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| Goldsmith's Memphis' Greatest Store |
125 Main (at Gayoso)
Memphis, Tennessee
525-8681
Goldsmith's Budget Store
Street Floor
Fine Jewelry • Costume Jewelry • Handbags • Gloves • Accessories • Hosiery • Cosmetics • Lamar Lingerie • Lamar Sleepwear • Lamar Foundations • Lamar Shoe Salon • Stationery • Notions • Camera Center • Drugs and Sundries • Record Shop • Candy, Nuts, Gourmet •
Store for Men Men's Furnishings • Men's Sportswear • Men's Shoes • Men's Hats • Men's Clothing • Young Men's 1-2-3 Shop
Second Floor
Casualaire Dresses • Uniforms • Linen Center • Fabric Center • Art Needlework • Luggage • Toys • Sporting Goods
Youth Center Boy's Shop • Girls' Clothing • Girls' Lingerie • Pre-Teen Girls' Wear • Youngland Shoes • Infants Wear • Children's Clothing • Children's Accessories
Fashion Third
Lamar Dresses • Lamar Coats • Maternity Shop • Gayoso Sportswear • Gayoso Dresses • Gayoso Coats • Gayoso Suits • Gayoso Shoe Salon • Gayoso Lingerie • Gayoso Foundations • Gayoso Sleepwear • Robes • Collegienne Dresses • Collegienne Sportswear • Collegienne Coats • The Place • The DeSoto Room • Fur Salon • Wig Boutique • Gayoso Millinery • Beauty Salon
Fourth Floor
Major Appliances • TV-Stereo Center • Sleep Shop • Furniture • Draperies • Rugs • Pictures, Mirrors • Accent Shop • Lamps • Photo Studio
Fifth Floor
Housewares • Housewares Bath Shop • Floor Care Center • Silver Center • China • Crystal • Gift Shop • Artware • Books • Fifth Floor Restaurant • Fountain Room • Personnel Office
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| Oak Court 1961 |
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| Southland Mall August 23, 1966 (130,000 s.f.) |
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| Raleigh Springs Mall August, 1971 (168,000 s.f.) |
Coming in due course.
I would like to know if your museum or any of your followers (that may be interested in collecting old items that represent history) would like to purchase a very old 1870 wood ruler that represents Goldsmith's 71st Anniversary Sale? You can e-mail me at joynerno@aol.com if interested.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Our family was told that our grandmother was the first African American female sales woman for Cain Sloan, her name was Julia Allen. Can anyone verify this for, we would like to know if this is true.
ReplyDeleteI grew-up shopping at Goldsmith's. It was to Memphis what Marshall Field's was to Chicago -- an icon. My first job was in Gift Wrap, at the Oak Court location, during the holidays. My prom dress came from the Southland Mall location. Wow. Truly great memories. Goldsmith's was the best of the best! Now, ironically, my son works for Macy's -- a Fortune 500 Company. Obviously, good taste passes from one generation to the next!
ReplyDeleteNo offense but macy’s ruined all of the great regional stores it took over from Goldsmiths to Richs to cain sloan to marshall field and the list goes on. Each store had it’s own strong personality until macy’s came along and overlayed it’s bland, generic one size fits all approach. What macy’s did should be a crime…now they are closing store and trying to avoid bankruptcy. When i lived in new york i never set foot in macy’s after my first trip. Macys is like drinking flat coca cola
DeleteI couldn’t agree with you more! It’s heartbreaking what Macy’s did. I have so many wonderful memories of shopping at Goldsmith’s
DeleteThank you for bringing the wonderful memories of Goldsmith's to life ! We miss the regional traditions that included experiences and restaurants,beauty salons,candy departments,technology departments and more ! We miss the latest & the greatest merchandise,experiences and the sheer fun of shopping. With great regards,we would appreciate if you could tell us about the wonderful full service restaurants in the Oak Court, Southland Mall,Raleigh Springs Mall stores ? We really miss the experiences that were present in these wonderful stores ! Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Goldsmiths in the early 1980s as a drapery / bedspread asst buyer. Probably the coolest job I ever had. A great boss Paul Murley who taught me industry knowledge as well as habits and behaviors on how to be a good individual. Our office was tucked away on the fourth floor in the downtown store. Above my head in my little cubicle were the bolts and wiring to the Goldsmiths sign that hung on the NE corner of the building. The executive office was next door to us and Mr Goldsmith who was in his 80s would come to work most days and speak to everyone he saw. One of my responsibilties was to check on in coming merchandise. All stock was received downtown and then sent to the branches. This required walking around the receiving rooms connected by a maze of stairs hallways and freight elevators. A lot of memories of fun times and great people
ReplyDeleteI worked as a copywriter at Goldsmith's in the mid-80's until we were all laid off/consolidated with a larger store in Atlanta...I can't recall the store name. I never wrote for your department - I had ladies accessories, shoes, and budget dresses. I'm pretty sure our offices were also on the 4th floor. I remember the merchandise room for the items to be illustrated or eventually photographed for the ads. What a fantastic job with so many fond memories!
DeleteI worked for Paul Murley too
DeleteWhere was Temptation Tunnel? Goldsmith's or Lowenstein's!
ReplyDeleteI remember a tunnel that went to the parking garage at Goldsmith's downtown. I think it was a pharmacy. I remember the shelves running along the curved tunnel. I was very young at the time mid 1970's, it was really weird.
DeleteI purchased four very cute Christmas mugs from an estate sale today. The seller had lived in Memphis and was telling me about the "Enchanted Forest" they would have every Christmas and how the children would walk through the display and at the end would be given a mug of cocoa in these keepsake mugs. They are dated 1984 through 1987. I will probably be selling them on Ebay if anyone is interested. Maybe you can find some information and pictures of the Enchanted Forest to share with us.
ReplyDeleteWasn’t it Goldsmiths that had Mr Bingle every Christmas on television? He wore an ice cream cone hat I believe.
ReplyDeleteThat was Lowenstein's, the second biggest department store in Memphis. The Mr. Bingle character originated with Maison Blanche in New Orleans, and the company that owned that store acquired Lowenstein's.
Deletejust bought night gowns from yard sale that still has the price tag on it and they are like new in box but we just found out about goldsmiths and on the top of the price tag it says it came from goldsmiths store.
ReplyDeleteI just found a set of skates still new In the original box and receipt attached to the box that was bought in 1990 at goldsmiths
ReplyDeleteOnce a month Goldsmith's would reduce products and have a great sale. They did it at each store but eventually it was only at the downtown store. What was the sale called?
ReplyDeleteClover Day
DeleteWasn’t that the “One Day Sale”?
DeleteWe used to go to Goldsmith’s every Saturday when I was a little girl in the early 70s. Pretty sure it was the Oak Court location. We used to eat in the restaurant. I remember getting a grilled cheese and a cup of the BEST vegetable soup. And my parents always got a sandwich that was served on raisin bread. Such fond memories. We moved away in ‘79
ReplyDeleteWhat is the value of the red Goldsmiths Old Memphis plate?
ReplyDeleteI have a 1935 Memphis goldsmith's baby own story infant department book
ReplyDeleteIf somebody knows the wonderful recipe of the Cheesecakes from the Bakery in the Goldsmiths back in the 70's and early 80's, please share. It was a cheesecake like no other ever in this world. It was heavy,..5 inches thick and fluffy. Never have I ever been able to come close to finding one. Please!
ReplyDeleteBest memories of my childhood is catching with bus on Saturdays and taking my siblings downtown to walk around and surprise my mom. Mom (Isabel Henson) worked at Goldsmith's downtown as a bookkeeper in the accounting dept for many many years until they closed that store. Mom forbid us inside the store, because if we touched something and broke it, we couldn't afford to pay for it. So, I would send a note to the elevator man and let him know we were outside and he would tell Mom. She would come down for a few minutes to see us and hurry back to her job, she was very dedicated to her job. The first Christmas gift I ever bought and gave Mom when I was a teenager came from Goldsmith's, it was a beautiful silk scarf and I got the clover day sale price. They gift wrapped it for me free when I told them Mom worked there and put a sample of Yves St Laurent perfume in the box so the scarf smelled great!
ReplyDeleteTaking my siblings to the Enchanted Forest each year!!!
ReplyDeleteMost sentimental memory is when my mom (Isabel Henson) worked at Goldsmith's downtown as a bookkeeper for many many years until the store closed. Mom told me once she worked at store where she couldn't even afford to buy a pair of pantyhose. I never forgot that and didn't understand the relevance until I was a young adult. However, the sentimental memory is of my mom bringing home a white box of donuts every Thursday when she got paid. She would stop by the bakery and get six perfectly glazed huge donuts for all six of us kids. Not until I was grown and old enough to move out, did I understand what that box of donuts meant. I was in the Air Force, thousands of miles away from Memphis, on a military bus going to boot camp, and I thought about my mom and that box of six, yes the number six, it was just six donuts in that box ,,,,, Mom never bought herself a donut. I have never looked at doughnuts the same in my life again. Coincidently, my mom doesn't like doughnuts ,,,,,,, I don't even have enough tears left in me ............. to ask why. For those who don't get this story, it's about a single mother from France, who ended up in Memphis with a Vietnam Veteran who left her alone in an unfamiliar world and city, pregnant with her sixth child, struggled to raise six kids by herself, working in an elegant department store, who caught the bus to work everyday of her life, wore the same shoes and clothes until they fell apart, couldn't afford to shop where she worked and no one ever knew of her circumstance, because she had pride and grace. We have done well and Mom will be 82 soon and we take very very very good care of her. Thank you Goldsmith's for the helping my mom provide a way and for the wonderful memories !!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I totally understand what your mom went through as a single parent...I was.very much young like you watching my mom do similar things to take care of us...read that brought back so many memories of growing up...I could feel everything you were going through writing this...with my mom I remember going hungry all day long without anything other than water. But what makes me tear 😢 now is that same day she (my mom) worked day In bakery and her coming home from working all day with a coconut Custer pie from the bakery and slicing it for us and after eating my slice of pie I was still hungry and she saw me pinching the crumb s from the pan ...and she asked was I still hungry, and I said yes....it was that moment she gave me her slice of pie. At the time I didn't understand what she had done, until I got older and this makes me cry to tell it...but "I UNDERSTAND " ...Your mother was a loving beautiful woman...so.glad to hear that you are now take care of her...my God bless 🙌 your mother and your family 👪
DeleteMost sentimental memory is when my mom (Isabel Henson) worked at Goldsmith's downtown as a bookkeeper for many years until the store closed. My mom would bring home a white box of doughnuts every Thursday when she got paid. She would stop by the bakery and get six perfectly glazed huge doughnuts for all six of us kids. Not until I was grown did I understand what that box of donuts meant. I had just joined the Air Force, hundreds of miles away from Memphis, on a bus going to boot camp, and I thought about my mom and that box of six, yes ,,,,,,,,,,,, six, it was just six doughnuts in that box ,,,,, Mom never bought herself a donut. I have never looked at doughnuts the same in my life again. Coincidently, my mom doesn't like doughnuts ,,,,,,, I can't even make myself ask her why. Mom once told me that she worked at a store, where she couldn't even afford to buy a pair of pantyhose. Maybe that's why she also told me of her interview at Goldsmith's. She didn't even have a pair of pantyhose to wear to the interview, but she needed the job, so her future boss who interviewed her, told her to go downstairs and they gave her a pair of panty hose. I still remember walking to the drug store and buying pantyhose in the eggshell for my mom to wear to work for years. I never forgot my mom telling about the pantyhose and I didn't understand the relevance until I was a young adult. For those who got to the end of this story,,,,,,, it's about a woman from France, who ended up in Memphis with a Vietnam Veteran who left her all alone in a far away country and an unfamiliar culture with absolutely no family, pregnant with her sixth child, then struggled to raise six kids by herself, working in a very nice department store, who caught the bus to work everyday of her life, wore the same shoes and clothes until they fell apart, and couldn't afford to shop where she worked ............................. yet, no one ever knew of her circumstance, because she carried herself with pride, elegance and grace. All six children have done well in life, Mom will be 82 soon and we take very good care of her. We are forever grateful to Goldsmith's for giving Mom a job to provide for a family when fear was all she had. Thanks for all the wonderful memories! Always, Margaret Liz (Henson) Sanders, daughter of a true survivor, my mother, Isabel Henson!
ReplyDeleteI'd say, God bless your mom, but I think she has been well and truly blessed. Her story is inspirational. I am glad that you and your siblings respect everything she did for you, and repay that in the care you give her. So many people have sent wonderful stories to this site, but this is one of the greatest.
ReplyDelete-Bruce
Thank you and God Bless you!
DeleteHello, Can anyone tell me if there was an Old Gayoso Room in downtown Goldsmith's? A friend has asked me to sell her grandmother's tufted rocker for her. She said it came from that room, Circa 1930's. It is beautiful. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMy sister has a metal card that belonged to a man from Paragould Arkansas it reads goldsmiths memphis'greatest approved account under federal credit regulations until October 10th 1945, her husband received it in some stuff he bought at a auction.
ReplyDelete