Desmond's (department store)

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Desmond's Department Store
IndustryRetail
Founded1862
HeadquartersCalifornia
Former Desmond's Miracle Mile store on Wilshire Blvd.
Desmond's Westwood store in 1925

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 1862 as a hat shop by Daniel Desmond[1] near the Los Angeles Plaza.[2] The chain as a whole went out of business in 1981[3] 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.[4]

Origins as a hat store[edit]

In 1862, 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 and Desmond opened a hat shop on the Los Angeles Plaza. It measured only a few square feet and he 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.[5]

Locations as a single store[edit]

In 1870 Desmond and other leading retailers moved to the Temple Block (Los Angeles) on Main Street.[5]

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.[5]

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".[5]

In 1900, Desmond's moved to its fifth location at Third and Spring in the Ramona Block, home to the Hotel Ramona.[6]

In 1906,[6] 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.[5]

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.[7]

1924 flagship store[edit]

In 1924, Desmond's moved to its eighth and final location as a single store at 616 Broadway, a street lined at that time with many other department stores such as The Broadway, May Company, the Fifth Street Store, Silverwoods, Bullock's, N. B. Blackstone, and Eastern Columbia.

Desmond's opened its final flagship store in 1924 at 616 South Broadway in what was then the department store district of Downtown Los Angeles. Designed by the firm of Albert C. Martin, Sr., the 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2), six-story building has been described as both Beaux-arts and "Spanish".

The 616 Broadway store closed in 1972.[8]

In 2018 the landmark building was renovated as office space, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.[3]


Downtown Los Angeles flagship store
Address Opening date Closing date Current building use
Temple Block, Spring/Main at Temple 1870 1882 demolished
4 N. Spring at 1st (now 104 N. Spring) 1882 1890 demolished
Bryson Block, 141 S. Spring at NW corner of 2nd 1890 1900 demolished
Ramona Block, 3rd/Spring 1900 1906 demolished
301 S. Spring st 3rd 1906 1915
543 S. Spring St.,[9][5]
SE corner Spring Street Arcade 		1915 1924 Clayton's Public House
616 S. Broadway September 15, 1924[10] 1972 Renovated 2018, now office space, restaurant and rooftop bar.[3]

Branches[edit]

Downtown branches[edit]

Desmond's would add branch stores starting in 1927 with Seventh and Hope,[5] 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[edit]

Notable branch stores
Opened Closed City/ district Location Sequence Architects Notes
1927[11] 1934 W. 7th St. Roosevelt Bldg., 717 W. 7th St. at Hope 3rd Curlett and Beelman Ca. 7,500 sq ft (700 m2).[12] Currently a restaurant, Shoo Shoo Baby.[13]
1929[5] late 1980[14] Miracle Mile 5500 Wilshire Bl. 4th Gilbert Stanley Underwood Occupied the Wilshire Tower complex together with Silverwoods. Now The Desmond on Wilshire, residential building,[15][9] Architect Underwood was known for nature-inspired designs of lodges in national parks.
Mar 1930[16] Westwood[9] 1001 Westwood Bl., SW cor. Weyburn[17] 5th John and Donald Parkinson[18] Original store (1930) cost $200,000 to build.[18] In 1940, expanded its original store into what it called a $300,000 "tropical Mediterranean-style" store, double the size.[19][20] Now a CVS.[21]
Aug 21, 1931[9] Long Beach[9] 140[22] E. Broadway at Locust[23][9] 6th[24] Bought and took over the Dodd & Hillis clothing store.[24]
1934[11] W. 7th St. 2nd Union Oil Building, 617 W. 7th. St. Curlett and Beelman 22,500 sq ft (2,090 m2) (1934), expanded to 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m2) in 1937,[12][25] called "a $400,000 investment".[5] Currently a Walgreens[26]
Nov 14, 1936[27][28] 2005[29] Palm Springs[27] Palm Springs Plaza [30] Was long a seasonal store.
Mar 1953[31] Crenshaw District Broadway-Crenshaw Plaza[31][32] 7th[33] Burke, Kober & Nicolais 30,000 sq. ft. on two floors.[31] Largest speciality store in the shopping center.[33]
Jun 1, 1955 Pasadena 440 S. Lake Av. 8th Burke, Kober & Nicolais[34] 8th store
Sep 17, 1958 Santa Ana Santa Ana Fashion Square 9th[35]
Apr 30, 1962 Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks Fashion Square 10th 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2)[36]
Apr 30, 1962[36] West Covina West Covina Fashion Center 11th
Oct 16, 1962 Whittier Whittwood Shopping Center 12th 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2)[37]
Aug 28, 1964 Ventura Buenaventura Center 13th Burke, Kober & Nicolais 18,500 sq ft (1,720 m2))[38][39]
Nov 1964 Lakewood Lakewood Center 14th 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m2)[40]
Mar 1966 Torrance Del Amo Center 15th Burke, Kober & Nicolais[41]
Aug 29, 1966[23] Glendale Glendale Fashion Center 16th
Aug 11, 1967 Santa Barbara La Cumbre Plaza 17th Interiors by Burke, Kober and Nicolais[42]
Sep 11, 1967[43] Newport Beach Fashion Island
Oct 1971[44] 1987[45] Northridge Northridge Fashion Center

Gallery[edit]

  • Daniel Desmond
    Daniel Desmond
  • 1903: the turreted Hotel Ramona with Desmond's sign
    1903: the turreted Hotel Ramona with Desmond's sign
  • Desmond's Spring Street Store (1915 to 1924)
    Desmond's Spring Street Store (1915 to 1924)
  • Illustration of various Desmond's store branches from a 1937 ad
    Illustration of various Desmond's store branches from a 1937 ad

Ownership[edit]

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[edit]

In 1977, a joint venture of Bond Clothing Stores and Harold Kapelovitz bought the chain, and Kapelovitz took over the management of Desmond's.[46][47]

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

Meanwhile, it opened locations across the Western United States:[48]

Northridge and West Covina stores continued operating until 1986.[4]

Kapelovitz sold the Palm Springs La Plaza store to Frank Gross and Stanlee McNeish, and it continued under the Desmond's name until 2005.[29] A separate "Desmond's Big and Tall" Store in Palm Desert Town Center continued operating after that time.

Desmonds, Inc. post-1981[edit]

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;[51] and hired to manage the liquidation of Babbitts department store in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1987.[52]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXX, Number 113, 25 January 1903
  2. ^ "13 Mar 1953, 29 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Vincent, Roger. "Historic home of clothier Desmond's is ready for its comeback on Broadway". latimes.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Vacant Desmond's Palm Springs 2007". The Desert Sun. 9 March 2007. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Desmond's in Seventy-Sixth Year", Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct 1937, Page 8
  6. ^ a b Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times 12 Sep 1924, Page 5
  7. ^ "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. p. 19.
  8. ^ "Ad for Desmond's Downtown LA Removal Sale". Los Angeles Times. February 10, 1972. p. 7.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Now in Long Beach"/branch listing in Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times 1 Sep 1931, Page 5
  10. ^ Gray, Olive (September 16, 1924). "New Desmond Store Opened". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ a b "Desmond's New Store Open Today". The Los Angeles Times. 5 March 1934. p. 26. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Reasons for Expansion Told: Desmond Chief Cites Handicaps of Limited Space". The Los Angeles Times. 21 October 1937. p. 9. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  13. ^ "717 W. 7th St., Los Angeles". Google Maps.
  14. ^ Betsky, Aaron (February 21, 1991). "Miracle Mile's Desmond Building Designed to Rise Above the Rest". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ Kudler, Adrian Glick (9 May 2012). "Wilshire's Desmond's Dept. Store Development Back as Rentals". Curbed LA. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Merchants Open New store in University Area: Nine Shops Open Doors This Week". The Los Angeles Times. 16 March 1930. p. 72. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  17. ^ Schultheis, Herman. "Desmond's Department Store". Tessa: Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b "New Desmond Store Planned". The Los Angeles Times. 24 November 1929. p. 70. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Desmond's Westwood Store Opens New Home", Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep 1940, Page 75
  20. ^ "Desmond's Westwood Store Opens New Home". The Los Angeles Times. 15 September 1940. p. 75. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  21. ^ "1001 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California". Google Maps. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Desmond's Suit Store, 1931 (Photo)". Historical Society of Long Beach. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Desmond Store for Glendale". Independent. 14 August 1966. p. 70. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Desmond's Soon to Open Store at Broadway, Locust". The Long Beach Sun. 19 August 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Expansion of Desmond Store Planned". The Los Angeles Times. 27 December 1936. p. 53. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  26. ^ "617 W. 7th St". Google Maps. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Desert Sun 13 November 1936 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Follow the Sun to Desmond's New Desert Store (advertisement)". The Los Angeles Times. 12 November 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  29. ^ a b Hirsh, Lou (February 6, 2005). "Desmond's to Close?". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA).
  30. ^ "Eighth Desmond's Store to Open at Palm Springs". Daily News. 20 October 1936. p. 19. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  31. ^ a b c "14 Mar 1953, 17 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  32. ^ "21 Nov 1955, 55 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  33. ^ a b "Desmond's to Open New Crenshaw Center store". The Los Angeles Times. 26 October 1952. p. 55. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Desmond's Will Open Eighth Southland Store". The Los Angeles Times. 29 May 1955. p. 17. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Desmond's Ninth Store Opens Tomorrow". The Register. 16 September 1958. p. 37. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  36. ^ a b "Desmond's to Open Two New Stores Monday". The Los Angeles Times. 29 April 1962. p. 83. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  37. ^ "Desmond's To Open Store In Whitwood". The Daily News. 24 October 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  38. ^ "Desmond's-Ventura Store Opens Tomorrow". Ventura County Star. 27 August 1964. p. 26. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  39. ^ "Desmond's Starts On New Store". Ventura County Star. 13 February 1964. p. 27. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  40. ^ "Much Early California Design in Desmond's Lakewood Store". Press-Telegram. 14 June 1964. p. 69. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  41. ^ "Store opens at Center". The Los Angeles Times. 3 April 1966. p. 156. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  42. ^ "Plaza Desmond's Opened Friday". Ventura County Star. 13 August 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  43. ^ Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times, 11 September 1967, p. 7
  44. ^ "California Classic: Desmond's Reflects Early Simplicity". The Los Angeles Times. 31 October 1971. p. 206. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  45. ^ "Desmond's liquidation Northridge West Covina". The Los Angeles Times. 26 December 1986. p. 21.
  46. ^ Kilmore, Margaret A. (February 11, 1977). "Ailing Desmond's Chain Acquired by Joint Venture". Los Angeles Times.
  47. ^ "New men's store to open in Southern Hills Mall". Sioux City Journal. September 10, 1980.
  48. ^ "After 119 years, Desmonds still offers finest menswear". Austin American-Statesman. March 17, 1982.
  49. ^ "Advertisement for". Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, CO). June 15, 1981.
  50. ^ "Veteran N.D. Clothier Starts New Retail Chain". Bismarck Tribune. April 5, 1980.
  51. ^ Ritter, Bill (November 8, 1986). "Walker Scott to Close All 6 of its San Diego Stores". p. 44.
  52. ^ Escoffier, Wendy (September 27, 1987). "Final Flagstaff sale planned Yuma store future uncertain". Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ).

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