L. S. Ayres

Infobox_Company
company_name = L. S. Ayres & Co.
company_
company_type = Department store
foundation = 1872
location = Indianapolis, Indiana
industry = Retail
products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
homepage = None

L. S. Ayres & Company was an Indianapolis, Indiana, department store founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres and taken over by his son Frederic in 1896. The former Ayres locations are now part of Atlanta-based Macy's Central, and New York-based Macy's East, divisions of Federated Department Stores.

During the first half of the 20th century, Ayres grew to be Indianapolis' premier department store. Its fashion leadership was portrayed in a series of "That Ayres Look" ads that appeared nationally and locally from 1930s to the 1970s. The 1905 landmark downtown store, at One West Washington Street, was enlarged several times, with the largest expansion after WWII. Ayres was the first department store in the U.S. to operate an Economy Basement Store in 1905.

In September 1954, Ayres opened a new wholly-owned subsidiary to the professional decorator trade only Murray Showrooms. In August 1955, Ayres opened a boutique Ayres' Boulevard Shop in the Marott Hotel. Ayres' first branch stores opened in 1958 in Market Square in Lafayette, Indiana, and at Glendale Center on the north side of Indianapolis. Additional branches were opened in Indianapolis and other Indiana markets in the 60s and 70s. In 1958 Ayres acquired the John Bressmer Co. in Springfield, Illinois (which operated under its own name). In 1968 Ayres opened small specialty fashion shops the Sycamore Shop and Cygnet. In 1969, Ayres acquired from the City Stores Company Kaufman's with three stores in Louisville, Kentucky and the Wolf & Dessauer Co. with two stores in Fort Wayne; these were later converted to Ayres locations.

In 1972 Ayres was acquired by Associated Dry Goods of New York City, which in 1983 merged Cincinnati, Ohio, based Pogue's and in 1985 Louisville, Kentucky, based Stewart Dry Goods into L. S. Ayres. The 1972 Associated Dry Goods-Ayres merger placed two Associated Dry Goods store companies (Ayres & Stewart Dry Goods) competing in the same market (Louisville) for the first time. 1986 Associated was in its turn acquired by May Department Stores. May Company soon shuttered the former Pogue's and Stewart's locations, and in 1991 merged operations with its St. Louis, Missouri, headquartered Famous-Barr division in 1991, at which point the 1905 L. S. Ayres flagship in downtown Indianapolis was closed. May Department Stores was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 2005; that year, non-redundant L. S. Ayres locations became Macy's.

Indianapolis competitors were the William H. Block Company, H. P. Wasson and Company and L. Strauss & Co.

The L. S. Ayres Tea Room, which operated at the downtown department store from 1905 to 1990, served a clientele of fashionable shoppers in a formal setting. It has been recreated at the Indiana State Museum using the original tables and chairs.

Ayr-Way

Ayres developed a discount format called Ayr-Way in 1961. This subsidiary was one of the first discount store divisions launched by a traditional department store. Ayres opened the first Ayr-Way store prior to both the first Kmart and Target stores. At one time they had forty-seven stores in three states in the Midwestern United States. The concept was sold by Associated in 1976 under anti-trust pressure from Federal Trade Commission. In 1980, the Ayr-Way chain, consisting of 40 stores and one distribution center, was acquired by Dayton Hudson Corporation, now known as Target Corporation. The stores were remodeled and reopened as Target in 1981. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n18_v29/ai_8970766 News article detailing Target discount chain's growth from 1962 to 1990, including acquisition] ]

Former L. S. Ayres locations

Indiana

*Bloomington - College Mall - convert|85000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1982, now Macy's)"
*Evansville - Washington Square - "(opened as Stewarts Dry Goods, bought by L. S. Ayres, closed 1992; later Elder-Beerman, later Values Unlimited, now Steve & Barry's")
*Fort Wayne
**Downtown - "(building opened as Wolf & Dessauer 1959, bought by L. S. Ayres, closed late 1970s, converted to office space named "Renaissance Square" and The Lincoln Museum")
**Glenbrook Square - convert|240000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1966, now Macy's)"
**Southtown Mall - "(opened as Wolf & Dessauer 1969, bought by L. S. Ayres, closed 1992. Mall torn down 2004)"
*Indianapolis
**Castleton Square - "(opened 1990, closed and demolished 2006)"
**Downtown "(opened 1905, closed 1992, 1995 reopened as Parisian, building now houses Carson Pirie Scott, 2007)"
**Glendale Mall - convert|233000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1958, now Macy's)"
**Lafayette Square - convert|154000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1974, now Macy's)"
**Greenwood Park Mall - convert|162000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1965, closed 2005, demolished 2006)"
**Washington Square Mall - convert|145000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1974, now Macy's, closing in early 2008)"
*Lafayette
**Market Square Shopping Center "(opened 1958, closed 1994, replaced by Tippecanoe Mall store)"
**Tippecanoe Mall - convert|140000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1994, now Macy's)"
*Merrillville - Westfield Southlake "(formerly Southlake Mall)" - convert|165000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1978, now Macy's)"
*Muncie
** Muncie Mall "(replaced 1996 by larger store)"
** Muncie Mall "(opened 1996, now Macy's)"
*South Bend
**(Mishawaka) - University Park Mall - convert|153000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1979, now Macy's)"
**Scottsdale Mall "(closed 2000, mall torn down)"
*Terre Haute - Honey Creek Mall - convert|175000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. "(opened 1998 in former Root's Dry Goods; now Macy's)"

Kentucky

*Florence - Florence Mall "(opened as Pogue's, became L. S. Ayres 1983, sold to Ben Snyder's 1987, later Hess's 1988, then Lazarus Home Store, became Lazarus-Macy's Home Store 2003, Macy's Home Store 2005)"
*Lexington - Fayette Mall "(opened as Stewart Dry Goods, became L. S. Ayres 1969, then Snyder's 1987, then Hess's 1988, closed 1993)"
*Louisville - 427-437 S. 4th St. "(opened as Kaufman's 1903, became L. S. Ayres 1969, then Ayr-Way, closed)"
*Louisville - 501 S. 4th St. "(opened as Stewart Dry Goods 1907, became L. S. Ayres 1985, closed)"
*Louisville - The Mall (now Mall St. Matthews) "(opened as Kaufman's 1960, became L. S. Ayres 1969, then Stewart Dry Goods, then L. S. Ayres 1985, then Snyder's 1987, then Hess's 1988, now Dillards)"
*Louisville - Dixie Manor "(opened as Kaufman's, became L. S. Ayres 1969, then Stewart Dry Goods, then L. S. Ayres 1985, then Snyder's 1987, then Hess's 1988, closed 1989)"
*Louisville - Oxmoor Center "(opened as Stewart Dry Goods 1971, became L. S. Ayres 1985, then Snyder's 1987, then Hess's 1988, then Jacobson's,now Von Maur)"
*Louisville - Jefferson Mall "(opened as Stewart Dry Goods, became L. S. Ayres 1985, then Snyder's 1987, then Hess's 1988, closed 1993, now Dillards)"

Ohio

*Cincinnati:*Northgate Mall "(opened 1972 as Pogue's, became L.S. Ayres 1983, sold to JCPenney 1988, JCPenney closed 2007, demolished winter 2008, becoming Rave Motion Pictures fall 2008)":*Tri-County Mall "(opened 1960 as Pogue's, became L. S. Ayres 1983, sold to JCPenney 1988, JCPenney closed 2005, building subdivided into retail/dining/family entertainment center)"
*Kenwood - Kenwood Plaza (now Kenwood Towne Centre) "(opened 1956 as Pogue's became L.S. Ayres 1983, sold to JCPenney 1988, closed and became Parisian 1993, closed 2006, building demolished 2007, becoming Nordstrom 2009)"

Former Ayr-Way locations

Illinois

*Danville - Danville Village Mall "(later Target, now Hobby Lobby)"Mount Carmel, Illinois (later Target Corporation, now Pamida)

Indiana

*Anderson ("later Target; renovated 2003")
*Bloomington - "(later Target, now demolished; Target moved to adjacent College Mall)"
*Carmel - "(later Target, opened 1979 in the new Keystone Square, moved in 1999 to Westfield)"
*Clarksville - "(later Target, now Burlington Coat factory)"
*Columbus - "(later Target, now Rural King after Target had a new building made and relocated to the site where the former Columbus Hills Department Store was for many years.)"
*Evansville
**N. 1st Ave "(now Target)"
**Lawndale Shopping Center, Green River Road "(later Target, now Big Lots)"
*Fort Wayne
**Ayr-Way North ("near Glenbrook Square, later Target; demolished August 2006, replaced by new Target in October 2006")
**Ayr-Way South ("Across U.S. 27 South from Southtown Mall(2004) ; later Target, now closed")
**Ayr-Way Northeast ("6119 Stellhorn Rd, opened as Murphy's Mart, later became Target")
*Indianapolis
**Ayr-Way South Shopping Center (South US-31) "(later Target; expanded into County Line Mall; now Old Time Pottery)"
**Ayr-Way East Shopping Center "(later Target, now Indy Wholesale Furniture)"
**E. Washington St. [ [http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/dc012&CISOPTR=1177&REC=19 Digital Image Library : Item Viewer ] ]
**2333 Lafayette Rd. "(now Harvest Prayer Center)"
**Nora Plaza ("now Target")
**Pendleton Pike "(now Menards)"
**W. Washington St. and High School Rd. "(later Target; now closed)"
*Jeffersonville - Grant Plaza/Jeff Plaza "(closed 1980 after a tree fell and demolished the store, now Big Lots)"
*Kokomo Markland Mall, now a Target
*Lafayette
*Richmond
**Gateway Plaza ("later Target, now Hobby Lobby")
*Shelbyville - Hwy. 44
*South Bend
**Ardmore Trail ("later Target, now St. Vincent DePaul")
**Scottsdale Mall (now Erskine Village) "(later Target; mall torn down, new Target on site)"
**605 N. Hickory Rd. "(later Target, now Steve & Barry's)" [ [http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/Biz05/610270438/-1/BIZ South Bend Tribune: Steve & Barry's bringing a store to South Bend ] ]
** [Greenwood,Indiana("now Target")

Kentucky

*Louisville
**Bashford Manor Mall "(now Target; rest of mall torn down)"
**427-437 S. 4th St. "(former Kaufman-Straus)" [ [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/KY/Jefferson/state5.html National Register of Historical Places - KENTUCKY (KY), Jefferson County ] ]
**4640 Taylorsville Rd "(now Target)"
**9070 Dixie Highway Westland Mall "(Now Target @ Park Place Mall)"

Ohio

*Middletown "(Target until relocation to a new building in 1996 - still vacant)"

Footnotes

Other references

* "We Tell Our Story" L. S. Ayres & Co. publication, 1957

External links

* [http://www.in.gov/ism/ Indiana State Museum]
* [http://www.in.gov/ism/VisitorInfo/Restaurants/tearoom.aspx L. S. Ayres Tea Room]
* [http://www.indianahistory.org/library/manuscripts/collection_guides/m0616.html L. S. Ayres & Co. History]