Butler Brothers Department Stores

Defunct department store chain

The Butler Brothers Department Stores were a chain of department stores that opened in the 1950s.

Merchandising company Butler Brothers built 2 complete department stores in Ohio and 4 in Greater Los Angeles,^[1] and one each in San Francisco and Seattle.^[2]

Greater Los Angeles

• Lakewood Center (1952), 5252 Lakewood Blvd., 2 stories, 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m²),^[3] opened November 8, 1951 to more than 175,000 visitors in one day. Its first customer was film star Joyce Holden.^[4]
• Alhambra, 343 E. Main St., opened November 15, 1951,^[5] helping anchor its busy downtown, a key shopping district in the San Gabriel Valley. Closed c. 1973.^[6] No parking lot. Later home to Nahas department store which closed in 1980.^[7]
• Ontario, 317–327 N. Euclid Ave., 55-60 employees, opened September 19, 1961, 35,600 sq ft (3,310 m²)^[8]
• Van Nuys 6609 Van Nuys Boulevard northwest corner of Kittridge, opened September 21, 1951,^[9] with 125,000 sq ft (11,600 m²) total space.^[10] This would later become a branch of Dearden's, a department store selling furniture, appliances and jewelry aimed at Latino residents.

In the 1960s the Los Angeles buying office and plant was at 3030 South Atlantic Boulevard in Vernon, an industrial suburb of Southeast Los Angeles County.^[11][12]

San Francisco

• Stonestown Shopping Center in a suburban area of the city of San Francisco.^[13][14]

Ohio

• Cleveland metropolitan area, Euclid, Ohio, E. 222nd at Lake Shore Blvd. opened in April, 1951, originally a Scott-Burr store.^[15][16]
• Cincinnati, 616–628 Race Street, opened October 1, 1951. The store consisted of four sales levels and employed a staff of 200.^[17] Butler Bros. covered the Victorian storefront in a sleek, then-modern brick façade. The store had been A. E. Burkhardt's furriers, then Miller's department store, then a J. J. Newberry variety store. The Butler Brothers closed by 1960 when it was turned into a Kroger grocery; later the building was a Singer shop, then a Wurlitzer shop, then The Chong from 1988 until March 2020.^[15]

Washington State

• Northgate Mall, Seattle^[18][19]

Federated Stores

The Butler Brothers Department Stores should not be confused with Federated Stores, also under Butler Brothers, which started c. 1931 which were ca. 1400 independently owned and operated department stores based on a common operating model and selling goods acquired through the Butler Brothers wholesale network.^[20]

External links

• Photo of Van Nuys location at Calisphere

References

1. "Butler Brothers Southern California expansion". Valley Times. May 2, 1957. p. 23.
2. Commerce, United States Congress Senate Committee on (1962). "Hearings". Retrieved March 28, 2024.
3. "Open new $million store Thursday at Lakewood Park shopping center". Daily News. November 2, 1951. p. 17. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
4. "Butler Brothers Opening Attracts More Than 175,000". Independent. November 9, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
5. "Butler Brothers Alhambra ad". Pasadena Independent. November 14, 1951. p. 9. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
6. "From Boom to Blight and Back Again? Alhambra Hopes Redevelopment Will Bring Shoppers Back to Main St". The Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1988. p. 681. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
7. "Blight:Alhambra Goes in Search of Shoppers". The Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1988. p. 686. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
8. "Butler Bros. Store Opens in Ontario". The Pomona Progress Bulletin. September 19, 1951. p. 17. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
9. "Butler Brothers Will Establish Department Store in Van Nuys". The Van Nuys News. November 30, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
10. "Butler Bros. Department Store Pointing Toward Opening Date". The Van Nuys News. August 30, 1951. p. 33. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
11. Stores of the World: Buyers & Buying Agents. Newman Books Limited. 1966. p. 274. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
12. Commerce, United States Congress Senate Committee on (1962). "Amendment to Section 202, Interstate Commerce Act: Terminal Area Exemption: Hearing, Eighty-seventh Congress, First Session, on S. 1978, a Bill to Amend Section 202 (c) of the Interstate Commerce Act to Provide for Partial Exemption from the Provisions of Part II of Such Act of Terminal Area Motor Carrier Operations Performed by Or for Common Carriers by Water in Interstate Commerce Subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933. August 4, 1961". U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
13. Dunnigan, Frank (July 2017). "Streetwise: Happy Birthday Stonestown". Outside Lands. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
14. "Do you want to succeed?". The San Francisco Examiner. July 6, 1952. p. 23. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
15. "New Department Store Open; Thousands Flock To Look, Many Becoming Shoppers". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 5, 1951. p. 15. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
16. "Butler Brothers Euclid Ohio Easts 222nd at Lake Shore Blvd. (ad)". East Cleveland Leader. September 25, 1952. p. 4. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
17. "Butler Brothers Preparing For Opening; Color Are keynote In City's Newest Store". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 21, 1951. p. 14. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
18. "Washington". The Spokesman-Review. April 4, 1954. p. 103. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
19. Bradfield, Patti (May 26, 2005). "Thanks for the memories, Northgate". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
20. "New Owner Takes Over Federated Store". Rushville Republican. May 27, 1946. p. 7. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.