The 12-story 1962 Mabley & Carew store on Fountain Square. Previously, the store occupied space in the Carew Tower from 1930 to 1962, and on Fountain Square from 1884-1930.
Mabley & Carew (1877/1962)
Fifth and Vinee Streets
Cincinnati, Ohio
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The Plaza Room
at Mabley & Carew?
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FOUNTAIN SQUARE STORE DIRECTORY (341,000)
Lower Level
Hostess Center • Ohio State Liquor Shop
Street Floor
Fine Jewelry • Costume Jewelry • Handbags • Gloves • Small Leather Goods • Accessories • Scarves • Umbrellas • Hosiery • Blouses • Sweaters • Fountain Square Sportswear • Cosmetics • Notions • Stationery • Candy • Gourmet Shop • Men's Furnishings • Men's Sportswear • Cameras
Mezzanine
Men's Clothing • Young Men's Shop
Second Floor
The Junior Place Junior Sportswear • Junior Dresses • Junior Lingerie • Junior Coats • Junior Shoes • Thriftmode Shoes
Third Floor
Boulevard Dresses • Boulevard Sportswear • Better Dresses • Better Sportswear • Pacesetter • Town Shop • The Bride's Shop • Fur Salon • Shoe Salon • Millinery • Wigs • Lingerie • Foundations • Sleepwear • Loungewear
Fourth Floor
Infants' Wear • Infants' Furniture • Toddlers' Wear • Boys' Wear • Girls' Wear • Girls' Accessories • Children's Shoes • Teen Shop • Coats • Suits • Hide-Out • Thriftmode Dresses • Casual Dresses • Women's Dresses • Women's Sportswear
Fifth Floor
Furniture • Casual Furniture • Floor Coverings • Rugs • Mattresses
Sixth Floor
China • Silverware • Glassware • Gift Shop • TV Center • Stereos and Radios • Records • Housewares • Small Appliances • Lamps • Picture Gallery • Beauty Salon • Plaza Restaurant • Books
Seventh Floor
Domestics • Linens • Bath Shop • Curtains and Draperies • Fabrics • Art Needlework • Sewing Machines
Eighth Floor
Toys • Sporting Goods • Luggage • Garden Center • Hardware • Major Appliances • Vacuum Cleaners • Unfinished Furniture • Paint and Wallpaper
Ninth Floor
Credit Office • Cash Office • Executive Offices • Advertising • Auditorium
Tenth Floor
Display Workrooms
Eleventh Floor
Employee Dining Room • Nurse's Office
Twelfth Floor
Supply Room • Print Shop
BRANCH STORES (1954-1969)
Western Hills Plaza (1954)
41,000 sq. ft.
Swifton Shopping Center (1960)
150,000 sq. ft.
Hamilton (1964)
Beechmont Mall (1969)
117,000 sq. ft.
M&C also had a store in Middletown once they purchased The John Ross Store. Their former location will soon be home to Pendleton Arts Center.
ReplyDeleteI have some hats, i just got,and they say mabley&carew,it has a big pendant on it with a feather and a little vail. I have one that says modern miss,this one has little beaded flowers and studs,with a feather and vail also. and one that looks so old, it has all feathers no name on it,just a tage that says union ww 802102 made in the USA.it has little flower pendants on it,and its pink. I was just wondering if anyone might know what year these hats are,or if thare is a site i can go to,to see any information on them.
ReplyDeletethere was also furniture on the eight floor
ReplyDeleteon the additional floors ninth had exceutive offices credit and advertising as well as a large room used for fashion shows and meetings tenth floor held display eleventh floor was Associate cafe break area and Nurses office and tweleth floor was store room for supplies bags gift boxes and print shop
ReplyDeleteThank you, John, for the detailed information about the Mabley & Carew Fountain Square store. It helps keep things accurate.
ReplyDeleteNow if I could just find illustrations of the branches!
Bruce
Is there any photos of the onside of the Western Hills store? Around 1956 or so, there was a picture of me taken with my winter coat on looking at a model in front of a mirror. It was in the newspaper but I can't find it among my mom's things. My name is Carolyn Ernst. Thank you so much, Carolyn
ReplyDeleteThere was also a Mabley and Carew location in Middletown, OH until 1974. It closed after the city started constructing a dreadful "city centre" concept mall of the time.
ReplyDeleteMabley and Carew was known for their high quality goods and especially for their lavish Christmas window displays every year in Cincinnati. Mabley and Carew was comparable to Bloomingdale's.
When I think of Mabley & Carew I always remember the "air door" they had at the corner of 5th & Vine. Even in the dead of winter or the height of summer's heat, there was no door on the wide opening at the main entrance during the hours the store was open. Instead one was met by a blast of warm or cool air whichever was appropriate. It came blowing up from the floor at the threshold. Later it was replaced by 2 or 3 sets of traditional doors. Another peculiar feature was the unusual pattern one had to follow to get up the many floors by escalator. On some floors one did not just get off one escalator, make a 180-degree turn and go up or down the next one. It was necessary to follow arrows on the floor from one escalator to the next because several turnings were sometimes necessary. I guess this was required because the store was created by remodelling the old Rollman's Department Store and adding on what had been the old Havelin Hotel next door. That also resulted in some of the floors being on two different levels requiring one to go up or down a few steps because the floor levels in the two buildings did not sync up. These oddities would outrage environmentalists and advocates of handicap-access today, but that was how things were 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteYour fascinating comments bring up a good point - the department store of the past was not just unique and endearing, it was idiosyncratic as well. Yet, people flocked to them, for all of their quirks. Your comments about the past vs. today and how such oddities would be received, are also spot-on. As an architect, I have often been befuddled and perplexed by a morass of regulations and requirements that seem to change with the wind. Also, in today's environment it is difficult to get the general public to ascend past a second floor to do their shopping.
ReplyDeleteMy memories of these multi-floor emporiums include people circulating throughout them, creating healthy traffic for the store and the sale of its merchandise. Dare I use the word "lazy" when considering today's consumer?
My best friend and I both tried out for the Mabley & Carew teen board in 1966. I remember walking a runway in front of a team of judges. My friend was selected but I wasn't. Oh well. It was still fun.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Down Under.
ReplyDeleteI am across your web-page as I was searching for the origins of a colourful Cricket trade card by Mabley & Carew.
I enjoyed the tour; thank you.
My family moved to Cincinnati in the summer of 1976 as my father, J Edward Murray, had been appointed the president of Mabley & Carew or as he liked to say really "Managing Director" I wasn't aware of forgot about how big the store was although my family always shopped there. Dad loved Cincinnati and wanted to stay but Allied Stores Inc decided to sell Mabley's to Elder Beerman and Dad was transferred to Pomeroy's in Levittown, PA and I stayed until 1981 graduating from Xavier University after spending some of my senior year working for newly elected Councilman Arn Bortz.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the trip down memory lane!
Sincerely,
P Edward Murray
Thanks, Edward, for the kind memories for this site.
ReplyDeleteMabley & Carew is a store I wish I knew more of. I only visited it in the early 1980s, when it was clear that the Elder-Beerman experiment wasn't going to work. I have relatives from Cincinnati and they have fond memories of the store.
I appreciate your memoir, and your father must have been a fine businessman.
Best wishes!
Bruce