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Burdine's (W. M. Burdine & Son) (1898)
22 East Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33131
FRanklin 3-1111
22 East Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33131
FRanklin 3-1111
Street Floor
Aisles of Fashion Fashion Accessories • Handbags • Gloves • Hosiery • Small Leather Goods • Blouse Bar • Costumer Jewelry • Look Jewelry • Les Must de Cartier • Sportswear I
Fine Jewelry • Cosmetics
Prescriptions-Drugs • Candy • Stationery • Personal Papers • Calculators • Credit Desk
Store for Men Men’s Jewelry and Gifts • Men’s Leather Accessories • Men’s Furnishings • Men’s Neckwear • Men’s Dress Shirts • Top Shop • Men’s Sleepwear • Men’s Coordinates • Men’s Active Sportswear • Men’s Shoes • Men’s Hats • Men’s Contemporary Shop • Men’s Clothing • Squire Shop
Street Floor West
Appliances • Radios • Televisions • Sound Center
Second Floor
Cameras • Luggage • Books • Records • Fashion Foundations • Bra Bar • Sleepwear • Robes and Loungewear • Lingerie • The Shop for Pappagallo • Sportswear II • Shoes II
Young Florida Shop Junior Dresses • Junior Sportswear • Junior Coats • Young Florida Lingerie • American Blues
Third Floor
Sunshine Fashions Gold Coast Room • La Boutique • Sunshine Casuals • Pacesetter Shop • Specialty Shop • Clubhouse • Designer Sportswear
Misses’ Dresses • Misses’ Sportswear • Shoe Salon • Millinery Salon • Beach and Patio Shop • Young Attitudes • Look Shop • Executive Suite • Hat Bar • Accessory Oval • Custom Size Shop • Bridal Salon • Maternity Shop • Beauty Salon • Hibiscus Tea Room
Third Floor Bridge
L'Arcade Elegante
Fourth Floor
Watch and Jewelry Repair • Auditorium • Photo-Reflex Studio • Domestics and Linens • Pillow Shop • Bath Shop • Notions
Young People’s World Infants • Toddlers • Babettes • Boys’ • Girls’ 3-6x • Girls’ 7-14 • Preteens • Children’s Accessories • Children’s Shoes
Fourth Floor Across-the-Bridge
Toys
Fifth Floor
Housewares • Kitchenworks • Home Aids • The Market Place at Burdines • Gifts • China • Silver • Glassware • Decorative Accessories • Pictures and Miirors • Hardware • Garden Shop • Paint Center • Sporting Goods
Fifth Floor Bridge
Electric Appliances Center
Fifth Floor Across-the-Bridge
Draperies • Curtains • Floor Coverings • Rugs • Art Embroidery • Art Needlework • Fashion Fabrics
Sixth Floor
Decorating Shop Gallery • Lamps • Furniture • Fine Furniture • Patio Shop • Slumber Shop • Baby Furniture
(529,000 sq. ft.)
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| Miami Beach (Roney Plaza Hotel 1929) (800 Lincoln Rd. 1936) Meridian Ave. & 17th St. November, 1953 98,000 s.f. |
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| Boulevard Shop Biscayne Boulevard at 14th St. December, 1929 40,000 s.f. Tea Room |
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| West Palm Beach (Acquired Hatch's 1941) Clematis St & Dixie Hwy. July, 1954 170,000 s.f. Men's Grill Hibiscus Tea Room |
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| Fort Lauderdale Andrews Ave. at S.W. 2nd St. November, 1947 195,000 s.f. Men's Grill Hibiscus Tea Room |
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| 163rd Street October, 1956 206,000 s.f. Luncheonette Hibiscus Tea Room |
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| Dadeland October, 1962 145,000 s.f. Hibiscus Tea Room |
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| Westland October, 1967 194,000 s.f. Hibiscus Tea Room |
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Pompano Beach
1969
152,000 sq. ft.
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Hollywood Fashion Mall
1972
151,000 sq. ft.
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Orlando Fashion Square
Orlando FL
1973
207,000 sq. ft.
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Altamonte Mall
1974
Altamonte Springs, FL
153,000 sq. ft.
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Clearwater Mall
Clearwater, FL
1975
160,000 sq. ft.
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Tampa Bay Center (1976)
Tampa, FL
181,000 sq. ft.
South Gate (1976)
Sarasota, FL
108,000 sq. ft.
Broward Mall (1978)
Sunrise/Plantation
202,000 sq. ft.
Coming in Due Course
I practically grew up in Burdine's Dadeland and Mayfair. My mom says as soon as I was released from the hospital, they took me to Burdine's for my layette. I shopped there until 1997, when I got a job there and hated it. :( I do miss "the Florida Store" though.
ReplyDeleteI have so many good memories of Burdines. Hardly ever go into a Macy's store anymore, although I drive under the skybridge over S Miami Ave every day on my way to work and remember the good times of buying records up there and books, buying quality stereo equipment in the sound center and having a rarebit burger at Eight West Burdines, the restaurant that catered to lunching professionals on the West Flagler St. side at #8 W Flagler. Bought my first color tv on credit from Burdines Dadeland in 1980. Worked at 163 St Burdines from 1978-1980 in Men's Clothing. Back then, it was a great company to work for....BTW the Orlando store's location was the Orlando Fashion Square, not Colonial. It just happened to be on E Colonial Drive
ReplyDeleteBurdines was so much better at merchandising than Macy's; many of the newer branches such as Wellington and Orlando Florida Mall reflected the fact that this was truly "The Florida Store", with white Palm Tree styled pillars in front and huge tropical fish tank videos in the Elevator area. It was an amazing clash of cultures with the Macy's "merger" and it was obvious to most Floridians that it was unnecessary as Macy's already had a large presence with it's darkly designed stores (one magazine once quipped that the interior of Macy's in Palm Beach Gardens was like a sarcophagus- all chrome and black). Burdines WAS "The Florida Store!"
ReplyDeleteHey Floridans especially those in Miami, I lived there briefly and oh! I LOVED what Burdine's had. It was very different and felt very native store hence those who said in comments said it was the Flordia Store. I know the feelings, Macy's is so stupid. I am in Syracuse, NY now and yup, Macy's here too. All black and red, bleak, snotty.. I noticed that myself! They were rude to my mom when she needed to ring up a sale and no salesperson around. Macy's IS on way out. They lost money and all. Smart move, Floridans and rest of US, Let Macy's eat dust!
ReplyDeleteHahaha. I talked with people from Miami when I was living there briefly (long story why I moved out), they talked so much about burdine's. Really! I enjoyed Burdine's!
Why not buy some stocks in Macy's and break them out and make it Burdine's again? I would!
The Burdine's in Dadeland was so big...you had to walk thru the middle of the store to get from one end of the mall to the other!
ReplyDeleteBurdine's Dadeland at one time was the largest suburban department store in the United States and I think also had the highest sales per square foot. Anybody remember the monorail toy train that ran constantly around the perimeter of the children's dept. on the 3rd floor?
ReplyDeleteBurdines also had branch stores at Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach, and University Square Mall, Citrus Park Town Center, and Westshore Plaza Mall in Tampa, among others.
ReplyDeleteBurdines's original store at University Square was only one-story, and it was the only single-story Burdines I can recall ever seeing, though it was still more upscale than the mall's other anchor-stores. They later renovated and relocated to one of the mall's larger, two-story spaces. Montgomery Ward then took Burdines' old space, and became by FAR the nicest looking Montgomery Ward's I ever saw!
Burdines, as "The Florida Store", for quite a while featured supermodel and actress Lauren Hutton as their commercial spokesperson. I thought Hutton's ads were great. She seemed such a natural choice, since she grew up in Tampa, and had such a high-fashion, high-profile career.
Macy's arrival in Florida was overdue, but I sort of hated to see Burdines fade into history.
I think the University Mall (Tampa) store opened in after an early 80s addition; they moved to the old Maas Brothers store after the 1991 merger. Burlington Coat Factory moved in after Wards and is still there today, though the store is a shell of its former self.
ReplyDeleteThe Westshore Plaza store was originally a Maas Brothers until the aforementioned merger in 1991. For awhile, Burdines had two stores operating in a ~two-mile radius: Westshore and Tampa Bay Center.
There was also a Burdines at Countryside Mall in Clearwater, Tyrone Square in St. Pete (those two stores being ex-Maas Brothers), a freestanding one near Tyrone which closed when they relocated to the mall proper in 1991, the Brandon Town Center east of Tampa, Lakeland Square Mall in Lakeland, Gulf View Square Mall in New Port Richey, and the Winter Haven Mall in Winter Haven. Most of these stores still retain some Burdines elements, like the large fake palm trees. It really was the Florida store!
I used to live in South Beach for many years and was a regular shopper at the Burdines in Miami Beach next to Lincoln RD.A great store which such a classic feel to it.The one in Miami Beach to was really neat to with its cool artdeco murals inside (which I have heard that Macys has since covered over to my disappointment). We were though able to campaign and make sure the Neon Sunshine Fashion sign on the ouside of the building was saved.
ReplyDeleteBurdine's was one of the few stores, if not the only store in the U.S. that had a unique feel to them. Their interiors in the 70s and 80s of having the store look like a warehouse where you saw all the plumbing blew me away the first time I saw that concept used. Yet, each department was right on trend and had the palm trees in them. Good for you for saving the sign...something has to be considered sacred, being Macy's has ruined everything.
DeleteIn Florida Burdine's was the store to go when some items was needed. It had everything, and the service was always very good. Maybe it wasn't Jordan Marsh, but it was good!
ReplyDeletethere was an even more upscale Burdines in Coconut Grove at Mayfair, which was the prettiest mall ever during it's first incarnation. That Burdines had a huge evening wear department and fur salon.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the Burdines boutique Mayfair coconut grove. I remember you were only admitted to the store if you held a Burdines gold card. I was 18 years of age & had one. Visited once and couldn't afford anything. It was the days of private membership for clubs and Burdines followed the trend.
ReplyDeleteBurdines had a store in Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, FL, too
ReplyDeleteThere was one at The Oaks Mall in Gainesville. It had this big rotunda-like structure over the escalators, surrounded by columns topped not by your usual Doric or Corinthian capitals, but by Gators. Very cool. I think Macy's left the columns alone when they rebranded the store, which is points in their favor. I'll have to check next time I go to the mall. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy mom worked at Burdines Downtown Miami before she married. I lived close to Dadeland..and I remember Dadeland before it was air conditioned! And Burdines had a Ladies' Lounge area that (at the time) I thought was so elegant..early 1960s. I remember the Rarebit Burgers in their dining room in the store..and I twirled a baton for them in the Junior Orange Bowl Parade!. I miss Burdines. It was unique to Florida. And it always smelled good in that store!
ReplyDeleteI loved it when Macy's first moved into the local Burdines. They had heavy winter coats on sale in Florida. Maybe a lot of us were vacationing up north that year. Burdines WAS the Florida store.
ReplyDeleteJust for yucks I punched in Burdines squire shop because I still have 2 Gant button down shirts that I bought while in high school at the Dadeland location probably in 1967. Yes, they still fit.
ReplyDeleteI'm Richard Burdine - I'm related the Burdine Stores - I am sad Federated changed them to Macy's - A real loss - Burdine's had a "Class" all it's own - They don't make em like that anymore !
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Ice Cream Parlor and Dining Room at the Jordan Marsh in the Galleria Mall for 19 years. I was left with so many terrific memories of a great store, fellow employees and special customers that will never be forgotten. stayed 'til they closed.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know of vintage Budines model photos? My mom modeled at the West Palm Beach store in the 1950's
ReplyDeleteBurdines, like Bloomingdales, was part of Federated Department Stores. A man named Bob Campeau bought Federated with billions in junk stock in 1988 and immediately set about firing thousands of workers and basically destroying the company. The Board of Directors managed to get "out from under" him and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy from which we emerged successfully a few years later. In 1994, MACYS was in big financial trouble and FEDERATED bought up Macy's Department Stores, not the other way around. The new CEO changed the name of each chain store to Burdines-Macy's and Rich's-Macy's, etc., in 2004, and then renamed all the chains MACY'S in 2005. The only exception to the name change was Bloomingdales, which stayed Bloomingdales. Macy's did not take over us. Federated bought THEM and changed the name of all our store chains to Macy's to make Macy's a national brand. I worked in the Miami Advertising office for them for nearly 22 years, from the 1980s until we were all laid off in 2009 when the Company centralized all advertising operations and buying operations to New York. Personally, I would have greatly preferred that the Burdines stores retain the Burdines name and "look." The Florida Store was unique and damned classy.
ReplyDeleteRecently I was told that my father, David Protheroe, was named on a plaque on the downtown Miami building. He worked there from 1955 thru 1960 and then moved to the Ft Lauderdale store for the remainder of his retailing career. I'd love to verify this information and secure a photo if possible. Could someone help me?
ReplyDeleteAs a stamp collector I am always on the lookout for unusual items-- I recently found a partial envelope which was mailed to
ReplyDeleteBurdine's
A. Complete- Department - Store
Incorporated
(the actual address was cut off)
It was mailed from: Burdine's 5,Piazza Strozzi, Florence
It has an Italian stamp and is Postmarked in Firenze (Florence)
I can only guess that Burdines may have had a buyer in Italy at that address, since I cannot find any information about them having any stores in Italy -
Your thoughts
I have a Burdines acrylic ornament that set on all the checkout desks. I am listing it on eBay as I type this.
ReplyDeleteI have a rare, one of kind Burdines desk plaque/weight with shell in it. I am putting it on eBay as I type this. Please take a look - Cool!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Daytona and moved to the Northeast in the late 1970s, but I went home alot. Growing up, there always were quite a few Burdine's locations in Orlando - the closest being Altamonte, which was about 40 minutes away on I4. Sometime during the late 70s or early 1980s they expanded Volusia Mall and added a Burdines. A cousin of mine from New Jersey moved to Daytona and began a short career with them, moving to Tampa for a promotion. It always seemed like a nice store and it had its own "Florida flavor." When they built the Seminole Town Center in the 1990s the Burdines there had a frieze on the outside of the building - wonder what happened to that when it became a Macy's? Here's another bit of store trivia: our cable service in Daytona used to broadcast a Miami station and the ads for Burdines there pronounced it differently, with the accent on the second syllable (ie., bur-DINES). In central Florida we always called it BUR-dines.
ReplyDeleteOne year, I am guessing that it was in the late 1980s (although it could have been the early 1990s) Burdines created a theme for the Christmas season called "The Twelve Days of a Burdine's Christmas." There were shopping bags, posters, etc. all of which had a white background with the twelve items that one would want for Christmas in Miami arranged in a triangle. I have looked online, but haven't found it. Does anyone know of a surviving artifact?
ReplyDeleteBurdines Orlando in '73 was a store ahead of its time. Jordans & Robinsons were no ccompetition for the style & class Busdines built and trained to in their stores. Changing Burdines into Macys was a major bnlunder for Federated .Macys was way too much New York for this market !!
ReplyDeleteWas my first real job. Burdines West Palm Beach. Store #20. Spent 5 yrs there. Cherish the many memories, even to this day; some 20+ yrs later. RIP Burdines. Employee #548156 =)
ReplyDeleteBurdines, West Palm Beach was one classy fun store. I still remember the egg salad on cheese toast at the lunch counter. Bought a Cartier watch there in 1977 for $350 ($100 less than Cartier sold them in Palm Beach).
ReplyDeleteI used to work in the West Palm Beach store back in 72. I was a photographer for the Reflex Studio and got a lot of good training for later in life as a portrait photographer and free lancer for high school year books. Did you know they handled a lot of year book head and shoulder shots for the surrounding communities. Everything from Boynton to the everglades. Good memories..
ReplyDeleteWould anyone know who the main window designer team/person was for Burdines and how to contact them?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Anonymous 28/05/19 The director of display, windows and interiors in the '50's and 60's was William Raulerson, now deceased. That position in the 90's into 2000's was Robert (Rob) Unger, possibly residing in Miami
ReplyDeleteWe shopped Burdines Dadeland all the time. Pounce Jr High had an art exhibit there and at the reception I went to the bar and the bartender poured me Rum and Cokes all night. I was sick as a dog when I got home. Mom was not happy. But she forgave me as it was a pretty big honor to have your art displayed in public.In the mid-seventies we bought a really mod acrylic Christmas Tree when they had their Christmas display sale for the Museum of Science. Unfortunately when my mom passed my dad threw out all the Christmas decorations. It was quite spectacular reaching 8 feet tall and half inch thick. It had large pink balls silk screened on the panels and 4 holes cut out on each panel with large grey glass balls hanging in them. The panels had slots cut into then and they slide into each other from top to bottom. I wish I could find a photo.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Burdines (Bur-DINES for me) in the Boynton mall mid to late 80's in the crystal and china department. When they opened the Gardens mall in Palm Beach Gardens, I went there and became the Waterford Crystal specialist. I loved my time there. They had a full time piano player at the top of the escalators below the skylight ceiling. We were allowed to make 'house calls' to better serve our clients. The mall was classy and upscale and I remember the Macy's being dark and tight, while the Burdines was open, airey and very Florida. I truly miss this store and all it represented.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where I can find the Brands this store carried? I have a coat I believe was purchased at the Orlando location in the 70s and have no tags to refer to. Help?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what happened to the various parts of the Christmas displays? I'm asking more particularly about the neon Santa Claus. I'm pretty sure it's probably long gone but what are the chances that the components for that might exist in a warehouse somewhere?
ReplyDelete