Liberty House

Liberty House, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii was a department store and specialty store chain with locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands and on Guam, as well as several locations on the mainland U.S.

History

Tracing its antecedents to Hackfeld's Dry Goods formed by German trader Heinrich Hackfeld in 1849, in 1852 the retail location was renamed for Hackfeld's nephew, B.F. Ehlers. Hackfeld continued to maintain an interest in the store, while he concentrated on his trading, shipping and real-estate interests, eventually bringing in partner Paul Isenberg. In 1898 the Hackfeld and Isenberg family interests in Hawaii were officially reorganized as H. Hackfeld & Co.

In 1918 at the height of World War I, H. Hackfeld & Co. was seized by the American government as alien property (since many of the Hackfeld and Isenberg heirs still lived in Germany), and was sold to a newly formed consortium, American Factors. At the same time the B.F. Ehlers store was renamed The Liberty House in response to anti-German sentiment. With Hackfeld's huge sugar plantations and land interests, American Factors (later known as Amfac) became one of Hawaii's Big Five landowners.

In 1969 Liberty House expanded onto the mainland with Amfac's purchase of the Rhodes Western department stores, a long-time consolidator of department stores. The former Rhodes' stores were renamed Liberty House between 1971-1974. The mainland operation eventually included stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington. This expansion culminated with the construction of a new San Francisco, California flagship in 1974 at Stockton and O'Farrell Streets. Poor results and a scattered footprint caused the rethinking of future investment, and in 1978-1978 Liberty House began winding down the mainland stores, with the remaining ten being sold in 1984.

In 1988 Amfac was acquired in a leveraged-buyout by JMB Realty Corp., a Chicago, Illinois real estate investment company, under whose ownership Liberty House expanded to Guam in 1994. In 1998 Liberty House filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, under which it closed most of its resort store business, which had totaled over 40 stores at one point. In 2001, after emerging from bankruptcy, the company was acquired by Federated Department Stores and merged into Macy's West.

Former locations

Arizona

*Phoenix - Sears-Rhodes Mall, later Colonnade Mall, (opened early 1960s as Rhodes, later renamed Liberty House, sold to Joske's 1978, closed early 1980s)
*Phoenix - Metrocenter Mall (opened 1973 as Rhodes, later renamed Liberty House, sold to Joske's 1978, then Dillard's Men's/Home 1987, now JCPenney)

California

*Citrus Heights - Sunrise Mall (opened 1972; sold to Macy's 1984; now Macy's Women's)"
*Concord - Park and Shop Center (opened 1950s as Kahns, became Rhodes in 1960, became Liberty House in 1969, closed 1984. Now occupied by JoAnn Fabrics and Burlington Coat Factory)
*Fresno - Manchester Center Mall (closed 1984, now district offices for Caltrans)
*Dublin - Golden Hills Shopping Center (former Rhodes; closed 1984; building now houses Marshalls, Ross, and others).
*Hayward - Southland Mall (closed 1983; replaced by Emporium-Capwell; now Macy's)"
*Mountain View - San Antonio Shopping Center (closed 1984, became JCPenney in 1985, closed in 1990s. Building demolished to build a WalMart)
*Oakland - Downtown (freestanding) (opened 1912 as Kahn's, became Rhodes 1960, became Liberty House 1969; closed 1984; now known as the Rotunda Building)
*Sacramento - Downtown Plaza (sold to I. Magnin 1984)
*Sacramento - Country Club Centre (formerly Rhodes; closed 1984; now an office building)
*Sacramento - Southgate Plaza (closed 1984, became an office supply store, then demolished and replaced by a Wal-Mart)
*San Francisco - Union Square Geary & Stockton (City of Paris Dry Goods Company by Liberty House) (opened 1972 in former City of Paris Dry Goods Company store while new building was constructed, closed 1974, now site of Neiman Marcus)
*San Francisco - Union Square O'Farrell & Stockton (opened 1974; sold to Macy's 1984; now Macy's Men's Store)
*San Jose - Eastridge Mall (sold to Emporium-Capwell 1978, now demolished)"
*San Mateo - San Mateo Fashion Island (opened 1981; closed April 1987; now demolished)"
*Santa Rosa - Coddingtown Mall (opened 1980; sold to Macy's 1984; now Gottschalks)

Guam

* Dededo, Guam - Micronesia Mall (opened 1994, converted to Macy's 2001)
* Dededo, Guam - Compadres Mall 'Penthouse Outlet' (7,500 square feet, closed 1998)
* Tumon Bay, Guam - Tumon Bay Resort Store (15,000 square feet, closed 1998)

Hawaii - Department Stores

*Aiea, Oahu - Pearlridge Center (opened 1971, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Hilo, Hawai'i - Prince Kuhio Plaza (opened 1985 as Liberty House, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Honolulu, Oahu - Ala Moana Center (opened 1966, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Honolulu, Oahu - Downtown Honolulu (freestanding) (locations built 1897, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Honolulu, Oahu - Kahala Mall (opened 1958, including a separate men's store, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Honolulu, Oahu - Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel (opened 1937 as Liberty House, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Kahului, Maui - Queen Ka'ahumanu Center (opened 1972, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Kailua, Oahu - Downtown Kailua (freestanding) (opened 1946, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Kailua-Kona - Makalapua Center (opened 1997, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Kaneohe, Oahu - Windward Mall (opened 1982 as Liberty House, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Lihue, Kaua'i - Kukui Grove Center (opened 1982 as Liberty House, converted to Macy's 2001)

Hawaii - Specialty/Resort Stores

*Kihei - Four Seasons Wailea Resort Store (became Macy's 2001, closed 2003)
*Honolulu, Oahu- Ala Moana Center Jewelry Gallery (opened 1989, converted to Macy's Jewel Gallery 2001)
*Honolulu, Oahu - Kahala Center Lifestyle Store (opened 1995, converted to Macy's 2001, closed 2006)
*Lihue, Kauai - Coconut Market Place (became Macy's 2001, closed 2003)'
*Kohala Coast, Hawaii - Mauna Lani Bay Hotel Resort (opened 1983, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Waikoloa, Hawaii - Waikoloa Beach Resort Kings' Shop (opened 1992, converted to Macy's 2001)
*Kaanapali, Maui - Hyatt Regency Maui Resort (opened 1983, converted to Macy's 2001)

Nevada

*Reno - Meadowood Mall (opened 1978, sold to Macy's 1984)

New Mexico

*Albuquerque - Coronado Center (originally Rhodes. Converted to Mervyns, currently vacant)

Oregon

*Portland - Downtown Portland (formerly Olds & King, then Rhodes), became Galleria building in 1979
*Portland - Jantzen Beach Center (opened 1972, sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, sold to The Crescent 1985, Lamonts in 1988, closed and demolished in 1992)
*Portland - Gateway Shopping Center (formerly Rhodes, acquired by Mervyns in 1984, building demolished and rebuilt in 1988, acquired by Kohl's in 2007)

Texas

*El Paso - Cielo Vista Mall (opened 1974, sold to Joske's 1978, became Dillard's 1987)
*San Antonio - Wonderland Shopping Center (now Crossroads of San Antonio) (opened 1960s as Rhodes Brothers, became Liberty House 1974, sold to Frost Bros., now Burlington Coat Factory)

Washington

*Lakewood - Villa Plaza, later Lakewood Mall, now Lakewood Towne Center (opened as Rhodes 1957, sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, relocated 1989, acquired 1992 by Gottschalks)
*Tacoma - Tacoma Mall (opened 1973, sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, acquired 1992 by Mervyn's, to close 2007 and be demolished)

External links

* [http://www.lightfantastic.org/imr/places/libertyhouse.html Liberty House History in Hawaii]