THE DEATH OF THE DEPARTMENT STORE

I have early memories, with my mother, of going to Bullock’s Wilshire in Los Angeles. We lived in Glendale but a trip on a rare occasion to the iconic Bullock’s Wilshire was something that, if I didn’t look forward to, it certainly left a stamp in my mind of the most glorious and decorated of all those in the Department store culture…the style of old Hollywood. You could almost imagine bumping into Gloria Swanson or Marlene Dietrich. It was a Cathedral for Gods sake.

“The Art Deco classic, now a historical landmark, was built in 1929 by Los Angeles architects John and David Parkinson, the interior design was by Eleanor Lemaire and Jock Peters of the Feil & Paradise Company;[2] the ceiling mural of the porte-cochere’ was painted by Herman Sachs.

“In its heyday, Bullocks Wilshire patrons included Mae West, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Alfred Hitchcock, Greta Garbo, ZaSu Pitts, Walt Disney and Clark Gable.”

Over the years, a shift by other luxury stores and boutiques to the west side of the city/county resulted in the primary Bullocks Wilshire trading area’s fall, yet the main store held on as a destination until 1988, when it began its own precipitous decline, hastened under operation by its final owners, Macy’s, who had acquired the chain from the Campeau Corporation. The Wilshire Boulevard store suffered severe damage during day 2 of the Los Angeles riots of 1992; looters broke in and shattered every display case on the first floor.

I used to tag along with my mother as she shopped at yesteryear anchors such as Robinson’s, Joseph Magnin, and Webb’s, in the Fashion Square in Glendale.

It is true that New York still has some of the original department stores from the day, such as Bergdorf Goodman, etc., but they don’t have the majesty of a Bullock’s Wilshire..not even close. They are great in their own right but the floors of BG are only 10ft. high, much more cramped and very boxy. You don’t have the expansive views that you had in Robinson’s or Bullock’s.

I think there is also no question that the popularity of the “mall” led to the decline of department stores such as Bullock’s Wilshire.

This from a piece by Collectors Weekly in May of 2014

The once-vibrant shopping mall has one foot in the grave these days. About 20 percent of the 2,000 largest U.S. malls were failing in 2008, and by 2012, only 1,513 remained in operation. Current numbers predict more than 200 existing big malls will collapse in the next 10 years. Search the phrase, “dead malls,” and you’ll find photo after photo of tiled walkways littered with debris, untended planters near the darkened rest areas for bored dads, and empty indoor storefronts—the discolored shadows of their missing lighted signs lingering like ghosts.

“Today, we shop as if we know about everything that we’re shopping for, but in the mid-century, you trusted your department store.”

Often, the mall’s anchors, the big chain department stores, are the first to go. It seems that the 2008 recession and dominance of the Internet—where you can buy anything and everything with a few clicks—have taken their toll on brick-and-mortar behemoths like JCPenney, Sears, and even Macy’s. As the Computer Age thrusts us into the future, would-be mall rats are spending all their time on Facebook, and the breath-taking range of products, once so meticulously displayed for our delight, is being crammed into our PCs, tablets, and smartphones.

Unlike most of the classic department stores Bullock’s Wilshire has been restored and is now owned and utilized by Southwestern Law School.

I remember the ambiance of those luxurious department store spaces....nothing ”cookie cutter” about them.