Boston Stores (California-based department store) explained

Boston Stores, originally and later still often called The Boston Store, was a chain of department stores based in Inglewood, California, just southwest of Central Los Angeles, that operated from 1934 through 1996.

Ira Kaufman started the chain with a single store in downtown Inglewood in 1934.^{[1] [2]} It grew to 20 stores by 1990, 14 in California and 6 in Arizona, with around 1,000 employees. In 1990 its headquarters was moved to Carson, about 13 miles south of Inglewood.^[3]

There have been dozens of stores called "Boston Store" in the U.S., including J. W. Robinson's which went by that name in the late 19th and early 20th century in its downtown Los Angeles locations; and two unrelated "Boston Stores"—one operating in 1925 at 320 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles in the old Blackstone's Department Store building;^[4] and another in 1939, with branches at 331 S. Broadway in the old Jacoby Bros. store and at 4755 Whittier Blvd. in East Los Angeles.^[5] Neither were related to the Inglewood-based Boston Stores.

Other department stores acquired

Myers Whittier

Boston Stores acquired the Myers Whittier department storr in Whittier in 1972. Myers dated back to about 1905 when brothers Lemuel A. and Wilbert S. Myers founded the Myers Dry Goods Company in a 25-foot-wide (8-meter) storefront at 109 S. Greenleaf Ave., with a staff of five.^[6]

Four years later around 1911, Myers expanded its space to a 50-foot-wide (15-meter) space at 110-2 S. Greenleaf. In 1920, they moved again to new space at 141 N. Greenfield, and in 1922 expanded there, doubling in size to .^[6]

Myers moved to its fourth, final and largest-ever location in Uptown Whittier in 1955, spanning with parking for 90 cars.^{[6] [7]} Myers rebranded the store "Myers Whittier".^[8]

Initially, after it acquired Myers Whittier in 1972, Boston Stores kept the existing name and branding. It even opened a new store in the Whittwood Center mall on May 2, 1974, as "Myers Whittwood".^[9] However, it changed the names of the two Whittier stores to "Boston Stores" in 1976.^[1]

Wineman's

See main article: Wineman's. In 1984, Boston Stores acquired Wineman's department stores, with origins in Ventura and Oxnard but since 1924 a legendary anchor of the busy Pacific Boulevard shopping district in Huntington Park, the busiest in the southeastern Los Angeles suburbs from the 1930s through the 1950s.^{[10] [11]} The company had had ambitious expansion plans in the early 1920s, but wound up retreating to a single location in Huntington Park by the late 1920s. In 1969, it embarked on expansion plans again, and in this era (1969–1983) expanded across Southern California.^{[12] [13] [14]} Boston Stores converted several Wineman's branches to Boston Stores:

• Huntington Park flagship, 6351 Pacific Bl., location opened in 1935 with . Pacific Boulevard was the busiest shopping district in the southeastern Los Angeles suburbs from the 1930s through the 1950s. The store had expanded in 1940, 1957 and 1966 — from a 25-foot storefront in 1924 to one of 150 feet by 1966.^[15]
• Placentia, 110 E. Yorba Linda Bl., 26400square feet, opened October 19, 1973^[16]
• Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo Village Center, opened c. September 1975^{[17] [18]}
• Corona

Moore's (Lompoc)

Boston Stores bought Moore's Department Store in Lompoc in 1990.^[19]

Historic expansion

The Boston Stores underwent the following historic expansion across Southern California and Arizona:

California stores opened prior to 1986

Opened	Closed	City	Location	Sq ft	Sq m	Notes	Sources
		Inglewood	Downtown: 100 S. Market St.			Chaix and Johnson were to design a new interior but the store closed c. February 1962	^[20]
		Hawthorne	345 S. Hawthorne Bl. at 131st St.			Renovation led by architects Burke, Kober and Nicolais; reopened in March 1965 with new façade, air conditioning.	^[21]
		Inglewood	Crenshaw-Imperial Plaza			Expanded November 1967. Chaix and Johnson, architects	^[22] ^[23]
		Seal Beach	Rossmoor Center			Largest store	^[24]
		Fullerton	Orangefair Mall			2 stories, 5th to open in chain	^[25] ^[26] ^[27]
		Anaheim	East Anaheim Shopping Center			6th in chain to open	^[28] ^[29]
(acquired) 1955 as Myers		Whittier	Uptown: 6557 Greenleaf at Bailey			Building opened as the new single location of Myers Whittier department store on November 17, 1955. Acquired by Boston Stores 1972. Rebranded as Boston Stores 1976. Building houses medical offices as of 2024. 33.9811°N -118.0377°W^[30]	^[31]
		Whittier	Whittwood Center			Opened as a Boston Stores branch but branded Myers Whittwood. Branding changed to Boston Stores in 1976.
		Inglewood	Downtown: 315 S. Market St.			opened December 1976 after 15 year absence from Downtown Inglewood	^[32]
		Diamond Bar	Diamond Bar Towne Center				^[33]
		Hemet	Diamond Valley Shopping Center
		Victorville	Hi Desert Plaza (Bear Valley at Hesperia)			15th store upon opening	^[34]

Converted from Wineman's in 1984

See also: Wineman's.

• Huntington Park, location opened 1935, closed 1986
• Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo Village Center, opened c. September 1975^{[35] [36]}
• Placentia, Placentia Town Center, opened 1973

California, opened 1986–As of December 1985, Boston Stores operated 13 locations in California and 6 in Arizona.^[37] Store openings thereafter were:

• Lancaster, opened c.1986
• Ridgecrest, opened c. 1987
• Pomona, opened c.1988, closed c.1990
• Poway, Poway Plaza,, opened September 16, 1988, 17th store in chain at time^[38]
• Camarillo, Camarillo Village Square, opened November 25, 1988^[39]
• Lompoc, 118 W. Ocean, opened November 2, 1990, formerly Moore's Department Store^{[40] [41]}
• Oceanside, Mission Marketplace, opened September 12, 1991^[42]

Arizona stores

• Flagstaff, Cedar Pines Shopping Center (open as of 1985)^[43]
• Glendale, open as of 1985
• Maryvale, open as of 1985^[44]
• Mesa, open as of 1995
• Prescott, open as of 1995
• Sun City, open as of 1986

The Corona, Garden Grove, Monrovia Wineman's stores were no longer listed in advertisements in 1986.^[45]

Decline and liquidation

The chain had long promoted moderately-priced national brands such as Hart, Schaffner and Marx, as it promoted them: "quality leadership brands", with a philosophy of operating intimate, smaller stores of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet (though some were larger, like Rossmore), in neighborhood shopping centers and areas that were relatively far from, or otherwise underserved by malls and mainline department stores.

In 1984, Chairman Donald Kaufman led management in a leveraged buyout of his father, Ira. This, in addition to acquiring chains like Wineman's and Malcolms, and a new $1 million computerized inventory and cash register system, added greatly to the company's debt in the 1980s. In an interview with the Torrance Daily Breeze, Donald Kaufman admitted that the company lost a lot of money in 1985, though it was doing better in 1986.^[46] The chain closed some stores around this time, such as Orangefair in Fullerton and Crenshaw-Imperial Plaza in Inglewood.

In addition, by the mid-1980s, times were tough for the local junior department stores as larger malls had reached most areas of Greater Los Angeles. They had fewer nice markets, areas where they could do well.^[47]

In 1992, Boston Stores sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[48] Some stores closed.

Remaining stores were liquidated in 1996.^[49]

Notes and References

1. News: Myers' Sign Changed to Boston . La Mirada Review . January 18, 1976.
2. News: Obituary advertisement . July 21, 2020 . Los Angeles Times . October 18, 2006.
3. News: Local Store Ownership to Change: Moore's Sold to Boston Store . July 21, 2020 . Lompoc Record . July 10, 1990.
4. News: Advertisement for Boston Store Downtown Los Angeles . Los Angeles Daily Express . October 8, 1925.
5. News: Boston Store Los Angeles 1939 - 331 S. Broadway (Old Jacoby Bros.) and 4755 Whittier BLVD . The Los Angeles Times . 6 November 1939 . 10.
6. News: New Building 4th for Whittier Store . 28 March 2024 . The Whittier News . 17 November 1955 . 34.
7. News: New Myers Whittier Opens Friday . East Review (Whittier, CA) . November 17, 1955.
8. News: Store Name Also Changed . 28 March 2024 . The Whittier News . 17 November 1955 . 34.
9. News: First Branch Store to Open in Whittwood . Los Angeles Times . March 17, 1974.
10. Web site: 6351 Pacific Boulevard, Huntington Park . LoopNet.
11. News: Burns . Melinda . Street Rebounds as Shoppers Return: Pacific Blvd in Huntington Park Recovers From Decade of Decline . Los Angeles Times . September 4, 1983 . Southeast Edition p.1.
12. News: Thompson . Sheila . From This Corner . Arcadia Tribune . October 22, 1969.
13. News: Advertisement for Wineman's . Los Angeles Times . February 12, 1980.
14. News: Wineman's Department Store celebrates 50th anniversary . July 21, 2020 . Daily News-Post (Monrovia CA) . March 12, 1974.
15. News: Wineman's have a success story . Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA) . October 21, 1969.
16. News: Interest in Monrovia Continues: Wineman's Department Store Expands Again . July 22, 2020 . Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA) . October 5, 1973 . 9.
17. News: Wineman's Will Open in Mission Viejo . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 3 November 1974 . 110.
18. News: The New Wineman's Dept. Store Mission Viejo Open in September (classified ad) . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 21 August 1975 . 178.
19. News: Boston Store buys Moore's Lompoc . 26 March 2024 . The Lompoc Record . 10 July 1990 . 7 . en.
20. News: Boston Store Will Redesign Interior . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 3 December 1961 . 200.
21. News: Boston Store-Hawthorne in ad for Boston Stores . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 21 February 1965 . 165.
22. News: Charity Day event opens new store . 27 March 2024 . Southwest Topics-Wave . 26 October 1961 . 11 . Chaix and Johnson, arch., 30,000 sqft.
23. News: New Shop Added at Plaza Store . 26 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 19 November 1967 . 145.
24. News: Break Ground Today for New Boston Store . 26 March 2024 . Independent . 10 February 1963 . 54.
25. News: Boston Stores Grand Opening Fullerton #5 . 26 March 2024 . The Register . 8 October 1968 . 32.
26. News: Boston Store Fullerton Grand Opening . 26 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 9 October 1968 . 7.
27. News: Boston Store to open two new Orange County units . 26 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 28 April 1968 . 406.
28. News: Boston Stores Grand Opening Anaheim . 26 March 2024 . The Register . 11 November 1968 . 32.
29. News: Boston Stores Anaheim opening . 26 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 13 November 1968 . 9.
30. Web site: 6557 Greenleaf, Whittier CA . Google Maps . 27 March 2024 . en.
31. News: Vacant Stores: Biggest Problem in Village Today . 26 March 2024 . East Review . 15 February 1981 . 4.
32. News: Boston Returns after 15 Years . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 12 December 1976 . 82.
33. News: Boston Stores Diamond Bar Grand Opening . 26 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 16 September 1981 . 61.
34. News: Pilcher . Helen R. . Boston Store opens next Saturday . 27 March 2024 . Daily Press . 20 March 1983 . 13.
35. News: The New Wineman's Dept. Store Mission Viejo Open in September (classified ad) . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 21 August 1975 . 178.
36. News: Wineman's Will Open in Mission Viejo . 27 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 3 November 1974 . 110.
37. News: Shoppers will have to rush after Thanksgiving (Boston stores 19 locations 11/24/85) . 26 March 2024 . The Daily Breeze . 24 November 1985 . 113.
38. News: Poway tries on its first upscale department store . 26 March 2024 . Times-Advocate . 16 September 1988 . 15.
39. News: Boston Stores Camarillo Grand Opening ad . Camarillo Star . 23 November 1988 . 8.
40. News: Boston Stores Lompoc Grand Opening . 26 March 2024 . Santa Ynez Valley News . 1 November 1990 . 22.
41. News: Boston Stores seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in court . 26 March 2024 . The Lompoc Record . 1 November 1992 . 1.
42. News: Boston Stores Grand Opening Oceanside, Mission Marketplace 9/12/91 . 26 March 2024 . North County Times . 11 September 1991 . 7.
43. News: Boston Stores Flagstaff ad . Arizona Daily Sun . 13 February 1985 . 12.
44. News: Boston Stores Glendale Maryvale Arizona ad . 26 March 2024 . Arizona Republic . 7 August 1985 . 121.
45. News: Boston Stores Seeks Port of Call (p. 2 of 2) . 26 March 2024 . The Daily Breeze . 30 November 1986 . 56.
46. News: Lev . Michael . Boston Stores Chain Seeks Port of Call . Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA) . November 30, 1986.
47. News: Lev . Michael . Boston Stores Chain Seeks Port of Call (p 2/2) . Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA) . November 30, 1986.
48. News: Boston Stores seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in court . July 21, 2020 . Lompoc Record . November 1, 1992.
49. News: Advertisement for Boston Stores . Los Angeles Times . January 19, 1996.