Local History: South Orange’s Merchant Prince

In the 1920s, his was a household name. Even now, it’s hard to find a South Orange resident who hasn’t felt the impact of Louis Bamberger, formerly of 602 Centre St.

A century ago, downtown Newark was a shopping hub of Essex County, where South Orange residents would choose a special dress or buy a piano. Three department stores competed for business; the youngest of the “big 3” was L. Bamberger and Co.  

Born in 1855, Newark businessman Louis Bamberger purchased the bankrupt firm of Hill & Craig at the corner of Market and Halsey streets in 1892. He reopened the store as L. Bamberger and Co. After a number of expansions, Bamberger built a new building bounded by Market, Halsey, Washington and Bank streets. The famous Bamberger’s clock at the corner of Market and Halsey kept time for generations of Newark workers and served as a meeting point for countless rendezvous.

More than a building, though, Bamberger built an institution. In the mid-1920s, he employed some 2,500 people, and his store was one of the five most successful in the country. No wonder that when he sold the store to R. H. Macy in 1928, Macy chose to retain the Bamberger name. Indeed, the store retained its original name until 1986, and the Newark branch closed in 1992.

Bamberger was progressive and modern. His interest in technology led him to found radio station WOR, which broadcast from the store. L. Bamberger and Co. also boasted a library, health and social services, and a Bamberger Music Club, all for the benefit of his employees, whom he called “co-workers.” In the late 1920s, he established a branch of Rutgers University in the store, to allow his co-workers to further their education. His employees were loyal to him, and he to them: when he sold the business to R. H. Macy, he divided $1 million among 326 longtime co-workers for “their long and faithful service.”

Louis Bamberger was successful in business—a millionaire several times over—and quietly dedicated to philanthropy. He gave generously to Beth Israel Hospital and the Newark YM-YWHA (now known as the Jewish Community Center). He was a major donor to the New Jersey Historical Society, and he was an early patron of the Newark Public Library. Likewise, when the Newark Museum was still borrowing space on the upper floors of the library, Bamberger announced plans to fund the construction of a building. He hired the noted architect Jervis Hunt to design the limestone building; the $700,000 cost of design and construction was paid for entirely by Bamberger. His donations weren’t limited to money; he gave his extensive autograph collection to the Historical Society. Among the autographs, Bamberger had one for each of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Though the Newark Evening News readers voted Bamberger “One of Newark’s Leading Citizens,” he preferred to stay out of the limelight. At home in South Orange, he lived quietly, though luxuriously, on a 35-acre estate. Still, he couldn’t escape the headlines when he and his sister, Caroline Bamberger Fuld, gave about $5 million to create and establish The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Founded in 1930, the Institute provided a haven and workspace for scientists fleeing Europe. Indeed, Bamberger is credited with bringing Albert Einstein to New Jersey by negotiating an appropriate salary for his work.

When this notable South Orange resident died at 88, in March 1941, flags were at half-mast for three days. In his will, he left money to nearly every employee of L. Bamberger and Co., and his home became part of the East Orange Veterans Hospital.  

He also left behind a legacy of philanthropy that benefits nearly every resident of our town and county. Louis Bamberger was South Orange’s own Merchant Prince.