Sibley's
 | |
|
former subsidiary of : Associated Dry Goods (1957) May Department Stores (1986) | |
| Industry | Dry goods retailing |
| Fate | merged into Kaufmann's |
| Successor |
Kaufmann's (1990–2006) Macy's (2006–present) |
| Founded | Rochester, New York, United States (1868) |
| Founder |
Rufus Sibley Alexander Lindsay John Curr |
| Defunct | 1990 |
Key people |
Rufus Sibley Alexander Lindsay John Curr |
Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York-based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, also housed its headquarters and featured an elegant executive dining room on the top floor.
History
Rufus Sibley, Alexander Lindsay, and John Curr were employees at the Hogg, Brown & Taylor dry-goods store in Boston. Wishing to go into business for themselves, they investigated potential sites and settled on the growing city of Rochester. Their first storefront, often called "the Boston store" by locals, opened in 1868.[1] When the company opened a new 12-story, 23-acre (93,000 m2) flagship store in the Granite Building, it was among the five largest department stores in the country at the time.[2]
In 1905, after the disastrous 1904 "Sibley fire" gutted the Granite Building and much of Rochester's dry goods district,[3] Sibley's moved to its final location, the Sibley Building at the northeast corner of East Main Street and Clinton Avenue.[4] By 1939, Sibley's was the largest department store between New York City and Chicago.[4]
In 1962, competitors B. Forman Co. and McCurdy's collaborated to construct Midtown Plaza, right across Main Street from Sibley's. Sibley's was connected to the new mall by an enclosed third-floor walkway, part of the Rochester Skyway system.
The company was acquired by the Associated Dry Goods Corporation in 1957, which, in turn, was acquired by May Department Stores in 1986. The Sibley's name was merged into May Company's Kaufmann's name in 1990. Most of its suburban locations, after converting to Kaufmann's, became part of Macy's by 2006.
References
- ↑ Marcotte, Bob (June 15, 2009). "Sibley's had humble beginnings". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. pp. 1B,2B. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ↑ McCally, Karen. "Rochester Goes Shopping: Sibley's and the Rise of 'Consumer Culture'" (PDF). Rochester History. Rochester, New York: Rochester Historical Society. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
- ↑ Marcotte, Bob (June 29, 2009). "Sibley Fire of 1904 unmatched in intensity". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. pp. 1B,2B. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
- 1 2 Marcotte, Bob (July 13, 2009). "Sibley's the great was one-of-a-kind store". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. pp. 1B,2B. Retrieved July 14, 2009.