Joslins Explained

Joslins
Type:Department store
Fate:Converted to Dillard's
Founded: in Denver, Colorado, United States
Founder:John Jay Joslin
Location:Denver, Colorado
Industry:Retail
Products:Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics and housewares

Joslins was a chain of department stores that was based in Denver, Colorado, United States.

History

Joslins Department Store began as J. Joslins Dry Goods Store, founded by John Jay Joslin in 1873; it was a direct competitor to The Denver Dry Goods Company which commenced operations in 1888. The original Joslin Dry Goods Company Building is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and is currently a Courtyard by Marriott property.

Around 1910, Joslin sold the business to H.B. Claflin & Company, which collapsed in 1914.[1] Two store chains were created from the bankruptcy: Associated Dry Goods and Mercantile Stores Company, Inc. As a nameplate of Mercantile Stores, Joslins became the first Denver-based department store to build branch locations in the 1940s, later expanding the chain with larger anchor stores in malls in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1998, the Dillard's department store chain purchased Mercantile Stores, converting most of the then-existing Joslin's stores to Dillard's stores.[2] [3] One former Joslin's store in Colorado Springs and the recently-opened flagship store at Park Meadows in Lone Tree were sold by Dillard's to The May Department Stores Company, which converted the Colorado Springs store to a Foley's and the Park Meadows store to the Denver area's second Lord & Taylor store.[4]

Locations

LocationAddressOpenedClosedDisposition
Downtown Denver934 16th Street, Denver18731995redeveloped into Courtyard by Marriott, 1996 building received National Historic Register designation, 1997
Greeley825-827 Eighth St, Greeley19441973moved to 1015 9th Ave, 1963replaced by Greeley Mall location, 1973[5]
Englewood3470 S Broadway, Englewood19451954Nielsen's Department Store acquired in 1945[6] replaced by 3315 South Broadway location
Lakewood7308 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood19461957replaced by JCRS Shopping Center location
Aurora9620 E Colfax Ave, Aurora1949
Merchants' Park Shopping Center627 S Broadway, Denver1952
Englewood3315 S Broadway, Englewood1954
Boulder1919 14th St, Boulder19561980first three/four floors of Colorado Building remodeled into offices[7]
LakewoodJCRS Shopping Center, 6715 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood1957early 1970sspace redeveloped into Casa Bonita[8]
Villa Italia7200 W Alameda Ave, Lakewood19662000converted to a Dillard's store, 1998redeveloped for Belmar
Pueblosoutheast corner of Main Street and W 4th Street, Pueblo 19701976Crews-Beggs Dry Goods Co acquired in 1959, changed to Joslin's name in 1970replaced by Pueblo Mall location, 1976
Cinderella CityEnglewood19681995replaced by Southglenn Mall location, 1995
Buckingham Square Mall1440 S Havana St, Aurora19712005converted to a Dillard's store, 1998redeveloped for The Gardens on Havana
Greeley Mall2050 Greeley Mall, Greeley19732008converted to a Dillard's store, 1998closed, 2008
Pueblo Mall3601 Dillon Dr, Pueblo1976converted to a Dillard's store, 1998
Westminster Mall5433 W 88th Ave, Westminster19772011converted to a Dillard's store, 1998closed, 2011
Southwest Plaza8501 W Bowles Ave, Littleton19832006converted to a Dillard's store, 1998converted to a Dick's Sporting Goods and Steve & Barry's, 2006
Frontier Mall1400 Dell Range Blvd, Cheyenne, WY19832021converted to a Dillard's store, 1998 closed, 2021location purchased by Appliance Factory & Mattress Kingdom, 2023[9]
Chapel Hills Mall1750 Briargate Blvd, Colorado Springs19851998location purchased by May and converted to Foley's, 1998 converted to a Macy's, 2006
Twin Peaks Mall1250 S Hover St, Longmont1985c. 2008[10] converted to a Dillard's store, 1998redeveloped for Village at the Peaks, 2014
Southglenn Mall6911 S University Blvd, Centennial19942006converted to a Dillard's store, 1998redeveloped for The Streets at SouthGlenn, 2006[11]
Park Meadows8425 Park Meadows Center Dr, Lone Tree19971998location purchased by May, 1998, and converted to Lord & Taylor, 1999

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: John . Rebchook . J.J. Joslin started store 125 years ago downtown . Rocky Mountain News . 19 May 1998 . 4B .
  2. News: Dina . Bunn . Curtain Falls on Joslins . 1B . Rocky Mountain News . 19 May 1998 . The Little Rock, Ark., retailer announced Monday it is buying Mercantile for $3.14 billion in cash and assumed debt.Ten Joslins stores in the state and one in Cheyenne will close or be converted to Dillard's..
  3. Web site: Henry . Dubroff . An unforgettable department store sale . American City Business Journals. Denver Business Journal . 23 May 1998 .
  4. News: Penny . Parker . Lord & Taylor coming to mall . C-1 . Denver Post . 4 Aug 1998 . The Joslins at Park Meadows is turning into a Lord & Taylor and the Joslins at Chapel Hills mall in Colorado Springs will become a Foley's, according to the terms of a deal announced Monday between Dillard's and May Department Stores Co..
  5. News: Red . Edgerton . Joslins adds and expands merchandise in new store . 44 . Greeley Daily Tribune . 29 Jun 1973.
  6. Web site: Downtown History Tour . City of Englewood / Englewood Historic Preservation Society . 8 Oct 2021.
  7. Web site: Joslin's exteriors: Photo 1 . Boulder Historical Society/Museum of Boulder . . . . plans were soon announced that the Colorado Building would be remodeled into a financial and office building. According to a 31 October 1979 Boulder Daily Camera article, the Boulder Joslin's location was due to close 31 January 1980 because of difficulty finding a new location..
  8. Web site: Rosemary . Lewis . Fortress Commerce: Jefferson County's Malls . Historically Jeffco . Jefferson County Historical Commission . 3–7 . 2012 . Joslin's moved out of JCRS in the late 1970s and its space became the Casa Bonita restaurant..
  9. News: Former Dillard’s in Cheyenne Purchased by Appliance Factory & Mattress Kingdom . Cheyenne Post . 27 Feb 2023.
  10. News: Holiday shopping season will be 28th — and final — for Twin Peaks Mall . Longmont Times-Call . 7 Dec 2013.
  11. News: Arellano . Kristi . Mall's closing buys a moment of nostalgia . Denver Post . 1 Mar 2006 . C-01.