Higbee's

Infobox_Company
company_name = The E.C. Higbee Company
company_type = Department store
foundation = 1902
dissolved = 1992 (merged with Dillard's)
location = Cleveland, Ohio
industry = Retail
products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
homepage = None

Higbee's was a department store based in Cleveland, Ohio. It has been defunct since 1992.

History

Higbee's was founded by Edwin Converse Higbee and John G. Hower on September 10, 1860 as Higbee & Hower Dry Goods. The first day of business saw $100 in sales. It was reorganized as The Higbee Co. in 1902 after the death of Mr. Hower and relocated from its original Public Square location to a new five-story Playhouse Square Center store, directly across from its sworn arch-rival Halle Brothers Co. In 1929 it was acquired by the Van Sweringen brothers, who moved the store to their new $179 million Terminal Tower complex on Public Square, partly in response to pleas from women who wished to occupy homes in their new suburb of Shaker Heights and ride the Vans' new railroads into the city for quality shopping. The store subsequently went bankrupt in 1935 as the Van Sweringen empire collapsed in the Great Depression, but thanks to store executives Charles P. Bradley and John Murphy, the company was reorganized and flourished under their guidance for many years.

The 1960s and 1970s saw the addition of several stores in suburbs as well as expansion to Akron and Canton, all under the watch of president Herbert Strawbridge, who also saw the value of giving new life to The Flats district in Downtown Cleveland.

In 1984, Industrial Equity Ltd., a subsidiary of Brierly Investments Ltd., New Zealand acquired Higbee's, selling it four years later to a joint venture of Dillard's and Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. who planned to combine Higbee's with an intended acquisition of Horne's. The deal was cancelled abruptly, resulting in several years of litigation. In 1992 Dillard's bought out DeBartolo's shares and rebadged Higbee's and five of the Northern Ohio Horne's stores with its name. During the 1990s, several inner-ring stores were closed while new far-flung locations opened or expanded.

The Public Square flagship store was known for its tenth-floor Silver Grille restaurant and was prominently featured in the 1983 movie "A Christmas Story". It closed in January 2002. The Main Floor, second and third floors were restored in 2007 to house the new offices of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland Partnership, while the Silver Grille was restored and is now used for special events.

"30 Rock" reference

In the 2007 "30 Rock" episode "Cleveland", Higbee's was mentioned in a parodied song salute to the city (although it alluded to believe that they were still in business despite the fact that they been defunct since 1992), along with a newspaper ad that featured the store's logo and a model that looked like the series' character Liz Lemon, who was flattered by the resemblance so much that even some of the city's residents thought she was the model from the adversement.

Former locations in Ohio

*Akron - Rolling Acres Mall (opened as Montgomery Ward, became Higbee's 1987, Dillard's 1992, closed 2006)
*Akron - Summit Mall (opened as Halle's, became Higbee's 1982, Dillard's 1992)
*Beachwood - Beachwood Place (opened 1978, became Dillard's 1992, expanded 1997)
*Cleveland - Public Square (flagship; established 1860, new building opened 1931, closed 2002, now offices for several companies)
*Cleveland Heights - Severance Town Center (opened 1963, became Dillard's Women's store 1992, closed & demolished 1997, now site of Wal-Mart)
*Elyria - Midway Mall (opened 1970s, became Dillard's 1992, Closed 2007)
*Euclid - Euclid Square Mall (opened 1977, became Dillard's 1992, downgraded to clearance center 1998)
*Fairview Park - Westgate Mall (Fairview Park) (opened 1954, became Dillard's Men's & Kids store 1992, Home Store items added 1998, closed & demolished 2005)
*Fairview Park - Westgate Mall Home Store (became Dillard's Home store 1992, closed 1998, demolished)
*Mentor - Great Lakes Mall (became Dillard's Women 1992)
*North Canton - Belden Village Mall "(now Westfield Belden Village)" (opened as Halle's, became Dillard's 1992)
*North Randall - Randall Park Mall (opened 1976, became Dillard's 1992, closed 2003)
*Parma - Parmatown Mall (became Dillard's 1992, closed 2000, demolished, now site of Wal-Mart)
* Youngstown - freestanding downtown location (closed in 1984, demolished in late 1990s, now site of an Ohio government office complex)