Sage Allen occupied a variety of buildings at Main and Temple Streets, just south of competitor G. Fox & Co.'s immense store
Sage-Allen entrance on Temple Street
In 1968, the store was modernized inside and out
Sage-Allen & Co.
902 Main Street
Hartford, Connecticut
JAckson 4-8771
DOWNTOWN STORE DIRECTORY
Lower Street Level
Drugs D59 • Health and Beauty Aids D140 • The Pantry D56 • Bakery D56 • Jack Handlen's Cheese Shop • Luncheonette • Utility Desk
Sage-Allen Budget Store
Main Floor
Jewelry D12 • Watches D45 • Leather Shop D34 • La Bagagerie D34 • Gloves D1 • Hosiery D3 • Bra Bar D27 • Hat Bar D182 • Fashion Accessories D16 • Spectator Sportswear D31 • House and Town Dresses D21 • Maternity Shop • Fashion Shoe Salon D192 • Cosmetics D38 • Stationery D36 • Books D36 • Barton's Bonbonniere D32 • The Candy Bar D32
Men's Shop Furnishings D8 • Sportswear D5 • Clothing D79 • The 900 Shop D79 • Shoes D197 • Lafayette Place
Second Floor of Fashion
Miss Boulevard Shop D55 • Town Shop D46 • Country Casuals D57 • Dress Biz D54 • Contempo D19 • Coats D66 • Car Coats D25 • Sports Gallery D6 • Cabana D6 • Modern Woman D65 • Coat Salon D67 • Better Dresses D52 • Oval Room D24 • Fur Salon • Bridal Salon • Millinery D190 • Apropos Shop • Loungewear D28 • Lingerie D17 • Sleepwear D18 • Foundations D41 • Clip Shop D186 • Beauty Salon D186
Junior Village Junior Sportswear D11 • Junior Dresses D15 • Junior Coats D15 • Young Juniors D69 • The Apartment D24
Infants' Shop D7 • Infant Furniture D59 • Children's Shop D7 • Girls' Shop D61 • Boys' Shop D9 • Young Boys' Shop D44
Third Floor
Notions D10 • Homemaker Shop D4 • China Shop D68 • Silver Gallery D68 • Lamp Shop D68 • Casual Furniture D33 • Draperies D33 • Bedtime Shop D22 • Bed 'n Bath Shop D22 • Table Linens D23 • Luggage D35 • Stereo Shop D56 • Fashion Fabric Center D20 • Needlework Shop D10 • Uniforms D29
Fourth Floor
Lincoln Laurel Room • Cashier • Credit Office • Travel Centre • The Fawn Shop (Christopher the Talking Fawn)
BRANCH STORES (1930-1974)
West Hartford (Nov. 12, 1930)
981 Farmington Avenue
East Hartford (Oct. 18, 1940)
1044 Main Street
Wethersfield (Mar. 15, 1960)
Wethersfield Shopping Center
Old Saybrook (Jul. 16 , 1963)
Old Saybrook Shopping Center
(Original resort shop opened 1937)
Windsor (Aug 18, 1964)
Windsor Shopping Plaza
Vernon (Apr. 8, 1968)
Tri-City Plaza
Enfield (Nov. 4, 1969)
Enfield Mall
38,000 sq. ft.
Avon/Simsbury (Nov. 6, 1972)
Farmington Valley Mall
Westfarms Mall (Aug. 26, 1974)
Farmington/West Hartford
83,000 sq. ft.
The Top of the Mall
The Top of the Mall
The Westfarms store also had a restaurant on the second floor called The Top of the Mall
ReplyDeleteToday the West Farms Store (which sat empty for several years) is a Macy's Men's store. This was previously a Filene's Men's store (when they took over the large G Fox store and didn't want any competition in the mall). Today it is very tacky.
ReplyDeleteThe Sage-Allen store in Old Saybrook was very nice back in the day.... when it closed it became a very nice Cherry-Webb-Toulane. When Cherry Webb closed it sat empty and is currently a Marshall's. The beauty of the building, the grasious service, and the entire atmosphere has gone down hill.
ReplyDeleteYou're missing a few branches. they had a store in Mansfield at East Brook Mall, and another iat Bristol Centre Mall. Sage's Westfarms store was always tacky. The ceiling was open and the only decoration was a large number of hanging cards, which looked like colored note cards. They really weren't competitive with G Fox at this location. their downtown and smaller branches did better business.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad, John Ceraldi worked at Sage Allen for 25 years. He was a truck driver then was in charge of the distribution center on Pitkin Street, East Hartford. My sister, Pat worked in the office on the 4th floor, my brother John worked in the DC with my Dad and I worked in the main store as a gift wrapper.
ReplyDeleteI am so shocked and happy to see this web page :)
You're missing the branch that opened in 1982 in the Hawley Lane Mall in Trumbull as well :)
ReplyDeleteThe bakery in the down town store was amazing. The sticky buns were so spicy they almost burned the tongue. I have Never had any before or since that were that good.
ReplyDeleteOh , what our descendants are missing !
P.S. the aroma fro the bakery wafted up the escalators literally pulling you down to the basement !
Trumbull branch in Hawley Lane Mall. Worked there for 10 years--loved working there!
ReplyDeleteHyman Fink,the owner/manager of the restaurant and bakery of the department store died on nov. 24,2011. He wa 100 years old. What a wonderful, kind, generous man he was. We will all miss him
ReplyDeleteCan someone please shed some light on 'Christopher the talking fawn' that's mentioned above in the store directory (fourth floor)? It sounds vaguely familiar to me but I can't remember any detail...
ReplyDeletebings back so many of my child hood memorys
ReplyDeleteI believe there was a branch in Stamford as well, it took over the old Gimbels location that is now a Sears...or am I mistaken?
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Hartford store as a teenager during school vacations from 1954-1956. In "Notions" which was on the first floor then. And also in "Gloves and Hosiery" also on the first floor...and in basement bargain women's wear. And for a short time in the basement room where the money containers shot down pneumatic tubes to be processed and get change. I remember we had to wear dark blue skirts and white blouses and stockings. And we ate in the restaurant ....I especially remember the huge muffins. Most of the saleswoman were old (or maybe that was just my perception at the time).
DeleteI also believe that Sage-Allen expanded to Massachusetts in the mid 1980s. They were located in the Searstown Mall in Leominster and I believe they displaced one of the last two-remaining branches of Boston's "R.H. White's" department stores.
ReplyDeleteMy mother worked at Sage-Allen for years in the 60's & 70's in accounting. People would come in to pay their S.A. bill or utility bill and old people would pay with coins going back to the late 1800's (whatever they had) or gold coins, we heard some cool stories. The family treat was that Mom would bring home the most delicious chocolate chip cookies, frosted gingerbread and poppy-seed coffee cakes from the bake shoppe on special occassions. My big thrill was her letting me bring a friend and we would all drive in together on a Saturday, she would work and we would walk around Sages, G. Fox, JJ Newbury and walk Constitution Plaza. Hartford was great then and yes, Sage-Allen did have a branch at the Eastbrook Mall, but it wasn't that great.
ReplyDeleteThe History of Hartford would not be as rich as it was without Sage-Allen.
ReplyDeleteI also worked in the Lunchonette 1960 through 1967 and this was the BEST WORK enviroment anyone could experience in preperation for a lifetime career.
I was able to meet and Marry my wife at SAGES.
As BOB HOPE WOULD SAY: " THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES"
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to share your mwemories with us.
Mr. Fink was a wonderful man. He had a sign in the cafeteria—"Confucius say put brain in gear before putting mouth in motion."
ReplyDeleteThe raspberry pie was wonderful.
I worked from 1960 to 1966 in Hartford, and in 1967 in the Windsor branch. It was my first job, I had many great experiences, met wonderful people and learned a lot.
I remember one Christmas when Miss Lincoln would
kiss people as she walked from her car in the subbasement to her office on the 9th floor to see if they had been drinking. One fellow had a pint bottle that broke in his breast pocket.
My most vivid memory is of Merchandise Manager Lafayette Keeney coming to tell us JFK had been shot. I'll never forget the look on his face.
I love your blog! It would be great if you could add tags so we could browse by department store and location (city or state).
ReplyDeleteIn lieu of that, just go to the welcome page, scroll down to the list of cities, stores and states. Then you can browse from there.
ReplyDeleteBruce
There was also a location in Concord, NH that opened in about 1991 at the Steeplegate Mall. That location became The Bon-Ton when the chain closed.
ReplyDelete