I had one of those irrepressible deep cleaning urges this weekend. In my rearranging frenzy, I found some relics tucked deep into the seams of one of our kitchen cupboards (they’re the originals from 1922).
I found piles of disintegrating gift card envelopes from two old NYC department stores - one I grew up with, A&S, and another that I’d never heard of, Frederick Loeser & Co.
I did a bit of research and found a Feb 8, 1952 Time Magazine article on the store. It was apparently the second largest department store in Brooklyn, “A favorite of the carriage trade.”
I also learned that Loeser rhymes with closure…clever, since the article was about their declaration of bankruptcy. It shut its doors after a 91-year run, with 1,400 employees and over $25million in sales.
The store building is still on the corner of Hoyt + Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. It’s the building just across from Macy’s on Hoyt.
Does anyone remember Loeser’s?
