcy in Sept. 1986, a month after they closed the Lakehurst store. The following March, they closed all stores except State Street, Ford City, HIP, and Randhurst. The first two closed in either June or July, HIP in October, and Randhurst, the last one to close, in December. All three of the above suburban branches are now Carsons.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Wieboldt's store in Evanston, Illinois was there long past 1950. We didn't move to Evanston until 1950 and I used to go there on the bus when I was a teenager!
ReplyDelete@Lynnie, the original Evanston store was called Rosenberg's, and was acquired by Wieboldt's in 1929. You can see more info on the "Jazz Age Chicago" website. They moved to the Church & Oak St. store the same year you moved to Evanston. It was remodeled in 1967 and closed in 1982.
ReplyDeleteThe suburban stores apparently all had supermarkets in the late 1950s (source: Billboard, 1958). Did the downtown flagship have a supermarket?
ReplyDeleteI am not aware if the downtown store had a grocery in the basement; I do know that it did have a budget store on the lower level. Though I visited the store a number of times, I don't recall, nor do I have any evidence of a supermarket there. Perhaps a Chicagoan could clarify.
ReplyDeleteBAK
There was a Hillman's in the basement. Used to go there with my grandmother in the 60's.
DeleteThat was Sears, not Wieboldt’s.
DeleteSlightly off topic: Does anyone remember the name of the jewelry store at Lincoln Village in the 70's? I feel like it was someone's name, but it will not come to me! Help!
ReplyDeletewe lived in Palatine in the 70's and I remember the "wonderful" cream puffs they made in their bakery at Randhurst. Does anyone have a clue how I can find the recipe?
ReplyDeleteCarol in Harrisburg PA
csb1941@verizon.net
I never remember a grocery store at the hip wieboldts or randhurst.. wish this site had some decent photos
ReplyDeleteAt Evanston and oak park they had Hillmans
DeleteI grew up in Berwyn and my mom used to take me shopping at Wieboldt's in River Forest. They had a Hillman's grocery store that, if I remember correctly, was the first part of the store we entered from the parking lot. It was kitty-corner from Marshall Field's on Lake and Harlem.
ReplyDeleteMy mother worked for Wieboldts in Randhurst, saw this site it brought back floods of memories..thanks for keeping memories alive.
ReplyDeleteDenise Thorsen Maxwell
now living in Ireland
I'm looking for a historical photo of the Lakeview Wieboldt's Dept store. Any chance you could tell me where I could order a print or drawing of the building? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi! Did you find a good pic?! I have a few
DeleteHello, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry it took so long to respond. The illustration that I have of the Lakeview Wieboldt tore is from an old ad in The Chicago Tribune. I enhanced it for use in The Department Store Museum. You could check with the Chicago Historical Society, the Public Library, or the Chicago Postcard Museum. If you have no luck, I could print my version for you.
Post a comment with your contact information, and I will not publish it.
Bruce
Bruce, can you tell me if you happen to have the employment records for Weibolt's for Milwaukee and Division in Chicago?
DeleteWhat exactly happened to bring down Wieboldt's? I remember it vaguely from my childhood; it seemed to just fade away and leave a lot of stores sitting empty for years.
ReplyDeleteSomebody on another site claimed that the acquisition of the Mandel Bros. store broke them financially; is that true?
I worked for Wieboldt's from 1971-1981. Wieboldt's was sold by the family to a corporation known for buying, bankrupting & using it's acquisitions as a tax write-off and that's exactly what they did with Wieboldt's. Wieboldt's closed in 1987. I loved working there.
DeleteWhat was the final location in Evanston, Illinois? Was it on Davis Street
ReplyDeleteThe Evanston store was at the northeast corner of Oak Street and Church Street. They had a parking lot/garage on the west side of Oak Street
ReplyDeleteYes. They had multi tier lot west of Oak. They delivered your groceries over to you from the basement. They also had an auto center in the lot.
DeleteI don't really remember a Wiebolt's in Lincoln Village because I didn't really go there at that time, but the address you give for Lincoln Village is not correct. Lincoln Village is on Lincoln Avenue between Peterson and Devon at 6103 N Lincoln Ave in Lincolnwood. 4041 N Milwaukee Ave is in Chicago at Milwaukee, Irving Park Rd and Cicero.
ReplyDeleteLincoln village had a wieboldt's and a Polk Brothers store Davidsins Bakery. Other stores.
DeleteIt's in Chicago actually, but the border to Lincolnwood is nearby.
DeleteI grew up in Chicago and lived there from my birth in 1946 until 2008 and am most familiar with the Wieboldt's stores in downtown Chicago and in Lakeview at School Street, Ashland and Lincoln Avenues north of Belmont which was walking distance from where we lived. The Lakeview store had a grocery department including fresh produce which faced onto Lincoln Ave. at the south end of the store. I don't remember a grocery in the downtown store.
ReplyDelete@Anita, the Lincoln Village Wieboldt's was a small soft-goods only store which was originally Mandel Bros. that Wieboldt's bought in 1960 along with their State Street flagship. I've seen in their ads in the Chicago Tribune that the State Street Wieboldt's did not have a grocery department.
ReplyDeleteMy first job after college was at Wieboldt's State street store, as the staff assistant to the controller, in 1974 and 1975. The company was still doing well, and the State Street store was the jewel of the chain. But, it was clear to us on the inside that the company was already starting to falter competitively as an increasingly distant second to Marshall Fields. Wieboldt's was an important part of Chicago history, and the corner of State and Madison seemed like the heart and soul of Chicago.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was the buyer of women's dresses (worked at the State Street store) in the very early 40's.
ReplyDeleteShe loved her work, but at the time suddenly the war dept. said that if she kept working my father would have not been able to finish his medical residency in surgery and would have been drafted (not the only bread winner) into the war, so she quit and became a volunteer Red Cross helper. Of course, my father was drafted after he finished the residency, but she went back to Cleveland to live with her parents. But she often talked about her job at Wieboldts with fond memories.
A friend of mine just bought a clock that was supposed to have hung outside of Weiboldts State st. Does anyone know if and when that clock was sold ? How about a picture? Thank you
ReplyDeleteI know I'm in slightly the wrong place but my lateral thinking isn't at best just now and anyway someone out there might just know the answer to my question. In the 1960s (and before) (and for a while after) there was a sheet music/record store on Wabash Avenue where one could go to listen to records in booths. Anyone know the name of it? It was a famous Chicago music publisher I think.
ReplyDeleteI think with the sheet music he maybe referring to Lyon and Healy also on Wabash
DeleteNo worries . . . is the shop you are speaking of Rose Records? I used to buy classical music there when visiting Chicago; they had a good selection on an upper floor, as well as one of my favorites, Gramophone magazine from the UK.
ReplyDeleteBruce
Hi Bak, I just found your website as I am preparing for a lecture I will be giving, "Mannequin Mystique," on Feb 12, 2012 at The University of Chicago. One of the images I am using is of an ad featuring W.A. Wieboldt & Co from 1923. It is actually promoting window display: "Colorlighted using X-Ray Jove Reflectors, Color-Ray Portable Window Flood LIghts & Spot Light for each Figure" dated 1923. I am excited to find your website. I have been researching the history of mannequins since 1978. I can't wait to study your website. Thanks for your contribution in this area! Marsha Bentley Hale
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the name of the candies that came in black and lavender at Wieboldt's? They were little squares, very chalky almost like Newcomers candies. I would love to find these. The black ones would really turn your tongue black.
ReplyDeleteTHEY WERE CALLED "LAVENDER ANISE, AND LICORICE ANISE". IF YOU FIND THEM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
DeleteI worked at the Milwaukee ave store when I was in high school 1971--and thru college and it was a second job after college... after they closed the Milwaukee ave store I was transferred to the state street store..... That was a very fun time in my life I worked stock and on the docks and distributing the goods to the various dept's....I remember that in the beginning of each year we would have to do inventory and that was a big job to do over the weekend esp at the state street store, working thru the night.but that was a nice check for a high school/college job...also there was a grocery store in the milwaukee ave store off paulina entrance, I want to say it was named Hillmen's ??
ReplyDeleteI have a friend buying a condo in the former milwaukee Ave.store. Any chance you have a picture of/in/around that store?
DeleteI have some genuine alligator shoes from this store that are Galliano. Anyone know how much they are worth?
ReplyDeleteLike most commentors I got my first job as a stock boy at the "Downtown" store", 1 No. Sate st., in 1962, taking the "L" and getting off at the "State St. Station" located at the basement door of Weiboldt's. I started during my sophomore of H.S in the shipping and receiving department on the 13th floor under the supervision of Mr. Thomas. He was a wonderful guy and took in many youngsters giving them a positive start in the work field. I have nothing but fond memories of gaining my financial independence for $1.25 an hr. It enabled me to buy my first car and I've been making car payments ever since, thanks, Mr. Thomas. (I really mean that, thanks Mr. Thomas wherever you are)
ReplyDeleteresponse to the question published by anonymous on Feb. 8th 2012. The name of the store was "Carl Fisher".
ReplyDeleteWho was Hillmen's Grogery store own by. And what was the name of the Grocery Store in the basemant of Sears at 63rd and Halsted, could it have been Hillmen's. Wieboldt's at 63rd and Green had a Hillmen's in the basement which was only a block away from Sears, two grocery store's with the same name only a block away.
ReplyDeleteI can answer these questions.
DeleteHillmans was in basement of Sears State Street. Our family bought The Hillmans Nakery plant and continued making Hillmans and later Davidsons bakery product. We are Heinemamm's Bakeries. Hillmans was family owned and they decided to get out of the ever decreasing profit and competition of the super market world. They also owned the famous Stop and Shop.
Do you know of any way to find out what stores were at harlem and irving in 1984?
ReplyDeleteI found a "wom pum" coin in my old bungalow. Anyone know what this is or how old it is?
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy mother recently passed away and in cleaning out her house I found a River City bowl in a Wieboldt's box. Having never heard of it, I looked it up and found this site. If anyone would like to have it, it is 9 1/2 inch square and in very nice condition. I don't know if it has any value, but before I dispose of it, I thought I would ask. If you are interested, you can reach me at lindash2317@yahoo.com.
i did the wigs and blended hair pieces at ford city and harlem and irving ,1967,68.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous commented above about not remembering a grocery store at the HIP Wieboldt's.
ReplyDeleteYES, it most definitely DID have a grocery store, on the first floor, towards the north end of the building.
Regarding Randhurst, the mall had three anchors when it opened - Carson's, Wieboldt's and Montgomery Ward's. When Wieboldt's closed, Carson's moved from their original location to the Wieboldt's store.
This is almost right
DeleteThe HIP Wiebolt's also had a section to buy Cub Scout uniforms and accessories.
ReplyDeleteSo right, and I recall on the same floor as green stamp redemption. I paid for my cub scout stuff with moms green stamps ( as the took the stamps directly on merchandise). Been nearly 60 years, but brings back good memories.
DeleteThe Lincoln Village address is wrong. It's in Chicago and is at McCormick and Lincoln. The Office Depot that occupies the space now lists 6165 N. Lincoln as the address.
ReplyDeletethe ford city store had a grocery when i worked there 1968,they would hold my groceries in the cooler until i got off work.i did the wigs and hairpieces there and at harlem and irving.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Wieboldts at the HIP quite well. S&H green stamps redemption was on the 2nd floor at the north end, and you could walk thru the store, out to the south end onto a parking lot which was above all of the stores in that part of the plaza. the ramp up and down was a little scary, especially when we drove those big land barges in the 60s and 70s!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@Carnivore, when Wieboldt's closed their Randhurst store Bergner's took over the space. After Bergner's bought Carson, Pirie, Scott the Bergner's became Carson's and JCPenney moved into the former Carson's building.
ReplyDeleteThis is correct. Bergners bought Carsons and so they moved into hemore recently remodeled store.
DeleteWasn't the grocery store associated with Wieboldts Hellman's? Not Hillman's?
ReplyDeleteIt was Hillmans.
DeleteMy 102-year-old Mother was the transportation department secretary from 1927 to 1937. She edited their house organ "Wieboldt Window." At some point, several years ago, she gave her copies to their archives. Does anyhone know where they are now? If so, please email me at ALROMASO@sbcglobal.net and put "Wieboldt Window" in the subject line. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI thought there was a Wieboldt's at Stratford Square Mall in the late 70s or early 1980s. Wikipedia (faint ammunition) seems to back me up on this.
ReplyDeleteYes there was a Wieboldts at Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale. Bought a Christmas Tree their. Suddenly all the merchandise was disappearing. I knew something was wrong. They never gave me their credit card until they were gonna go out of business. Used it once.
DeleteFields
DeleteSears
Wieboldt's were all at Stratford along with others
Thanks so much for this web site. I was fortunate to grow up in Oak Park Ill during the 50s, 60s and 70s. Must say having Weiboldts on here is extrodinary. It was actually located in River Forest since it is on the South West corner of Harlem and Lake. I never realized how visionary the architecture was since it was built in 1937. For the most part we shopped Marshall Fields and Wieboldt's for us was considered a 'step down'. But in hind sight it was an incredible store with the parking ramp which my dad would park on which seemed fun to do for all of us. There is another department store you might want to research that was in Oak Park on the corner of Forest and Lake called Lyttons (?). It was high end like Fields with a 4 story parking lot behind it (adjacent to Austin Gardens). Hope this helps do you even read this stuff?? Joe
ReplyDeleteThe name of the grocery store was HILLMANS FINER FOODS, along with STOP & SHOP as well as Gaper's Caterers located in the downtown building. My father Daniel Schultz and his co-worker Claude were the sign painters, silk screen artists , that made the signs for all three of these food concerns and their many stores throughout the Chicagoland area. My father left Hillman's in 1974 after a series of heart attacks, leaving Claude to handle all of the signage. My father died in 2008 in Marcellus, MI.
ReplyDeleteJosephine Schultz
Does anyone know where I might find the little international dolls that were sold at Weiboldt's during the late 60s, early 70s? I've tried Craigslist but no replies. I want to add to my current collection. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt might be the Madame Alexander International doll collection.
DeleteBy any chance, do you remember the name of the dining restaurant inside the Weiboldt deaprtment store on State Street, Chicago?
Wieboldt's had the Travertine Room on the ninth floor, Wabash Street side.
DeleteThanks, Joe!
ReplyDeleteYes, I do read each and every legitimate comment, and review them before publishing to make sure that the comments are appropriate. There has been a delay for the last few weeks because I have been out of the country on vacation. I can only say that the Mediterranean Sea was very relaxing and I can now say that I have been to Rome and the Vatican.
Lytton's was a large, nice clothing store, the likes of which we don't have anymore. Until the newer store was built in 1956, the store had beeen located since 1927 at 1033 Lake Street; it was originally known as The Hub. The downtown Chicago one was quite remarkable, and is pictured in one of the Arcadia Books about Chicago retailers.
Also, in Oak Park, there was a department store at Lake and Oak Park called Gilmore's. The beautiful Prairie Style building still exists and is known as Scoville Square.
I wish I had time to respond like this to each comment, but in reality, I can only do so when I have some free time. I do know that the many lovely comments about historical department stores are one of this site's great attractions for many people who enjoy reading them.
Bruce
Hi. How did you come to
DeleteAppreciate this store so much ? How did you acquire all the info of all the stores? It's really great to read all the memories. Do you remember or know what stores, if any , were next to kotz shoes( and Chinese take out) before they were demolished? I read that 3 other building were razed. Curious if they were residential or commercial . Thank you
I thought that there was a Department Store owned by two Jewish Brothers in Evanston; I cannot recall the name; if anyone could help me remember, I would appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteRoger Plafkin
Plafkin Farms-View on Photobucket.com and Webshots.com
2150 Buttrick
Ada, Michigan
49301
1-616-676-0590
plafkin@juno.com
Lords?
DeleteI sure loved the River Forest, IL Wieboldt's Christmas windows back in the 1950's & 1960's.
ReplyDeleteIn 1978 when I got married I purchased 3 sets of percale sheets from them. The top sheets & pillowcases are still in great shape. Wish things would last that long now a days.
The Meadowdale Wieboldt's was the best, and it was where my Mom brought me to see Santa. There were two outside displays and every Christmas there would be a scene in one and Santa in the other. Great memories in the 60's.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad had a part-time job there clearing out the cash registers after closing and he brought me a couple of times. I had the run of the store, what a dream-come-true!
My father was President of Weibolts in the 1955 -1965. I remember doing the grocery shopping for my mother in the Oak Park store. I remember shopping in the store and getting a discount. My family had a wonderful life in Chicago because of Weibolts.
ReplyDeleteMonica
@Anonymous from Sept 11, 2012, the Stratford Square store in Bloomingdale (not shown in this exhibit) opened on March 9, 1981, followed by Orland Court (later Orland Park Place, adjacent to Orland Square) on August 13 of that year. These were the last two Wieboldt's stores ever to open. Stratford Square held the distinction to be the only indoor mall shared by Wieboldt's and Field's, as well as Carson's. JCPenney now operated in the Stratford store, and the Orland store is shared by Nordstrom Rack and Marshalls.
ReplyDeleteI worked for Wieboldt's State Street in the early 70's from junior year in high school until after entering college. For about four years. I started in the work clothes area of the basement men's ware and then moved to men's suits shortly after starting. It was an experience I have never forgotten and I am late fifties now. In those days you were actually trained in the job before going to the floor. They wanted expert service even from a 16 year old kid. It’s interesting every Christmas because I am probably the only guy for miles around that actually knows how to wrap a package, check the fit of a suit and how to pack it. When you purchased a suit it had to be folded properly, stuffed with tissue to retain its shape, the box lined with tissue and then everything placed correctly in the box. The box had to then be tied with cord and a wooden handle attached for easy carrying. This Christmas even the high end stores just place a flattened box (won't fit what you just bought)in the bag along with the wadded up merchandise you just purchased. I was also trained on the proper fit of a suit and how to mark it up for tailoring which was done in house. Funny asking a clerk now about the fit of a suit they look at you like you are crazy.
ReplyDeleteBoy how service has changed and become inefficient. There is no training, no proper way to treat a customer and they can’t even use the registers, just a warm body at a counter. We had to know the price of everything in our department; we were tested on it and how to apply a sales discount “manually” to the total. People in stores now can’t make change if the register doesn’t tell them how much to give back.
All of this really points to a decline in our society as a whole. It’s a pity because it will never come back. I write this especially after going through this last Christmas shopping season. I have never encountered such non-caring unintelligent people who represent the company they are working for. I wish you could travel back in time at least to shop at the great stores that once existed. The stores of the past such as Field’s, Carson’s (old stores not the current renditions owned by Bon-Ton which are trying to be a Kohl’s) and Wieboldt’s were an experience not just a place to shop. The service always impeccable.
The State Street store did sell candies, bakery goods, their Napoleons were my favorite and packaged goods from places like England and Europe but they didn’t have a full grocery service. Stop and Shop was on State Street but was a free standing store.
Reading all the comments here brought back many memories even after forty plus years. Thank you for that. Pete
Wonderful memories, I worked at the State St Store the last five years befor they closed. I met a lot of great people there, I started as a clerk in the buyers office on the 10th. floor and was promoted after one year to assistant buyer for bed linens.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you ever heard of a "Lehman" department store in the Chicago, Il downtown area. I believe it would hae been there in the 1920-1930's. i'm not sure, my mother told me she went downtown to "Lehmans department store to pay a bill for my grandmother and the clerk asked her if she was related to the "Lehman" owners of the store. My mother said no..the name could also be spelled with (2) n's!
My dad was the Men’s Wear buyer. Every once in a while he would bring me up to the buyers floor on a work day. I never met a happier or nicer office staff even though they were not earning as much as buyers from other stores like Carson’s.
DeleteErnst Johann Lehmann was the founder of The Fair department store in downtown Chicago. The store was eventually purchased by Montgomery Ward, which gave that Chicago-based chain store an outlet on State Street. Before that, it was a part (since 1925)of the Kresge chain of department stores which had affiliates in Newark, NJ and Washington, DC. (Note that these were complete department stores, not the Kresge's many of us remember.
ReplyDeleteI plan to add The Fair to the exhibits in The Department Store Museum when I can.
If you have any access to the historical Chicago Tribune, such as through ProQuest Historical Newspapers from your library, you can do a search and learn a lot more. Or, a simple Google search for "E. J. Lehmann" will turn up a great deal of information.
The Fair store was a famous piece of Chicago-Style commercial architecture, which was first brutalized with a new front in the 1960s, and finally demolished, only to be replaced with something which can only be described as a detriment to State Street.
I am sure it was "The Fair" your mom talked about.
Bruce
My mother worked at The Fair before I was born . It was probably around the early 30s
DeleteMy name is James J. Wieboldt. I once visited the store and had lunch there. I had a "Wieboldt's open faced sandwich" which was great. I paid for it with my Wieboldt's credit card. The cashier could not believe it and I had to show her my drivers license. I also bought clothing with the Wieboldt's label. My son's name is William A. Wieboldt - same as the founder of this store. It is realy something to see your name up on a store like that.
ReplyDeleteDid any of the suburban stores have restaurants in them?
ReplyDeleteThe River Forest Store did.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mother buying my long length winter coat at Gilmore's in Oak Park back in the day. I loved that coat! Funny how you remember certain clothes when you had when you were a kid... I remember the Wieboldt's in Yorktowne and they had a very high quality of clothing back in those days. As many of the department stores did back them. Not like the garbage you get now.
ReplyDeleteI worked at the Evanston Wieboldt's store in my sophmore year (1967) in the first-floor stationery department and later graduated to the records/books department. It was the first job for a whole after-school busload of girls from St. Scholastica High School on Ridge Blvd. in Chicago. We infiltrated all the departments and felt so very grown-up.
ReplyDeleteThere was a restaurant on the first floor, next to the cigarette/cigar counter near the entrance. Cigarettes and cokes on our break!
Wieboldt's had a great employee benefit called ED Paid. You received a non-immediate 20% off every purchase (even candy from the candy counter). The ED Paid receipts would go the the head cashier at the end of the night. The weekly 20% discount would be tallied and given to you in a cash envelope on Saturday, along with a paycheck in cash money.
We girls just naturally spent our pay and ED paid money back into Wieboldt's. Ingenious on their part!
Did Wieboldt's have Christmas characters that were theirs alone? I am wondering about characters similar to Marshall Field's Aunt Holly and Uncle Mistletoe and Gimbel's Billy the Brownie.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what was on the sixth floor of Lincoln Belmont weibolts?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what goods were on the sixth floor of weibolts on Lincoln and Belmont?
ReplyDeleteA few posts back someone asked about a department store in Evanston owned by "two Jewish Brothers". I recall Selig Brothers, a menswear shop on the 1700 block of Sherman Avenue in the 50's and 60's.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to find this blog. I was general manager for Bramson inc. and worked in the Evanston, Oak park, Woodfield, and Michigan Avenue stores from my high school days in 1966 through their eventual closing in 1977. I have collected ads, catalogs and other Bramson memorabilia over the years.
Mike Warmington, now in Sea Bright, NJ
Seigs was too small. They may be talking about Lords in Evanston. Evanston was a Mecca then
DeleteBranson's
Rothchilds
Wieboldt's
Fields
Baskins
Lords
Lyttons
Stevens
Sears small store
Wards catalog store
Kroc and brentanos
Woolworth
Kyesge
Neisners
Etc.
Weibolt's closed in 1987.
DeleteDuring the early 1950's They sponsored a radio program called THE CINNAMON BEAR at Christmas time. The Cinnamon Bear appeared in their stores and gave out coloring books.
ReplyDeleteA friend gave me an oval sign (cream background with gold edging and TELEVISION in gold lettering. The sign has 2 hooks on the top and is about 47" long and 15.5" high. She told me it came to her through her uncle who worked at Weibolts and said it came from the TV Department. She did not know which location or when the sign was removed and came into his possession. It is made of wood and for some reason I look at it and think 60's. Does anyone know anything about such a sign? Even better perhaps there are pictures? Would appreciate any help in getting the full story. Thanks
ReplyDeletethe Christmas bear at wieboldts was paddy o'cinnamon the cinnamon bear......
ReplyDeleteI worked and open the Lincoln mall store in matteson Illinois 1973.....it was great place to work......
ReplyDeletedoes anyone remember the store at Jefferson Square Mall in Joliet, IL. My mom worked there when I was a kid. I trying to research that particular store...to no avail.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the hot fudge sundaes in The Travertine Room? The hot fudge sauce was served in a silver pitcher to keep it hot. What luxury!
ReplyDeleteLoved ir
DeleteCool to see a site about Wieboldt's. I worked at the Randhurst Store in the stock room when it first opened. Later worked at the tobacco counter, Men's furnishings and luggage. Worked in the Data Processing Dept. near downtown in the warehouse after graduating from college 1968 to 1969. My father worked for Wieboldt's over 25 yrs. in various positions....Assistant Furniture Buyer, Store manager, Toy and Sporting Goods Buyer until 1971 when he moved to Florida.
ReplyDeleteMy first job, at the Englewood store at 63rd and Green. I lived at 55th and Halsted.
ReplyDeletemy blog = http://memoriesofatime.com
I worked at the Evanston Store in the summer of l955 when I was 15. During the week I worked in the Men's Department for a manager named Mr. Maybee. On Fridays and Saturdays he would have me work in one of the square counter arrangements they would set up going all up and down the main aisles. There was a grocery store, and they would put out sausage, deli meats and cheeses in one of the squares and give me a scale and a knife for slicing. Taking the bus home on those hot summer days I reeked of garlic, other spices from the various sausages and meats. Even my hair would have those fragrances. There were many nice people working there. They had a great yard goods department on an upper floor, and I used my discount to buy some lovely fabrics from which my Mom made my school clothes for the next school year. I remember a girl named Mimi Swanson who told me about a new singer she was nuts about..........Elvis Presley..........that was the first time I heard of him.
ReplyDeleteI remember two boys who worked in the grocery store Bob and Bert.........they flirted with all of us girls, and it was just a very special, fun time in a beautiful store.
I worked at the state street store from 1980 to 1987. ( I was lucky that I was 1 of about 5 people who worked the last day to close things up)
ReplyDeleteI started in ladies sportswear, women's and petites and better sportswear. Oh my what memories ! It was commission- very competitive. but fun. I remember Dorothy, Betsy, Klara, Gloria, Therethe (Terri) , Valarie , Sandy and more. plus the great fitting room ladies- Marcia and Della. I loved my job from working the floor helping customers and merchandizing the racks and walls. I was lucky to get to get to know the buyers on the floor. Their offices were near us. Plus loved being given the clothing samples to mark down to sell. $4.99 - $9.99 of course!! And can't forget those 1 day sales on Mondays. What a riot to watch 100's of people racing up the escalator.
During the last year, it was oblivious we were closing. it was a lot of stress cuz they would call people 1 by 1 daily to lay off people. At the end I was helping merchandizing the mens walbash , helping state street 1st floor jewelry, clothing etc and did some of the displays for the windows ( the display dept was let go by then)
Yes they did have 2 basements. The 2nd basement had display items plus some things from the Mendal store too. I really enjoyed being able to work around the whole store .
1 of my favorite memories was the gift wrapping department. They were fabulous in wrapping. I remember people would bring items they bought from Fields and other stores for them to wrap. I have never seen a gift wrapping dept like that since- they don't exists .
I was lucky to buy 1 of the ribbon bow machines from the gift wrapping dept. Still works great! Mary from gift wrapping taught me how to use it!!
ReplyDeleteanother great memory are the movie they filmed at the store after hours. cant remember the movies but I do remember how they would come in and change the 1st floor elevator into a bank teller window.
Or the fashion shows the vendors would do for the upcoming fashion season. Oh my the toy dept was wonderful too
thanks for this website. It brings back such great memories. you are right- service at that time was service. very different nowadays.
Does anyone remember the fabulous antique button store in the upper floor of the Stevens building. spent many a lunch time in there!!!!
I was on the junior fashion board of models at Ford City back in 1973. It was a treat to go to the finishing school there, and do modeling for the stores. Does anyone reading this blog remember who ran the Board at that time? I would love to remember.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking at an old blog on Wieboldts store at Ford City and I was also on the fashion board in 1973. I know Angie Vlochos (spelling?) ran the board soon after our participation, but I can't recall the lady's name that coordinated our group. Angie was also on the junior board in 1973. It started going downhill a bit due to budget but I think she revitalized it a bit.
DeleteI was coordinator from 75-76. Does that help?
DeleteThe big feature of the Evanston Wieboldts was you could shop for groceries on the first floor, then they would put them on a conveyor belt to take them to the top level of the parking garage. You'd drive around and an attendant would load them in your car. I remember at the end stock were low and the staff seemed to have almost no knowledge of what they had.
ReplyDeleteI met my husband at Lakeview Wieboldt's. I worked across the street at Lakeview Bank and one day I strolled through Wieboldts on my lunch break and, there he was behind the jewelry counter. That was almost 30 years ago. Wieboldt's was such a wonderful store, it was a very sad day for me when they closed!
ReplyDeleteRe: Wieboldt's grocery store. The Randhurst Mall had "Wieboldt's Super Mart", which advertised food items.
ReplyDeleteI do remember a Wieboldt's in Park Forest Plaza. Am I correct?
ReplyDeleteSomewhat later it was demolished about 1972. A resturant named the "Pickle Jar" was at the east end of the building. It had been adjoined next to the "Plaza Grill" Kiddy-Corner to the main Clock Tower which also is no longer there..
Could somebody help me out with my memory of this?
Like many others on this blog, I also had my first job at Weibolt's when I was a young teen-ager. I worked at the Evanston store. It was a holiday job, and my one claim to fame was ringing up a $101 sale when the total actually should have been $100. I keyed in one of the prices incorrectly (this was back in the days before scanners). That brought out my direct boss, the department manager, the floor manager and even one of the top managers down to take a look while they figured out how to correct that measly one dollar mistake. Talk about feeling as though I wanted to sink through the floor! Otherwise, I shopped their often, collected my S&H Green Stamps and even redeemed them for stuff.
ReplyDeleteI still have a $10.00 gift certificate from Wieboldt's. My Mom gave it to me years ago. She received it as a gift from a lady she worked with in Montgomery Wards keypunch. Each time I come across it in the old file I can never quite toss it, like today. This time I decided to google Wieboldt's
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWieboldt's had their own in house bakery. It was located at Milwaukee and Paulina, then moved to the Oak Park store and finally ended up at the State Street Store. Goods were baked at Milwaukee and Paulina and shipped out to some of the other stores. My dad was the Wieboldt's baker at all three locations. He met Mr. Wieboldt, when he first started with the store in the bake shop, went to war during WWII and came back to his job.
ReplyDeleteIn the 70's he had his morning coffee break with the President of Wieboldt's. in the bake shop. Dad brought the sweet rolls and the President the coffee. My dad received a Christmas card from the President each and every year that he worked their. He even got one after he retired.
The pound cakes were the best!! He also made fruit cakes and all kinds of sweet rolls. I read earlier about the 20% Employee Discount that was even given to dependents! I received mine on my 16th birthday and I used it often! When the bake shop closed in the mid '70's instead of giving my dad the boot, he was given a job in the warehouse as a furniture refinisher. He stayed on until his 46th year of employment and retired in 1984 just before the company went bankrupt. I have many great memories from the stores at Milwaukee and Paulina, Randhurst, Harlem and Irving, Oak Park and State Street!
Hi baker's daughter! I loved your father's marble pound cake. I shopped at the weiboldts on Milwaukee ave in the 60's with my mother. I was a little girl I remember going there and the pound cake was sold by the pound and it was cut from large loaves. I remember the man cutting the loaf, he had dark hair and wore white shirt and pants. Would love the recipe if you are so inclined and would gladly pay for the copy. One of my favorite childhood treats. You grew up in a great baker's family!
DeleteI also loved the pound cakes would love to have the recipes for the regular and marble never had a better poundcake would gladly pay for the recipes
DeleteI have items that still have the wiebolts price sticker on them
ReplyDeleteWieboldt's at Lincoln and Belmont was a wonderful store...It was a great part of my childhood. My mom and brothers and sisters and grandma would go down when they had their side walk sale usually in June or July. I then worked there as a teenager in High School...Some great memories.
ReplyDeleteBruce,
ReplyDeleteI think that Wabash music store was the famous Lyon and Healy's who crafted and sold orchestral harps among other things. But more to the point, as a child I went downtown with my mom to buy clothes at Mandel Bros, where my grandmother worked in boys clothing (I know, I know... It's like the hunter on safari who one night shot a lion in his pajamas. ) Then we'd all go for lunch at Field's or Carson's. Years later, while in college, I worked for Wieboldt's in the same building on State street as an elevator operator and, later, the starter. Those were real operator-elevators with dead-man switch controls, fold-down seats and NO INNER DOORS OR GATES on the cars. One time, the story goes, a small boy fell forward, slipped between the elevator and the outer door and fell to the bottom of the shaft. He survived with minor injuries - a very lucky boy. That was before my time, and my grandmother is not around to confirm or deny. I'm not sure what business(es) occupy the building today but, at a time when Field's is Macy's and Carson Pirie Scott is a Target, of all things, I feel like it doesn't really matter that much.
Re: the sheet music store on Wabash, the person who said Carl Fisher was correct. I was wrong when I suggested Lyon and Healey as the store in question. It was, however, a great store for musical instruments. I'm sure that many people remember going there while in school to rent or buy instruments. Re: my working in Wieboldt's elevator department while in college, it was some, but not all, of the years from 1967 to 1971. I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of this Museum. Speaking of museums, but off topic, does anyone remember the George (F.? ) Harding Museum on south Lake Park in Hyde Park? What a great place it was for parents to take their kids! It was in an old mansion with lots of rooms. All gone years ago but the collections survived in some form. The arms and armor went to the Art Institute of Chicago - you can see some of it on display there today. Alan
ReplyDeleteI did not shop much at Wieboldt's. I was more into Marshall Field's and Carson Pirie Scott when they were both on State Street. I did not know Wieboldt's had larger stores outside of the State Street store. I've been to the Wieboldt's at both the Harlem-Irving Plaza and on Ashland/Belmont/Lincoln stores. I didn't realize they were both large stores.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading all the comments. Today I had a consignor bring in a box of silk scarves from Marshall Fields and Wiebolts. I immediately called my mom,who used to work at Carson's, to ask if she remembered Wiebolts. Of course she told me that they had just gone out of business 5 or 6 years ago. lol Apparently, you could buy a silk scarf for 19 cents back in the day. Some of the larger scarves from Marshall Fields were $2.75 Similar style from Wiebolts were $2.00.
ReplyDeleteI think you have the wrong address for the Weibolts in Lincoln Village above listed under the branch stores.
ReplyDeleteLincoln Village
1960
4041 Milwaukee Avenue, Lincolnwood
38,000 sq. ft.
I think the address should be,
6165 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, Iliinois 60659 if you are talking about the Lincoln Village at the corner of NEC Lincoln Ave. & McCormick Blvd.
Ralph
I never heard of Wieboldt until I found an old war-time newsletter Wieboldt Window Vol. XXVI No 8 Chicago, Ill. Ma, 1948 in a box I bought at an estate sale. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI too worked at the Evanston store in the late 1960's as a Evanston High School student. The store manager's name was George Burns and his assistant store manager was Robert "Bob" Toehnies.
ReplyDeleteThe earlier posts about this fabulous store are all true and bring a smile to my face. There was a nice mixture of elder salespeople and students from several area high schools that would work part-time evenings and weekends. We wore suit and ties and learned the world of retail commerce. The 20% discount was handy for buying clothes, and they carried good brands. They had and sold most everything from groceries to having an optometrist in one of the "licensed". departments. Many of us got to be good friends and socialized on our own time.
Chocolate, dark chocolate with thick raspberry syrup in the middle. My mom was a checker-cashier at the Wieboldt's store at Milwaukee and Paulina. In those days (1950's) most ladies did not drive. She would walk about 6 blocks to work with me in tow. I used to stay at my Aunt Genevieve's house right on Ashland Ave. less than a block away from Wieboldt's. My mom would pick me up after work and had either a Lemon Merengue pie or some scrumptious dark chocolate candies that were filled with a thick raspberry syrup. I've looked and tried candies from many places but have never been able to find anything that tasted that good. Ah, memories are our secret treasures...we can't go back, but we can remember...the good ole days. If anyone remembers the name of those candies, or better yet, where I can get them, I
ReplyDeletewould be forever grateful. The candy counter was just outside the grocery department.
Do you have a photo for the store in Orland Park.
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't, but since this exhibit needs updating, i will be looking for one. -Bruce
ReplyDeleteI worked at Weiboldts from about 1965 until 1974 when my first child was born. I was at the State St. store and worked as a buyer of handbags and small leather goods. I would love to hear from anyone that was there during that time. I have recently been trying to get information regarding the pension plan. I know that it is being maintained by an agency that handles businesses that have gone under. Does anyone know how long the vesting period was for employees? I think that I may have missed it by a year (9 instead of 10 years) but would like to find out for sure. I can be reached at bjmorphy@aol.com.
ReplyDeleteMadigan`s Plans To Close After Christmas Season
ReplyDeleteAugust 05, 1992|By John Schmeltzer. Chicago Tribune
A day after family-owned Madigan`s announced it would close its five remaining department stores, a firm hired by creditors to liquidate its assets said they likely would remain open through the Christmas holidays.
``We will continue to run the business in the normal way for the next few weeks,`` said Fred Caruso of Development Specialists Inc.
During that time an evaluation will be made as to how to obtain the most money for Madigan`s inventory and other assets. Development Specialists`
principal work is with financially distressed companies.
``I believe, however, that keeping the stores open through the holiday season is the most likely outcome of the evaluation,`` Caruso said.
Caruso said the department store chain has $27 million in secured debt with Harris Bank and Trust Co. and another $4 million to $5 million in unsecured debt, owed principally to trade creditors.
Compared with the obligations of some retailers, Madigan`s debt was relatively small, especially when sized up against the $900 million owed by P.A. Bergner & Co., parent of Carson Pirie Scott & Co., when it filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection.
The announcement that Madigan`s, a chain that has served Chicago for 111 years, would close came 16 months after the firm shuttered five other stores in an effort to keep running. The department store chain specialized in moderately priced men`s and women`s apparel.
``We were left with our strongest locations,`` said John Madigan, vice president and great-grandson of the firm`s founder. ``The hatches were battened down to ride out the recession. Unfortunately, we were unable to ride out the storm.``
Sales last Christmas were flat, the second Christmas of no growth, he said.
``It has been a constant struggle the past couple of years,`` he said.
``At times it looked like the company would rise above, but then there would be a couple of flat months.
``The bottom did not fall out over the last two years. The foundation just kept slipping bit by bit. It only became apparent in the last couple of months that the company was no longer viable.``
News that the stores were to be turned over to a firm that would liquidate the merchandise was announced Monday to employees, some of whom have been with the company four decades. The stores employed 1,100 full- and part- time people.
``This is a tragedy for ourselves and our employees,`` said Madigan. ``We had four generations of family grow up in this company.``
Shopping centers in which Madigans operated were in the dark about the potential closing of the stores, according to Caruso.
``We`ll begin negotiating with them about the leases once the evaluation is completed,`` he said.
Madigan`s stores are in Harlem Irving Plaza, Norridge; Winston Plaza, Melrose Park; Yorktown, Lombard; North Riverside Park and Chicago Ridge.
The situation for Yorktown is particularly acute because it will leave another large space in the mall. The Wieboldt`s department store, which closed two years ago, still is empty at that center.
By assigning the business to the company`s creditors, Madigan`s avoids bankruptcy and the stain it would leave on the family`s business reputation.
``At this point, we`re getting our hands around the operation,`` said Caruso.
Madigan`s joins two other long-time Chicago retailers that closed their doors in the last nine months. Colby`s Furniture Stores closed last December and Homer`s Furniture ceased operations New Year`s Day.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to find contact information for a former employee from the 70's in Chicago. Romi Reingruber. Not exactly sure if the spelling is correct. She would be aprx. in her mid 80's by now.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone might have a contact or have any clues, they would be greatly appreciated!! I've spent hours trying to use the internet, but I have such limited information to start with I'm at a loss.
Any help is appreciated!! THANK YOU!
GrantDrager@yahoo.com
Oh gosh, I worked at the Milwaukee Ave. store in 1947-48 on the top floor where the discount stuff was sold. It was light work with only two or three others working there with me. The war was just over and jobs were plentiful. I was in college and worked part time but it was a good gig. Prices were sharply reduced and with my discount, I was able to fill out my wardrobe with some pretty nifty stuff.
ReplyDeleteBeth
I lived in the Polish Triangle, Milwaukee, Division and Ashland from the 40's to the 60's. Wiebolt's is one of the great memories for me along with so many other fine stores and other businesses in this neighborhood. Sure do miss those days with the strong work ethic, the style of clothes and the great way people treated one another. It's too bad that much is lost. Much should have been treasured and saved but was not thanks to gentrification, greed. Thanks to everyone for all the memories of the neighborhood with it's older stores and downtown Chicago where I worked and one of those stores was Morris B. Sacks furrier, on State and Madison. The way it was done ,certainly cannot be replicated. Longing for those days and again, thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the many memories. I did not think I would get to enjoy them.
ReplyDeletewould anyone know where I can get information about a w south side Wiebolt's robbery, sometime between late 1936 and 1938...my grandfather was involved and shot and killed for his trouble.. I have heard many variations on this story over the years and would like to know the real story..
ReplyDeleteAre you certain that it was between 1936-1938? more info will definitely help locate more information. What was your grandfather's name?
ReplyDeleteLots of memories here.
ReplyDeleteWieboldts had their own bakery. It started at Milwaukee and Paulina, then moved to Oak Park and finally ended up at State Street.
ReplyDeleteWieboldt's State Street store had a small bakery counter in the bargain basement. The bakery goods were baked on the thirteenth floor and brought down fresh daily. My dad was the baker. He worked Monday thru Saturday and baked everything. A few years after he retired, he got sick and we had visiting nurses come in to take care of him. One looked really familiar to him and it turned out she was one of the bakery counter girls. They would talk about the old days at Wieboldt's and it cheered my dad up ! I have fond memories of coffee cakes hebrought home on Saturdays, and the pound cakes, oh the pound cakes!!! His fruit cakes were the best! No one even comes close to his pound cakes nowadays. He passed his baking skills down to his daughters and my sister makes his butter cookies for Christmas!
Wieboldt's did have Hillman's as a grocery store, but it also had their own bakery with items made fresh daily. My dad was the baker. The first bakery was at Milwaukee and Paulina until the late 60's early 70's. Then it moved to Oak Park and finally ended up at State Steet until mid to late seventies when it closed. He went to work at the Warehouse in DesPlaines on Wieboldt Drive after the bakery closed. At State Street the bakery counter was in the Bargain Basement and baked goods were sent down from the bake shop which was up on the 13th or 14th floors.
ReplyDeleteMy dad worked Monday thru Saturday and would bring home freshly baked coffee cakes to have with his Sunday morning coffee. A special treat was the pound cake, the loaves were about 7 inches wide and about a 18 in long. They were the best, especially the marble ones!
A few years after he retired, my dad became ill and had visiting nurses come in to take care and check up on him. One of the nurses, looked very familiar to him. After talking about where he worked, and the nurse worked, the two discovered they both worked at State Street at the same time. She was the bakery counter girl and that's where they knew each other from. They talked about the "old days" and it cheered my dad up! My dad worked for Wielboldt's for 46 years and retired just before things got bad.
I would love to have the pound cake recipes,I grew up near the Milwaukee ave. store and have never tasted better have tried different recipes but none can compare my email is mandarin.Parker@hotmail.com
DeleteThe second Evanston store (which relocated from the original 1929 location) opened February 1950, not '59.
ReplyDeleteMy mother, Eloise LeBrecht started working at the Harlem Irving Plaza store before it opened, setting everything up in her department.
ReplyDeleteShe was the manager of the yard goods department and linen department.
When I turned sixteen, I also started working at the HIP store in the cashiers office. It was a wonderful place to work. And I met my future husband there. He worked in the grocery department, bagging groceries and collecting carts from the parking lot. That was back in the 60's.
My wife and I met at wieboldts in Ford city. She worked in toys and I started in stock. We met in 1979, we were married in 1983. She worked there until our daughter was born in 1984. I stayed until they closed. I worked my last 8 year there on the dock, and was the maintenance depth supervisor until wieboldts farmed out the janitorial dept. To a private company. I have many memories of the store . We were all like a family. Mr Bloch,Steve Greenwood, Douglas Leach. Peggy and Juanita in the office. Forth Lewis in toys, Paul Harmon on the dock. Does anyone have any pictures of Wieboldts or any stories.?
ReplyDeleteWas that the same Steve Greenwood who was Operations Manager at Lincoln Mall?
DeleteMy Grandmother worked at a Weiboldt's off Broadway, between Lawrence Ave. and Wilson.
ReplyDeleteI so remember when at Christmas time they would have the Cinnamon Bear radio show and coloring contest. I would sit by the radio and listen to every word of every program. Thankfully later in years through an old time radio catalog I found the CD set and once again starting to play it and think back to wonderful childhood memories!
ReplyDeleteWieboldts was probably the first dept. store I was ever in which was The Harlem Irving location.
ReplyDeleteFirst such place I ever saw an revolving door and escalators.
Liked the diamonds on the building.
Wonder if anyone knows any site that has photos on the Wieboldt's HIP location before they made it an indoor mall? The HIP's official site only has limited photos and they're construction photos. No close up after the building was completed and opened, same with the whole shopping center itself.
Also in 1993 I drove by the old River Forest location and though Wieboldt's had been closed for 6 years they were tearing down the building.
Was there something else in its place for a while or did it stand vacant for 6 years?
Also I saw an online picture where the police where there pointing their guns out front.
Anyone recall this?
I worked as a stock boy on the loading dock of Wieboldt’s. It was one of the major department stores that anchored the Lincoln Mall Shopping Center in Matteson, Illinois. Upon completing my classes for the day, I would leave high school after having lunch in the school cafeteria and headed over to the mall to work. I was enrolled in a work release program that allowed me to attend a half-day of school and spend the rest of my day getting practical work experience in a place of business, which counted toward my education. My main responsibilities were to go from department to department on the first and second floor of the store and collect the trash, pick up merchandise that customers had bought and wanted to have shipped to their homes, and gather goods that were being transferred to another location. In a short time, I developed a friendly relationship with the various department managers. They quickly became familiar with my daily schedule and knew when I would stop by their department for my rounds. These managers would have their customer sends or inter-store transfers ready for pickup when I arrived and I always made time for a few minutes of pleasant conversation with the salespeople and, more importantly, with the managers as I went from department to department.
ReplyDeleteWorking at Wieboldt’s was a fantastic experience for me as a teenager. On many occasions, I frequented the local bars and clubs with the single or divorced managers who were in their middle to late twenties. My older colleagues were always very committed to having me party with them. Since I was under the legal drinking age, the ladies usually went out of their way to convince the doormen at the bars and clubs that we frequented to let me enter. These ladies partied like rock stars. They enjoyed their cocktails, and especially loved to drink their shots of tequila. To this day, I am grateful to the lovely and wildly fun ladies at the Wieboldt’s in Lincoln Mall for the many evenings of entertainment we had during the many years we spent together, as coworkers and, more importantly, as loving friends. These special friendships would leave an everlasting impression upon me.
Did you know Dave Nadolna or Sam Bustos, or work for Mike Sherman? They were on the dock when I worked there. I’m not going to speculate as to the women who took you clubbing, don’t want to get anyone into trouble.
DeleteI found a wiebolts gift box in my mothers old home 20 1/2 x 13
ReplyDeleteIt is still folded flat and never used. Great condition.
Is it worth anything ?
My parents would buy my sister's and I a treat that was sold here and later at Marshall Field's. It was found in the candy department. It was not chocolate or hard. It was crunchy and almost similar to a rice krispies treat, but not. Last time I tasted one was over 30 years ago. When Wieboldt's went out of business, my dad would buy the treat in a box. The box was about 1.5" thick and about 1'×1'. The top was yellow with a man on it making the treat. The bottom was white. I don't recall the name of the company or the name of the treat. Can anyone help me
ReplyDeleteI was a member of Wieboldt’s “Youth Board”, back in 1975. This was at the HIP, and was run by a fabulous woman named Romi Reingruber. I also worked at that same store in 1976, when I turned 16. I worked in the card department. We also sold Pet Rocks (remember those?) and some of the very first calculators. Whenever anybody sold a calculator (they were very expensive at that time), we’d celebrate!!!
ReplyDeleteNow, for the old timers who worked at Mandel Brothers, I worked as a stock boy, in 1955 at the age of 15. The best thing was the Christmas Window at the corner of State and Madison. How we loved walking State St. just viewing the windows. those were the days
ReplyDeleteDid the Wieboldt family have a ranch outside the city of Chicago?
ReplyDeleteI have a Wieboldts kitchen carving set. I can't seem to find any information online about it. It has a large (9"?) carving knife, large two pronged fork, and sharpening rod, all in a nice case. Does anyone know about when & where it was made? Stainless steel or other metal? Approximate value? Thanks
ReplyDeleteI worked at Wieboldt's Ford City from 1971-1973 and 1975-1978. I was a buyer in the Budget Store at State Street from 1978-1982. I think it was around 1980 that Wieboldt's decided to sell. It had been family-owned all that time. We thought he was selling because he'd gotten up in years. I remember him using a cane the last time I saw him at the store. I found this article.
ReplyDelete"Janet Key. Tribune reporter John Lucadamo contributed to this story
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
August 28, 1989
An investment group whose dealings have included the demise of Wieboldt Stores Inc. and spurious bids for Carson Pirie Scott & Co. and several trucking firms-and have drawn allegations of extortion, stock manipulation and securities fraud-is soliciting partners for new transactions, according to documents obtained by The Tribune.
Christopher A. Jansen and Gilbert K. Granet, the principals in Baytree Investors Inc., this summer began seeking ''local representative offices to serve our growing merchant banking business.'' Mailings have been sent to business brokers around the country.
The solicitation brochure is printed on heavy gray stock with a tissue overlay of the Baytree logo inside. The first page tells readers, ''We want the tough jobs. We close the hard to close deals.''
The brochure and accompanying materials, including a collection of 35
''tombstone'' (announcement) ads for their deals, are filled with generalities, questionable bids and merger offers and misrepresentations.
The material fails to mention separate sanctions by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Jansen and the bankruptcies and lawsuits that Jansen and Granet have been involved in during the last decade."
Weiboldt sold a "Weiboldt" branded tube radio. Does anyone have info about them?
ReplyDeleteI would like to know who manufactured them.
Contact me at pj1731@comcast.net ifyou have any info on their electronics line.
To unknowns inquiry try pinterest they have a whole section on chicago
ReplyDeleteI am writing a book about the history of The West Loop. I know there was a Wieboldt's store at Madison and Ashland. It's now a loft/condo. Do you have any information on this particular store.? Wieboldt's sounds very interesting and has lots of great memories for people in Chicago. It was gone when I moved here in 1994. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt was built in 1925, and got quite a write-up in the Chicago papers. That would be best source of information. I wonder if the building owner has any archival material left there. I would also check with the Chicago History Museum.
DeleteE-mail me at bakgraphics@comcast.net
-Bruce
Hello! I've hit a dead in my online research so I figured this might be the last place I could turn. I'm doing an art project involving recreating some historic old storefronts in Chicago - in COLOR ... I'm attempting to illustrate the midcentury Wieboldt's in HIP in Norridge - https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8e/80/89/8e8089a74391def4f59814bbc93249e5.jpg - Here's the problem; there are no color images anywhere. I'm wondering if someone might be able to help me, if only from memory??? It seems that Wieboldt's main corporate color was green? Would those big dark letter blocks have been a dark green? Any thoughts on the Harlequin pattern on the wall? (I know this is all a bit of a longshot, but I figured this would be the place to ask!) Thanks to anyone who might be able to help.
ReplyDeleteLooking for a Gina Seelen..Worked there mid 1970's
ReplyDeleteI worked at the distribution center in DesPlaines 1978 for a few years and then in the evening a few years later. Anyone else from the Distribution Center?
ReplyDeleteI was born in Joliet in 1957, and I can remember (usually around Christmas) going to Carson Pirie Scott, The Boston Store, Goldblatt's, Sears, and Gaylords to name those that I can remember. The downtown Christmas decorations, the soot on the snow, the smell of city bus diesel exhaust, the window displays. It was always a chore to get dressed up to go downtown as a kid, but I would love to revisit just one of those trips now. A different shopping experience for a different time I guess. It was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI work at the Wieboldts Store at Orland Park Place in Orland Park. Worked in Mens Clothing Dept. From the day they opened to they day they closed. I enjoyed working there it was a Great Experience. Especially Meeting and getting to know everyone I worked with. I really enjoyed all the customers I came to know to know over the time there.
ReplyDeleteI am buying a condo in the Lakeview store building. If anyone has a lead on a store directory (departments by floor), I'd love to see it.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Lakehurst store in the mid 80's. So fun! I was secretary to the manager. We had this monster of a machine that they called a "computer". I had to enter numbers in once a month, but couldn't make a mistake because no one knew how to correct it if you did! LOL!!! I also loved the laid-back atmosphere. If there was a sale in handbags or candy, someone would make the announcement and we would all go. Bill and Jeanette were on the dock, Carol was window/mannequin dresser, Ginny and Sheri were in HR. I worked with Laura and Zada. Best time EVER!!!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Evanston Illinois and the "Wieboldt mansion" was directly across the street from my elementary school. (Orrington) on Orrington Avenue. It was a large estate with a few outbuildings. Red brick and very imposing. Does anyone know if the home was connected to the department store family? The house still stands and looks very much like it did in the 1950's
ReplyDeleteMy first, and only, part-time job was at the HIP Wieboldts starting the week I turned 16. I worked in the ladies robes and pj department for about a month before Christmas and never saw such a busy place. Most of my time there I worked in the ladies and juniors department. I learned a lot from the “older” ladies I worked with and used my 20% discount when items went on the sale rack. I even worked Christmas breaks and a couple of summers when I was home from college. I have good memories of this place…
ReplyDeleteBlemaster16@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteblemaster16@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteWas there even a Wieboldt store at Kimball, Diversey and Milwaukee?
ReplyDelete