John Shillito Company

John Shillito & Co. (commonly known as Shillito's) was Cincinnati's first department store. It was founded by John Shillito and William McLaughlin in 1832 as "McLaughlin & Shillito", but their partnership soon broke up. In 1857, Shillito, now operating on his own, built a store on Fourth Street, designed by James McLaughlin. In 1878, Shillito's moved to a new landmark building on Seventh and Race, also designed by James McLaughlin. But business was not as good as had been hoped, and in 1930 Shillito's was bought by the F&R Lazarus Co., which became a founding partner in Federated Department Stores a year later. The Shillito name was merged with corporate sibling Rike's to form Shillito Rike's in 1982; the name was dropped altogether in 1986 in favor of Lazarus. [cite web|url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1997/10/12/bus_wwlazarus.html|title=Lazarus store has long, rich heritage|first=Owen|last=Findsen|publisher=Cincinnati Enquirer|date=1997-10-12|accessdate=2006-07-12] On March 6, 2005, the Lazarus name was dropped and the former Shillito's stores now operate under the Macy's brand name.

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