Desmond's (department store) explained

Desmond's Department Store
Foundation:1860s (exact year uncertain)
Location:California
Industry:Retail

Desmond's was a Los Angeles–based department store, during its existence second only to Harris & Frank as the oldest Los Angeles retail chain, founded in the 1860s as a hat shop by Daniel Desmond[1] at Los Angeles and Commercial streets. The chain as a whole went out of business in 1981 but Desmond's, Inc. continued as a company that went in to other chains to liquidate them. Desmond's stores in Northridge and West Covina were liquidated only in 1986 and survived in Palm Springs into the first years of the 21st century.[2]

Locations as a single store

Desmond's brother Cornelius[3] was a hatter in San Francisco from at least c.1864[4] [5] through 1879, for a time working with their other brother Jeremiah.[6] The shop was variously located at Bush and Sansome (1860s), under the Cosmopolitan Hotel (1869) and under the Grand Hotel (1870s) and/or at new Montgomery at Market streets.[6]

The exact year that Desmond arrived in Los Angeles, and the location of his first store, varies according to the source:

1862 was the second year of the American Civil War and the 16th year that the US ruled California, Daniel Desmond arrived in the state via clipper ship via Cape Horn, Chile, as there was no transcontinental railroad. Los Angeles had a population of less than 4,500.

In any case, the first store reportedly measured only a few square feet and Desmond was the only employee. Popular styles included tall, plush "toppers" that dandies wore, and wide-brimmed, flat-crowned "fiesta" hats popular with the Californio dones (gentlemen). Desmond was a member of the volunteer fire department.[14]

In Desmond's 1869 advertisements, Desmond claimed to be the only hat store in Los Angeles, filling "a want that has long been felt".[15] [16]

In 1870 Desmond and other leading retailers moved to the Temple Block (Los Angeles) on Main Street.[14]

In 1882, Desmond moved to no. 4 North Spring St., leading other retailers in moving to a new central business district around First and Spring streets, which was, according to the Los Angeles Times in 1937, "the rendezvous for socialites from San Francisco to Baja California". Desmond's opened in the Nadeau Block there.[14]

In 1890, around the time that Los Angeles started horse-drawn streetcar service. Desmond moved his store to its fourth location, in the Bryson Block, 141 S. Spring St. at the northwest corner of 2nd St., which only ten years earlier had been considered "the country".[14]

In 1900, Desmond's moved to its fifth location at Third and Spring in the Ramona Block, home to the Hotel Ramona.

In 1906,[17] when it moved again across the street to the Douglas Building at 301 S. Spring St., its sixth home, as one of the largest retailers in Los Angeles at that time. Around this time Desmond's became a store of reference across Southern California, well known for a broad range of high quality men's attire.[14]

In 1915, Desmond's moved to its seventh location, a new two-story building on 553 S. Spring St., and added women's and boys' shops. The building was demolished in 1924 to make way for the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank.[18]

In 1924, Desmond's moved to its eighth and final location as a single store at 616 S. Broadway. Broadway was home to many other department stores at the time, including The Broadway, May Company, the Fifth Street Store, Silverwoods, Bullock's, N. B. Blackstone, and Eastern Columbia. Desmond's closed at this location in 1981.[19]

Downtown Los Angeles flagship store
AddressOpening dateClosing dateCurrent building use
"Near Los Angeles Plaza"1862?1869?
Brick bldg. on Los Angeles St. near Commercial St.November 18691870
Temple Block, corner of Spring, Main and Temple18701882demolished
4 N. Spring at 1st (now 104 N. Spring)18821890demolished
Bryson Block, 141 S. Spring at NW corner of 2nd18901900demolished
Ramona Block, 3rd/Spring19001906demolished
301 S. Spring st 3rd19061915
543 S. Spring St.,
SE corner Spring Street Arcade		19151924Clayton's Public House
616 S. BroadwaySeptember 15, 1924[20] 1972Renovated 2018, now office space, restaurant and rooftop bar.[21]

Branches

Downtown branches

Desmond's would add branch stores starting in 1927 with Seventh and Hope,[14] and would also operate a branch in the Spring Arcade at 543 Spring Street, next door to the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank on Spring Street, which occupied the site of its former sole store.

Suburban growth

Notable branch stores
OpenedClosedCity/ districtLocationSequenceArchitectsNotes
1927[22] 1934W. 7th St.Roosevelt Bldg., 717 W. 7th St. at Hope3rdCurlett and BeelmanCa. . Currently a restaurant, Shoo Shoo Baby.[23]
1929late 1980[24] 5500 Wilshire Bl.4thOccupied the Wilshire Tower building together with Silverwoods. Now The Desmond on Wilshire, residential building,[25] Architect Underwood was known for nature-inspired designs of lodges in national parks.
[26] 1001 Westwood Bl., SW cor. Weyburn[27] 5thJohn and Donald Parkinson[28] Original store (1930) cost $200,000 to build. In 1940, expanded its original store into what it called a $300,000 "tropical Mediterranean-style" store, double the size.[29] [30] Now a CVS.[31]
Long Beach[32] 140[33] E. Broadway at Locust6th[34] Bought and took over the Dodd & Hillis clothing store.
1934W. 7th St.2nd Union Oil Building, 617 W. 7th. St.Curlett and Beelman (1934), expanded to in 1937,[35] [36] called "a $400,000 investment". Currently a Walgreens[37]
[38] 2005[39] Palm Springs[40] Palm Springs Plaza<--8th-->[41] Was long a seasonal store.
Crenshaw DistrictBroadway-Crenshaw Plaza[42] [43] 7thBurke, Kober & Nicolais30,000 sq. ft. on two floors. Largest speciality store in the shopping center.[44]
8th Burke, Kober &&nbsp;Nicolais[45] 8th store
9th[46]
10th [47]
11th
12th [48]
13th Burke, Kober &&nbsp;Nicolais )[49] [50]
Lakewood Center14th [51]
15th Burke, Kober &&nbsp;Nicolais[52]
[53] Glendale 16th
17th Interiors by Burke, Kober and Nicolais[54]
[55]
[56] 1987[57]

Ownership

Ralph R. Huesman, purchased the store from Desmond family heirs in 1921. Fred B. Huesman, his nephew, joined Desmond's five years later. Fred succeeded his uncle as president in 1944 and continued in that position until 1973, when he took the title of chairman. In the early 1960s, New York's Cluett Peabody & Company bought Desmond's.

1977–1981 and epilogue

In 1977, a joint venture of Bond Clothing Stores and Harold Kapelovitz bought the chain, and Kapelovitz took over the management of Desmond's.[58] [59]

Between 1977 and 1982 Desmond's closed all but four California locations.

Meanwhile, it opened locations across the Western United States:[60]

Northridge and West Covina stores continued operating until 1986.[2]

Kapelovitz sold the Palm Springs La Plaza store to Frank Gross and Stanlee McNeish, and it continued under the Desmond's name until 2005. A separate "Desmond's Big and Tall" Store in Palm Desert Town Center continued operating after that time.

Desmonds, Inc. post-1981

Desmond's Inc. continued as a company after the Desmond's chain was closed, purchasing San Diego–based Walker Scott in 1985 and liquidating it the next year;[63] and hired to manage the liquidation of Babbitts department store in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1987.[64]

External links

References

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Notes and References

  1. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH19030125.2.215 Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXX, Number 113, 25 January 1903
  2. News: Vacant Desmond's Palm Springs 2007. The Desert Sun. 9 March 2007. 1.
  3. Web site: Desmond . William . Some Desmond Families of Old San Francisco, 1849 to 1906 . 29 November 2024 . 2016.
  4. Book: Langley . Henry G. . The San Francisco directory for the year .. . 1864 . San Francisco : Commercial Steam Presses, S.D. Valentine & Sons . 43 . 1864 . 29 November 2024.
  5. News: 1866 Spring and Summer Style of Silk and Fenian Hats introduced by Desmond (advertisement) . 29 November 2024 . The San Francisco Examiner . 5 March 1866 . 2.
  6. News: Death summons another pioneer . 29 November 2024 . The San Francisco Call and Post . 20 April 1899 . 12.
  7. News: Store Opens Celebration: Desmond's Birthday Anniversary Recalled City's Pioneer Days . 26 November 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 13 August 1937 . 22.
  8. News: Came West to Make Hats: Founder of Desmond Store Arrived Before Railroads Got Here . 26 November 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 30 July 1922 . 22.
  9. News: Desmond's Opens New Crenshaw Store Today . 26 November 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 13 March 1953 . en.
  10. Barrows . H. D. . Workman . W. H. . Daniel Desmond . Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California and of the Pioneers of Los Angeles County . 1902 . 5 . 3 . 300–300 . 10.2307/41169180 . 24 November 2024 . 2162-9110.
  11. News: Mr. Desmond, who had made arrangements for opening his hat store this week, has been disappointed… . Los Angeles Star . 20 November 1869 . 2.
  12. News: Left Behind . 26 November 2024 . Los Angeles Daily News . 17 November 1869 . 3.
  13. News: The New Hat Store. . 26 November 2024 . Los Angeles Daily News . 24 November 1869 . 3.
  14. https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=30716358 "Desmond's in Seventy-Sixth Year", Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct 1937, Page 8
  15. News: New Hat Store . 12 November 2024 . Los Angeles Daily News . 2 October 1869.
  16. News: The New Hat Store. . 14 November 2024 . Los Angeles Daily News . 24 November 1869 . 3 . The New Hat Store. — The new hat store of Mr. Daniel Desmond, on Los Angeles street, near New Commercial, is now open, and customers can be supplied with all the latest styles of hats at fair prices. Himself a practical hatter, our citizens who desire hats made to order, can have them put up in the highest style of the art. The enterprise is a pioneer one, and fills a want which has long been felt. We bespeak for the proprietor a liberal patronage..
  17. https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=30706764 Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times 12 Sep 1924, Page 5
  18. News: Business Adds New Buildings: Two Structures Will Cost $2,000,000: Sites Obtained on Broadway and Springs Street: Finest Arcade in West Under Consideration . Los Angeles Times . April 11, 1923 . 19.
  19. News: Broadway Building Set for Creative Office Revamp . . December 14, 2018.
  20. News: Gray . Olive . New Desmond Store Opened . Los Angeles Times . September 16, 1924.
  21. News: Vincent . Roger . Historic home of clothier Desmond's is ready for its comeback on Broadway . . December 12, 2018.
  22. News: Desmond's New Store Open Today . 17 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 5 March 1934 . 26 . en.
  23. Web site: 717 W. 7th St., Los Angeles . Google Maps . en.
  24. News: Betsky . Aaron . Miracle Mile's Desmond Building Designed to Rise Above the Rest . Los Angeles Times . February 21, 1991.
  25. Kudler, Adrian Glick (9 May 2012). "Wilshire's Desmond's Dept. Store Development Back as Rentals". Curbed LA. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  26. News: Merchants Open New store in University Area: Nine Shops Open Doors This Week . 16 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 16 March 1930 . 72.
  27. Web site: Schultheis . Herman . Desmond's Department Store . Tessa: Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library . 16 March 2024 . en.
  28. News: New Desmond Store Planned . 18 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 24 November 1929 . 70.
  29. https://www.newspapers.com/image/385362114/ "Desmond's Westwood Store Opens New Home"
  30. News: Desmond's Westwood Store Opens New Home . 16 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 15 September 1940 . 75 . en.
  31. Web site: 1001 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California . Google Maps . 16 March 2024 . en.
  32. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380625505/?terms=desmond%27s%2Blong%2Bbeach%2Bbroadway%2Bat%2Blocust "Now in Long Beach"/branch listing in Desmond's advertisement
  33. Web site: Desmond’s Suit Store, 1931 (Photo) . Historical Society of Long Beach . 18 March 2024 . 16 November 2020.
  34. News: Desmond's Soon to Open Store at Broadway, Locust . 18 March 2024 . The Long Beach Sun . 19 August 1931 . 2 . en.
  35. News: Reasons for Expansion Told: Desmond Chief Cites Handicaps of Limited Space . 17 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 21 October 1937 . 9.
  36. News: Expansion of Desmond Store Planned . 17 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 27 December 1936 . 53.
  37. Web site: 617 W. 7th St. . Google Maps . 17 March 2024 . en.
  38. News: Follow the Sun to Desmond's New Desert Store (advertisement) . 18 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 12 November 1936 . 5.
  39. News: Hirsh . Lou . Desmond's to Close? . Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA) . February 6, 2005.
  40. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19361113.2.35&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 "Desert Sun 13 November 1936 — California Digital Newspaper Collection"
  41. News: Eighth Desmond's Store to Open at Palm Springs . 18 March 2024 . Daily News . 20 October 1936 . 19.
  42. http://www.newspapers.com/image/385453671/?terms=%224145+Crenshaw%22&match=1 "14 Mar 1953, 17 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com"
  43. http://www.newspapers.com/image/381071248/ "21 Nov 1955, 55 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com"
  44. News: Desmond's to Open New Crenshaw Center store . 18 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 26 October 1952 . 55.
  45. News: Desmond's Will Open Eighth Southland Store . 17 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 29 May 1955 . 17 . en.
  46. News: Desmond's Ninth Store Opens Tomorrow . 17 March 2024 . The Register . 16 September 1958 . 37.
  47. News: Desmond's to Open Two New Stores Monday . 17 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 29 April 1962 . 83.
  48. News: Desmond's To Open Store In Whitwood . 16 March 2024 . The Daily News . 24 October 1962 . 8.
  49. News: Desmond's-Ventura Store Opens Tomorrow . 16 March 2024 . Ventura County Star . 27 August 1964 . 26.
  50. News: Desmond's Starts On New Store . 16 March 2024 . Ventura County Star . 13 February 1964 . 27.
  51. News: Much Early California Design in Desmond's Lakewood Store . 17 March 2024 . Press-Telegram . 14 June 1964 . 69 . en.
  52. News: Store opens at Center . 16 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 3 April 1966 . 156.
  53. News: Desmond Store for Glendale . 16 March 2024 . Independent . 14 August 1966 . 70.
  54. News: Plaza Desmond's Opened Friday . 16 March 2024 . Ventura County Star . 13 August 1967 . 22.
  55. https://www.newspapers.com/image/382422046 Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times, 11 September 1967, p. 7
  56. News: California Classic: Desmond's Reflects Early Simplicity . 16 March 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 31 October 1971 . 206.
  57. News: Desmond's liquidation Northridge West Covina. The Los Angeles Times. 26 December 1986. 21.
  58. News: Kilmore . Margaret A. . Ailing Desmond's Chain Acquired by Joint Venture . Los Angeles Times . February 11, 1977.
  59. News: New men's store to open in Southern Hills Mall . Sioux City Journal . September 10, 1980.
  60. News: After 119 years, Desmonds still offers finest menswear . Austin American-Statesman . March 17, 1982.
  61. News: Advertisement for . Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, CO) . June 15, 1981.
  62. News: Veteran N.D. Clothier Starts New Retail Chain . Bismarck Tribune . April 5, 1980.
  63. News: Ritter . Bill . Walker Scott to Close All 6 of its San Diego Stores . November 8, 1986 . 44.
  64. News: Escoffier . Wendy . Final Flagstaff sale planned Yuma store future uncertain . Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ) . September 27, 1987.

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