Rich's (department store)

Rich's was an American department store chain founded in 1867 by Mauritius Reich. It operated in the southern United States, and was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, until it was dissolved in favor of the Macy's brand in 2005.

History

thumb

Beginnings

thumb|Rich's 1906 building, known as the [[M. Rich and Brothers and Company Building at 52-54-56 Whitehall, now 82 Peachtree St. SE, as seen in 2013.]]

The retailer began in Atlanta as M. Rich & Co., a dry goods store, on 28 May 1867, at 36 Whitehall Street. The sole proprietor was Mauritius Reich (Anglicized to Morris Rich), a Hungarian Jewish immigrant. It was renamed M. Rich & Bro. in 1877, when Morris and brother Emanuel formed a partnership. In 1884, when the third brother Daniel was admitted into the partnership, the name became M. Rich & Bros. With business success came a need for expansion, and the store was moved to ever larger locations: in July 1875 to 35 Whitehall; in September 1875 to 43 Whitehall; in October 1875 to 65 Whitehall, at the corner of Hunter (now M.L. King Blvd.); and in September 1882 to 54-56 Whitehall.

By 1877, Rich's was considered one of the "Big Five" stores in town, in the league of Chamberlain, Boyton, & Co.; Ryan's; Keeley's; and Dougherty's; and later, of the J.M. High Company. In April 1907, the new 'emporium' opened for business. That building is still standing, known as the M. Rich and Brothers and Company Building at its current address of 82 Peachtree St. SE.

In 1924 Rich's moved into its last flagship store at 45 Broad St. SE, between Alabama and Hunter streets, which it would occupy until closing in 1991. That building, now a part of the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center complex, was added to eight times during its department store life. It is an example of Palazzo style architecture, a favorite theme associated with department stores constructed in the early twentieth century. The 1946/1948 Store for Homes addition, to the southeast of the 1924 building across Forsyth Street, was one of Atlanta's earliest examples of International Style architecture. Other historical retail nameplates "Goldsmith-Macy's" and "Lazarus-Macy's" were eliminated, with the stores rebranded as Macy's. Atlanta-area stores are in the Macy's Southeast Region with Atlanta East & Atlanta West Districts. A signature event of the store, Rich's Great Tree, continued as an annual Thanksgiving event in Atlanta at the Lenox location as Macy's Great Tree until 2022. Some buildings which once housed Rich's stores continue to operate under the Macy's banner. Some former Rich's buildings are no longer in use, as the malls which housed them have shuttered. The Richway discount store chain, founded in 1968, was sold, and in 1988 became a part of Target Stores.

The Rich Family

Morris, Emanuel, and Daniel Rich are buried at Oakland Cemetery in east Atlanta. Walter Rich and Dick Rich are buried at Westview Cemetery in southwest Atlanta. Many of the Rich family descendants reside in the Atlanta area.

Rich's Flagship Store 1924–1991

The original building opened on March 24, 1924 was added onto eight times. The complex would eventually encompass two full city blocks bounded by Broad, Alabama, Spring, and Hunter (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr.), eventually reaching of total floor area by 1966 before reducing selling space to as little as in the mid-1980s.

The Main Store's architectural style reflects the appearance of an Italian palazzo, a favorite theme associated with department stores built in the early twentieth century.

{|table class="wikitable sortable

! Year

! Additions

! Cost

! Added sq ft

! Total sq ft

|1924

|Original building

|180,000

|1935

|1.5-story rooftop addition by architect Philip Trammell Shutze, and two more elevators

|$350,000

|1937

|Redesigned 3rd floor into a fashion floor with 13 specialty shops; added employee recreation area on the roof

|$100,000

|-Sep 1940

| Large five-story addition to the original building designed by Hentz, Adler & Schutze. The addition added 15,000 feet to each floor, making Rich's the largest retail store in the South.

Escalators by the Otis Elevator Company connecting the first three floors.
New shipping rooms, a new tunnel under Forsyth Street, and a new warehouse across the street

|$1,000,000.

| 75,000

|1946-48

|Store for Homes, one of Atlanta's earliest examples of International Style architecture. The new light-grey brick and granite six-story building, was designed by the Atlanta firm Toombs & Creighton, interiors by Eleanor Le Maire (New York). First floor and plaza opened in 1947, prior to the grand opening was March 29, 1948

4-story, glass- enclosed Crystal Bridge above Forsyth Street connecting Main and Home buildings

|Ca. $5,500,000

| August, 1949

| 1,000-car capacity, 4-story garage over Forsyth St. viaduct

| $600,000

| 1949 approx.

| *Nursery for children on 2nd floor

Message desk on 2nd floor of Crystal Bridge

|1951

| 6-story Store for Men (new building)

2 new (segregated) cafeterias, one for white employees (350 seats) and one for black employees (with lockers and restrooms)
New snack bar, new pharmacy

|1957

|Rich's bought the rest of the block where their main store was.

| $2,000,000

|Fall 1958

|*3-story Service Building designed by Stevens & Wilkinson.

Its top floor (at Spring St. viaduct level) was used as a 400-500-car parking lot.
New escalators, enlarged soda bar, new cafeteria for black customers

|1961

|6-level self-parking garage for 6,500 cars (expanded in 1962), and a tire center.

|1,117,382 (Jan 1962)

|1964 and 1966

|Expansions to the 1958 Service Building

|1966

|6-floor addition to Main Store adding 130,000 square feet of selling space

|130,000

|1,247,382

References

External links

Extensive history at Atlanta city government