- May Company Ohio
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The May Company Former type Department store Industry Retail Fate Locations rebranded to Kaufmann's Successor Kaufmann's (1993–2005) Macy's (2006–present) Founded 1898 Defunct 1993 Headquarters Cleveland, Ohio Products Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. Website None May Company
Front of the building
Location: 158 Euclid Ave. at Public Sq., Cleveland, Ohio Coordinates: 41°29′55″N 81°41′31″W / 41.49861°N 81.69194°WCoordinates: 41°29′55″N 81°41′31″W / 41.49861°N 81.69194°W Area: 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) Built: 1914 Architect: D.H. Burnham & Co.; Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Architectural style: Chicago Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 74001443[1] Added to NRHP: January 18, 1974 The May Company Ohio is a defunct chain of department stores that was based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
History
In 1899, David May, the founder of May Department Stores, acquired E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. of Cleveland on Ontario Street, renaming it May Company, Cleveland.[2] In 1914 May added an additional landmark building on Euclid Avenue, fronting on the southeast corner of Public Square.
In 1939 May Co. acquired majority control of another Cleveland store, William Taylor Son & Co., which maintained a separate identity until 1961.[3] Expansion to the suburbs began in the 1950s, with Sheffield Shopping Center, Lorain in 1953 (originally opened as an O'Neil's store which was a May Company subsidiary and then changed over to a May Company location in 1967) and Cedar-Center Plaza at Cedar and Warrensville Roads in University Heights in late 1956 (known locally as "May's on the Heights"). In 1960 a branch was opened at Parmatown Mall in Parma, and another in 1961 at Southgate Shopping Center in Maple Heights (the Southgate store having been originally opened in 1958 by William Taylor Son & Co.). Several mall stores followed in the 1960s and 1970s, including Great Lakes Mall (1964) Westfield Great Northern in North Olmsted (1965) , Randall Park Mall in North Randall (1976) ,Euclid Square Mall in Euclid (1977) and Sandusky Mall in Sandusky (1979).
The company also constructed a nine-story warehouse (six stories tall, with three sub basements) attached to the south side of the Cedar Center Store, designed to handle furniture distribution for Cleveland's eastside. The red brick facility, designed to look like an integrated part of the colossal four story store was used for a short time, but remained empty from 1960 until the University Heights store was demolished and re-built in 2002 by this time it was re-branded as Kaufmann's.
The May Company specialized in mid to higher end fashion merchandise and home furnishings, however target price points placed May Company merchandise at, or below its two major competitors in the Cleveland market Higbee's and Halle's. May Company was the first local department store to issue its own personal charge card in 1965 and break away from being part of the Department Stores Charge Plate (a metal card that was notched for each store and used at all participating members which included William Taylor Son & Co., Bailey's, Sterling, Lindner Davis, The Higbee Company and The Halle Bros. Co.) Higbee's and Halle's continued to remain part of this system until they each issued their own individual plastic charge cards respectively in 1969.
In addition to its merchandise, the company participated in a premium driven green-stamp program (Eagle Stamps) operated by the Cook United Company[1] of Maple Heights, Ohio in conjunction with local Cleveland area groceries.[4] Consumers would earn Eagle Stamps on grocery purchases, or through purchases at The May Company. Completed stamp booklets could be redeemed at May Company for $3 credits toward merchandise purchases at May Company stores.
May's Cleveland headquarters building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]
In 1989 May Company, Cleveland and O'Neil's, based in Akron were merged to form May Company Ohio,[5] as the May Department Stores began consolidating its regional department store divisions. On January 31, 1993 May Company, Ohio was merged into Kaufmann's of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[2] and its Downtown Cleveland store was closed. Many of its former locations became Macy's in 2006.[2]
Notes
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b c "May Company". http://dshistory.com/chains/may_company/. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=WTSC. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "The Great Eagle Stamp Expedition". http://clevelandseniors.com/people/eagles.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "May Department Stores to merge O'Neil's into May Co. Cleveland.". HighBeam Research, Inc. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-6930616.html. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
Store Conversions to Kaufmann's U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- History of Cleveland, Ohio
- Defunct department stores of the United States
- Chicago school (architecture)
- Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
- Buildings and structures completed in 1914
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