Kilpatrick's occupied a complex
of connected buildings in Omaha.
Thomas Kilpatrick Co.
1509 Douglas, Fifteenth to Farnam
Omaha, Nebraska
341-7333
Basement
Kilpatrick's Budget Store • Charl-Mont Restaurant
Main Floor
Jewelry • Handbags • Gloves • Hosiery • Accessories • Neckwear • Handkerchiefs • Hat Bar • Shoe Box • Main Floor Lingerie • Cosmetics • Toiletries • Drugs • Health House • Luggage • Stationery • Cameras • Candy • Men's Furnishings • Men's Sportswear • Men's Shoes
Farnam Street
Sports Shop • Rainbow Room • Casual Dresses • Books • Records
15th Street
Hostess Pantry
Second Floor
Men's Clothing • Young Men's Shop • French Room • Daylight Fur Shop • Bridal Salon • Millinery • Better Dresses • Better Coats • Suits • Junior Sportswear • Junior Dresses • Junior Coats
Second Floor South
Shoe Salon • Lingerie • Foundations • Robes • Kildaire Shop • Kildaire Coats • Dresses
Third Floor
Domestics • Linens • Sleep Shop • Draperies • Lamps • Daytime Dresses • Uniforms • Maternity Shop • Infants' Wear • Childrens' Wear • Boys' Wear • Girls' Wear • Teens' Wear • Children's Shoes • Beauty Salon • Photoreflex Studio
Third Floor South
Fabrics • Art and Needlework • Personnel Office • Credit Office • Cash Office
Fourth Floor
China • Glassware • Gifts • Silver • Pictures
Fifth Floor
Housewares • Radio-Television • Toys
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| The Center 42nd and Center September, 1955 |
 |
| Westroads 102nd and Dodge November, 1967 200,000 s.f. |
Coming in due course.
Oh my Gosh, what a wonderful surprise! Such great memories this brings back!
ReplyDeleteKilpatrick's was the smalller and arguably, the nicer of the two big Omaha department stores (The other one being Brandeis).
Its downtown store was a patchwork quilt of buildings, cobbled together over the years, but a beautiful and gracious store nonetheless.
The mall stores were smaller, but also nice. The Westroads store was especially elegant, in that late '60's sort of way.
The French Room (Downtown and Westroads)offered some of the finest women's clothes available in the midwest at that time, outside of the big cities.
They were purchased by Des Moines based Younkers in 1970 or thereabouts. Younker's promptly closed the downtown store, and ran the other two as Younkers-Kilpatrick's until the early 80's.
The downtown store was demolished in the 80's. The Center store closed in the 90's sometime and is now a telemarketing company or something, and the Westroads store is (I believe) no longer a Younkers.
It's good to see someone remembering a quality store like Kilpatrick's. Thank you.
Thanks for your comments! It is equally good to see that the effort to present it hasn't gone unnoticed! Your personal experience has added a dimension to the exhibit that I could not have.
ReplyDeleteBruce
The original Westroads store when through an extensive remodel in the early 80's and expanded to take the back half of the old McCory's store to the east on the lower level of the mall. This included housewares and the Peacock Restaurant (The Younkers symbol had been the peacock). Later, Younkers moved the store to the former Jones Store location which had originally been Montgomery Ward. For many years in the late 80's the Westroads Younkers store would battle Merle Hay in Des Moines for highest sales volume.
ReplyDeleteAlso Kipatrick's (or Kilpat's as it was known locally) was sold to Younkers in 1961, but the name change occurred gradually. Younker-Kipatricks in 1969 and just Younkers in 1983.
ReplyDeleteThis does bring back some memories... my mother worked as a furrier in the Ladies fur department as well as a consultant in the jewelry department at Kilpat's at Westroads during the mid 1970's - I remember as a young child (all of about six) running through the store and the "employees only" sections playing tag with kids of the other employees.
ReplyDeleteTwo memories (although traumatic) which I have always vivdly recalled:
1. While picking my mother up one evening she worked late she, my father and I were caught in a blizzard in the Winter of 1974 - we (along with a few hundred other peole) spent two days in the mall because no one could get out. It was great though, because all the restaurants fed everyone for free, the stores gave out free blankets and pillows and the movie theatre ran movies 24-hours to keep everyone entertained.
2. My family also (anxiously) waited out the tornado that struck Omaha in May of 1975 at Kilpats hunkered down in the delivery docks underground. I remember my father trying to drive home two hours after the tornado, and we came home to find our house gone. The store opened it's doors to the families of employees that lost their homes and gave us clothing, furniture and other necessity items so that life could go on.
Good to see that there is still some mention of what I always thought of as a great institution still around somewhere...
I am happy that you have shared your experiences and memories! I had not heard of Kilpatrick's until relatively recently, and am happy that I found the information in order to be able to publish something, rekindling memories of a long-gone, but well-remembered store!
ReplyDeleteBruce
p.s. You might want to check out the Kilpatrick's charge plate on the credit card page.