Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's ) was an upscale department store in Chicago , Illinois . Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc , acquired it in 2005. Its founder, Marshall Field , was a pioneering retail magnate.
108-543: Marshall Field (August 18, 1834 – January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company , the Chicago-based department stores . His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer service. Field is also known for some of his philanthropic donations, providing funding for the Field Museum of Natural History and donating land for
216-673: A University of Chicago professor and founder of the McKinsey and Company consulting firm, was hired to reform the Company. The wholesale division, once the core of the Company, was liquidated by 1936. The Davis Store was closed in 1936 as well, and its building was sold to Goldblatts . In 1939, the land underlying the main State Street store was acquired from the Marshall Field Trust. Meanwhile, McKinsey also reorganized
324-566: A building similar to the Evanston store. Frederick & Nelson , a Seattle, Washington -based department store founded in 1890, was also acquired in 1929, with its own 1914 downtown Seattle building at Pine Street and Fifth Avenue. Frederick & Nelson retained its name, though its logo was soon rewritten in Field's iconic script. Frederick & Nelson created Frango mints, a Seattle tradition then and now. The mints were later also produced in
432-457: A crowd of 1,000 striking workers and sympathizers clashed with police, and three people were shot and two stabbed. Mayor Dunne immediately banned the carrying of firearms. On May 4, a riot involving more than 5,000 people coursed through the city's streets. Strikers hurled bricks and stones, and assaulted any African American or wagon driver caught on the streets. Police, strikers and strikebreakers used clubs and firearms against one another. During
540-773: A discount store called "The Davis Store." In 1924, the 1893–1914 buildings that the store occupied were acquired from the Marshall Field Trust. The first branch of Marshall Field's itself opened at Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois in May 1928. In September 1928, its first branch in Evanston, Illinois followed, later relocating to a French Renaissance-style building at Sherman Avenue and Church Street in November 1929. The Oak Park, Illinois store opened in September 1929 in
648-784: A gun, and shooting by a prostitute from the Everleigh Club . Ethel Field was married twice, first to Arthur Magie Tree, with whom she had one son, Ronald Tree ; and then in 1901 to David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty , with whom she had two sons, David Beatty, 2nd Earl Beatty and Peter Beatty . Nannie died in 1896. In 1904, Field married longtime friend Delia Spencer, the widow of Arthur John Caton. They had no children. Field died in New York City, New York, on January 16, 1906, at age 71 of pneumonia contracted after playing golf on New Year's Day with his nephew, his secretary, and Abraham Lincoln 's eldest son Robert Todd Lincoln . Field
756-747: A location at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park , followed by the Louis Joliet Mall in Joliet in 1978. In 1979, Marshall Field's expanded south into Texas with a store at The Galleria in Houston . The year 1980 saw the rapid acquisition of J.B. Ivey Co. , a department store chain with roots in Charlotte, North Carolina , and Jacksonville, Florida ; The Union Co. in Columbus, Ohio ;
864-429: A major role in the sales department. Women sales clerks were trained in etiquette and acquired a thorough understanding of the merchandise. The presence of saleswomen was a crucial part of the success of Marshall Field's, as they made female customers more comfortable and therefore made shopping at Marshall Field's fun. The opportunities available for women at Marshall Field's created a subculture of working women. During
972-474: A million dollars." He relented after railroad supplies magnate Edward E. Ayer , another early benefactor (and later the first president) of the museum, convinced Field that his everlasting legacy would be achieved by financing the project. The year after his death the Field Museum received a further $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 262 million in 2023) in accordance with his will. The University of Chicago
1080-496: A new five-story store at their old location they now leased from the Singer Sewing Machine Company , Palmer having sold the land site to finance his own rebuilding activities. This store was expanded in 1876, only to be destroyed by fire again in November 1877. Ever tenacious, Field and Leiter had a new temporary store opened by the end of the month at a lakefront exposition hall they leased temporarily from
1188-580: A new, six-story edifice he had just built at the northeast corner of State and Washington Streets. The store was soon referred to as the "Marble Palace" owing to its costly marble stone face. When the Great Chicago Fire broke out on October 8, 1871, news of this, one of the worst conflagrations to ever strike an American city, reached company officials Henry Willing and Levi Leiter, who decided to load as much of their expensive merchandise as possible onto wagons and take it to Leiter's home, which
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#17327733953621296-485: A partner, Levi Leiter , accepted an offer to become senior partners at the dry goods establishment of Potter Palmer . The new firm became known as "Field, Palmer, Leiter & Co." In 1867, after Field and Leiter could afford to buy him out, Palmer withdrew from the firm, and it was renamed "Field, Leiter & Company." In 1867, Field, Leiter & Company reported revenues of $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 215 million in 2023). Like many Chicago businessmen, Field's company
1404-538: A small, relatively ineffective force. The strike also caused public support for unions throughout the US to fall. By 1910, due to the publicity surrounding Driscoll's allegations as well as widespread labor-related violence, American labor unions had lost much of the sway over public opinion they once held. In many ways, some scholars argue, labor unions in the United States never recovered this support. Nearly half
1512-641: A stone-throwing melee on the Rush Street bridge, strikebreakers opened fire on striking workers, leading to one death. "Slugging"—the beating of non-union workers or union members who crossed picket lines—became common. The EA mustered its substantial resources to break the Teamsters' support for the striking tailors. The EA collected $ 250,000 (about $ 6.7 million in 2017 dollars) from its members to hire strikebreakers . The EA also raised $ 1 million (about $ 27 million in 2017 dollars) to establish, on April 13,
1620-647: A temporary location (a horse-streetcar barn of the Chicago City Railway Co. at State & 20th Streets). Six months later, in April 1872, Field & Leiter reopened in an unburned building at Madison and Market Streets (today's West Wacker Drive). Salesman Parker stayed on with the Company for 45 more years, rising to the level of General Sales Manager. Two years later, in October 1873, Field and Leiter returned to State Street at Washington, opening in
1728-575: A third new building opened on Wabash Avenue north of the 1893 structure, which was then the oldest part of the store. In the midst of the construction, Selfridge abruptly resigned from the company in 1904, buying a rival store Schlesinger & Mayer , but sold it only three months later. Schlesinger & Mayer in 1899 had commissioned the Louis Sullivan-designed building now known as the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building , which
1836-479: A wide range of issues between May 24 and June 2. But despite threats by Shea to call 8,000 truck drivers out on strike, clothing stores unaffiliated with the EA refused to break ranks and settle with the Teamsters. The strike continued. The strike ended not through the efforts of the EA or the unions, but due to the allegations of graft made by John C. Driscoll. At the time, Driscoll was secretary (the highest officer) of
1944-568: Is always right " are attributed to Field. Though most famous today for his retail business, during his lifetime his wholesale business made far more money. During the 1880s, Field's wholesale business generated five times more revenue than retail annually. The wholesale business even had its own landmark building, the Marshall Field's Wholesale Store , erected in 1887. Revenue from the Marshall Field's retail business did not surpass
2052-656: Is the firm to which Selfridge sold the business. After trying retirement, he went on to establish Selfridges in London . Marshall Field died on January 16, 1906, in New York City . On the day of his funeral, all the stores along State Street, big and small, closed and the Chicago Board of Trade suspended afternoon trading in his honor. The board of Marshall Field and Company appointed John G. Shedd , (1850–1926), whom Field had once called "the greatest merchant in
2160-560: The Chicago Loop is a National Landmark for its importance in the history of retail. It was officially branded Macy's on State Street in 2006, when it became one of Macy's flagship stores . Marshall Field & Company traces its antecedents to a dry goods store opened at 137 Lake Street in Chicago , Illinois , in 1852 by Potter Palmer , eponymously named P. Palmer & Company. In 1856, 21-year-old Marshall Field moved to
2268-619: The Commercial Club and the Jekyll Island Club , also known as the Millionaires Club, on Jekyll Island, Georgia . Field married twice. In 1863, he married Nannie Douglas Scott of Ironton, Ohio . They had two sons and a daughter, but one son, Louis, died in 1866 as an infant. The surviving children were Marshall Field Jr. and Ethel Field . Marshall Field Jr. (1868–1905) married Albertine Huck, and they were
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#17327733953622376-780: The Dallas Galleria , in Dallas , Texas , in 1982. In 1982, Marshall Field & Co. ceased to be a public company, being acquired by B.A.T. British-American Tobacco . As part of BATUS Retail Group, the American retailing arm of B.A.T., Field's and its Frederick & Nelson, Ivey's and The Crescent department stores and the John Brueners home furnishings stores joined retailers Gimbels , Saks Fifth Avenue and Kohl's . Field's continued to expand under BATUS, adding stores at Houston's Town & Country Mall in 1983 and at
2484-561: The John G. Shedd Aquarium and the University of Chicago have all been aided by the philanthropy of Marshall Field's. Marshall Field was also a major sponsor of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition . Strawbridge's added to division in 1996 Meier & Frank added to division in 2002 ; Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution (2001, to Meier & Frank) 1905 Chicago teamsters%27 strike The 1905 Chicago Teamsters' strike
2592-1122: The Lipman's stores in Portland, Oregon ; and several Liberty House stores in Washington state . Field's existing Frederick & Nelson unit in Seattle absorbed the Lipman's and Liberty House stores under its name, but after initially merging The Union of Columbus, Ohio with its earlier Halle's stores from Cleveland , Field's decided to sell the combined chain in November 1981; the new owners quickly liquidated it. The early 1980s saw slower expansion, with just two store locations in Illinois added, one in October 1980 at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee , and one in 1981 at Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale . Another Texas store opened at
2700-546: The North Star Mall in San Antonio in 1986. Only four years after buying Marshall Field's, however, BATUS scaled back its retail operations in 1986, selling Field's former subsidiaries Frederick & Nelson and The Crescent to a local investor group. Frederick & Nelson quickly deteriorated and became defunct in 1992. Its 1914 building, the one acquired by Field's in 1929, was eventually bought by Nordstrom ;
2808-402: The 1879 structure later in 1906. In its stead rose a new south State Street building with a continuation of the 1902 street façade. Opened in September 1907, it included a Louis Comfort Tiffany - decorated ceiling that is both the first and largest ceiling ever built in favrile glass , containing over 1.6 million pieces. With completion of the 1907 building, Marshall Field's momentarily possessed
2916-555: The 1914 building designed by the Graham, Burnham & Company architectural firm, completing the present-day store and now encompassing the entire square city block, bounded by Washington, State, Wabash, and Randolph Streets. Also in 1914, the same Graham, Burnham & Company supervised the opening of a new twenty-story Marshall Field Annex across the street at 25 East Washington, which housed "Marshall Field's Store for Men" on its first six floors. These buildings recaptured its status as
3024-426: The 19th century, ladies shopping downtown returned home for lunch; having lunch at a downtown restaurant unescorted by a gentleman was not considered ladylike. But after a Marshall Field's clerk shared her lunch (a chicken pot pie) with a tired shopper, Field's hit on the idea of opening a department store tea room, so that women shoppers would not feel the need to make two trips to complete their shopping. To this day,
3132-668: The Company's vertically integrated operations, notably by merging the Company's varied textile operations under the Fieldcrest name. Following World War II , the Merchandise Mart building was sold in 1945 to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. , (1888–1969), significantly improving the Field Company's finances and enabling the store to cope with the post-war suburban residential and commercial boom. Marshall Field's presciently followed its customers to their new homes outwards to
3240-534: The Employers' Association of Chicago was formed. John G. Shedd , vice-president of Marshall Field & Company , was the primary force behind the organization of the group. Shedd became the group's first president. Montgomery Ward president Robert J. Thorne was the EA's first vice-president; grocery store president Frank H. Armstrong of Reid, Murdoch & Company the second vice-president; and William E. Clow, president of plumbing manufacturer J.B. Clow & Co.
3348-440: The Employers' Association, and the EA announced a day later that no striking workers should be rehired. Infuriated, the Teamsters called another 25,000 members off the job on April 25, 1905, paralyzing grocery stores, warehouses, railway shippers, department stores and coal companies. On April 30, the EA and its members then sued nearly every union involved in the strike. Local and state courts issued numerous injunctions against
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3456-430: The Employers' Teaming Association-a new company which, within a matter of weeks, bought out a large number of team owners and imported hundreds of African American strikebreakers from St. Louis to work as teamsters and drive the wagons. Mark Morton , president of Morton Salt and an EA member, convinced the railroads to pressure the remaining team owners to lock out their Teamster members as well. In response,
3564-482: The Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for Chicagoans and visitors alike, as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street. Marshall Field was famous for his slogan "Give the lady what she wants." He was also famous for his integrity, character, and community philanthropy and leadership. After his death,
3672-646: The May Company in 2005. After the Federated purchase, Marshall Field's stores joined L. S. Ayres and existing Macy's stores in the new Macy's North Division. During 2006, all Marshall Field's stores, most Filene's and all the stores of nine other May-owned chains were renamed Macy's , the conversion officially occurred on September 9, 2006. Many Chicagoans resented the New York City brand replacing their local brand. Hundreds of protesters gathered under Marshall Field's famous clock that day, and returned on
3780-414: The May acquisition. The 2004 renovations included the installation of new lower-level shops, removal of steel grates from the upper portions of the store's historic light wells, and the addition of an eleven-story atrium in what had been an alley and mid-store light shaft. In 2004, Field's also introduced significant upgrades to merchandise and the introduction of luxury vendor relationships, in which 10% of
3888-508: The National Tailors' Association (a coalition of clothing manufacturers and retailers) struck. The Teamsters engaged in a sympathy strike on April 6, 1905, adding another 10,000 members to the picket lines. Teamsters President Cornelius Shea targeted Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck and Company in particular, as these were the leaders in the National Tailors' Association. The sympathy strike had not occurred earlier in
3996-660: The State Street flagship store led by Director of Construction and Maintenance Bill Allen commenced in 1987. BATUS initially kept Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Field's, and Ivey's; however, it sold all its remaining U.S. retail assets in 1990, with Saks going to Bahrain-based Investcorp , Ivey's sold to Dillard's , and Marshall Field's sold to then Dayton-Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation ). Dayton-Hudson Corporation renamed itself Target Corporation in 2000 and renamed its Dayton's and Hudson's department stores Marshall Field's in 2001. These stores were outside of Field's existing markets. Target Corporation introduced some of
4104-495: The Team Owners' Association, the employer group which had locked out the Teamsters after the sympathy strike which began on April 6. On June 2, the grand jury led by McCormick heard testimony by Driscoll. Driscoll claimed that he had taken at least $ 10,000 in bribes from Thorne and executives at other companies to force the unions out on strike. Driscoll also alleged that the Teamsters and other unions had demanded bribes to end
4212-486: The Teamster executive board. Ensuring that primarily his supporters attended the meeting, Shea pushed through several resolutions calling for the end to peace talks, reaffirming support for the strike, and praising Shea's handling of the strike. Although negotiations with the employers had nearly reached complete agreement, Shea withdrew his negotiators and repudiated the tentative agreements which had been reached. Shea
4320-427: The Teamster leaders had accepted (and which had led to large strikes). Thorne and other employers countered that Shea and other union leaders had asked for bribes ranging from $ 20,000 to $ 50,000 to call off the current strike. On June 3, the grand jury returned bribery and conspiracy indictments against Shea and 19 other union leaders, but none against the employers. The development was not unsurprising. Each side knew
4428-484: The United States", to serve as the company's new president. Shedd became head of a company that employed 12,000 people in Chicago (two-thirds of them in retail) and was doing about $ 25 million in yearly retail sales in addition to nearly $ 50 million in wholesale. Under Shedd's leadership for the next 16 years, Marshall Field & Co. continued to rebuild its store, fulfilling plans approved by Field himself to pull down
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4536-478: The Walnut Room serves the traditional Mrs. Herring's chicken pot pie. Marshall Field's had the first European buying office, which was located in Manchester, England , and the first bridal registry . The company was the first to introduce the concept of the personal shopper, and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store, right up to the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It
4644-516: The booming midwestern city of Chicago on the southwest shores of Lake Michigan from Pittsfield, Massachusetts and found work at the city's then-largest dry goods firm – Cooley, Wadsworth & Company . Just prior to the American Civil War , in 1860, Field and bookkeeper Levi Z. Leiter became junior partners in the firm, then known as Cooley, Farwell & Company. In 1864, the firm, then led by senior partner John V. Farwell, Sr. ,
4752-483: The brands carried there to the Marshall Field's stores, displacing some of Field's more expensive merchandise. In 2004 Target Corporation sold the Marshall Field's chain to May Co. , thereby exiting the department store business entirely. It was hoped that aligning with the May Company instead of the discounter Target would "let Field's be Field's" and allow it to recapture its former cachet and upper-class customer base. However, Federated Department Stores, Inc. acquired
4860-414: The building is the second-largest department store in the United States. In 1987, while under BATUS ownership, Field's State Street store underwent significant restoration. In 2004, while Field's was still owned by Dayton Hudson/Target, another extensive restoration of the landmark State Street store, costing $ 115 million (~$ 178 million in 2023), was begun; the last of the renovation was completed after
4968-410: The building trade unions in Chicago agreed to return to work, significantly weakening the strike. Shea's handling of the strike came under fire from the executive board of the international Teamsters union. On May 27, the board removed Shea from day-to-day control of the strike and transferred that authority to itself. After these developments, talks to end the strike began. Agreement was reached on
5076-576: The business in 1917. The Field Family eventually retained only a ten percent stake. Second company president, John G. Shedd retired in late 1922. In 1913, representatives of Carson Pirie Scott and Marshall Field's were called to the state capital of Illinois at Springfield for the Illinois State Senate's investigation of the low wages of the female employees of the major department stores. At Marshall Field's, women were not only typists or other types of clerical workers, they also had
5184-488: The buyer beware", and transformed it into a plush shopping experience fit for the Gilded Age. Unconditional refunds, consistent pricing and international imports are among the Field innovations that became standards in quality retailing. Field's employees were also instructed not to push products on uninterested customers, a common practice in stores of the period. The quotes "Give the lady what she wants" and " The customer
5292-479: The campus of the University of Chicago . Marshall Field was born on a farm in Conway, Massachusetts , the son of John Field IV and Fidelia Nash. His family was descended from Puritans who had come to America as early as 1629. At the age of 17, he moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts , where he first worked in a dry goods store alongside his brother Joseph Field. He left Massachusetts after five years of working in
5400-467: The candy kitchen in the State Street store and became popular in Chicago, too. Marshall Field & Company became a public company in 1930, early in the " Great Depression ". The retailer needed capital due to the expense of opening the massive new Merchandise Mart to house its flagging wholesale division. Ground was broken in 1927 during the boom years of the "Roaring 20s"; when the Mart opened in 1930, it
5508-437: The causes of the strike. The unions also requested that the president refuse to send troops to Chicago before investigating the status of the strike first. On May 10, Dold, Shea and other strike leaders met with Roosevelt personally in Chicago. Roosevelt refused to mediate an end to the strike, denounced the use of violence in the strike, and warned the labor leaders to settle the strike quickly before federal military intervention
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#17327733953625616-462: The city, located at what is now the site of the present Art Institute of Chicago . Meanwhile, the Singer company had speculatively built a new, even larger, six-story building on the ruins of their old 1873 store, which, after some contention, was personally bought by Field and Leiter. Field, Leiter & Company now reclaimed their traditional location at the northeast corner of State and Washington for
5724-482: The company remained to the very end a major philanthropic contributor to its Chicago-area community. Field, the store he created and his successor John G. Shedd , helped establish Chicago's prominence throughout the world in business, art, culture, and education. The Art Institute of Chicago , the Field Museum of Natural History (as renamed in 1905 for its first major benefactor), the Museum of Science and Industry ,
5832-411: The company's use of nonunion subcontractors. The manager of the fabric cutting room for Montgomery Ward & Co. at the time of the initial incident was C. V. Boller. The Montgomery Ward company locked the remaining workers out. Sympathy strikes by several tailors' unions broke out, as did sympathy strikes by other unions. By April, 5,000 workers were on the picket line, with all 26 local members of
5940-710: The company's wholesale business until after Field's death. Field was highly suspicious of organized labor throughout his career and prohibited unionization among his employees. During the time of the Haymarket Riot , the wives of the defendants initiated an appeal, to which all of the local businessmen agreed except for Field. Journalist and reformer Henry Demarest Lloyd led a national campaign to grant clemency. Even bankers like Lyman J. Gage favored clemency, believing that moderation would lead to improved relations between capital and labor. Potter Palmer and Charles L. Hutchinson were inclined to agree, but Marshall Field
6048-871: The development included a new Field's store. This was followed by the 1959 opening of a Field's store in the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin , to the northwest, and stores at later Klutznick-led shopping centers opened at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Illinois , in 1962 and River Oaks Center in Calumet City, Illinois , in 1966. Marshall Field's even expanded further in the Pacific Northwest , acquiring The Crescent department store in Spokane, Washington , in 1962 and in 1970, moved east with
6156-512: The direction of Burnham associate Charles B. Atwood in August 1893, towards the end of the Exposition. In 1897, the old 1879 store was rebuilt and had two additional floors added, while the first of Marshall Field's iconic landmark Great Clocks was installed at the corner of State and Washington Streets on November 26. In 1901, Marshall Field & Company, previously a private partnership,
6264-407: The dry goods store in search of new opportunities in the rapidly expanding West. In 1856, at age 22, he went to live with his brother in Chicago, Illinois, and obtained employment at leading dry goods merchant Cooley, Wadsworth & Co. , which was to become Cooley, Farwell & Co. in 1857. Field quickly rose through the ranks of Cooley, Farwell & Co. In 1862, for financial reasons Cooley left
6372-642: The earliest steel-framed commercial buildings built and still standing in the U.S. along with the Equitable Building in Baltimore ) was leased to the later famous nationwide mail-order firm Sears, Roebuck & Company . In 1887, the landmark seven-story Henry Hobson Richardson -designed, (1838–1886), Romanesque-styled , Marshall Field's Wholesale Store opened on Franklin Street between Quincy and Adams (razed c.1930). Though little remembered today,
6480-400: The early and middle decades of the 20th century, many women migrated into the labor force often becoming adrift in a new city with new opportunities. Many of these women lived apart from family and relatives, were young and single and came from varied backgrounds and ethnicities. This subculture of women was greatly affected by wages and opportunities offered through Marshall Field's. However,
6588-460: The firm. That same year, Field purchased a partnership, and the firm reorganized as Farwell, Field & Co. John V. Farwell appreciated Field's keen business acumen; however, when it came to personality, the two were very different. Field's stuffy efficiency rode on Farwell's more relaxed and cheery demeanor. At a time when business collaboration entailed extensive personal interaction, this partnership would not last long. In January 1865, Field and
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#17327733953626696-526: The floor space was leased to outside vendors in a manner similar to Selfridge's in London (Selfridge's was founded by former Field's executive Harry Selfridge, who based his business model on Marshall Field's; likewise, the Selfridge's building in London was based on the architecture of the Marshall Field's store). Among the "firsts" by Marshall Field's was the concept of the department store tea room . In
6804-580: The focus shifted to promoting the State Street location in 2007. The Marshall Field and Company Building at State and Washington Streets in Chicago was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is part of the Loop Retail National Historic District. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark on November 1, 2005. With approximately two million square feet of available floor space,
6912-429: The hands of Marshall Field III. The Field Museum of Natural History was named after Marshall Field in 1894 after he gave it an endowment of $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 35.2 million in 2023). He was initially reluctant to make the kind of contribution that the organizers were requesting, reportedly saying, "I don't know anything about a museum and I don't care to know anything about a museum. I'm not going to give you
7020-459: The last time in April 1879. In January 1881, Field, with the support of his junior partners, bought out Levi Z. Leiter , renaming the business "Marshall Field & Company" . As Palmer had before, Leiter retired to tend his significant real estate investments, which included commissioning a department store, Second Leiter Building in 1891 at State Street and Van Buren to house Siegel, Cooper & Company . In 1932, this building (known as one of
7128-739: The lawful operation and business of the company at Chicago or elsewhere, and also from molesting, interfering with, hindering, obstructing or stopping any person going to or from the company's place of business. On April 29, 12 prominent labor leaders in Chicago—including Charles Dold, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor ; Shea; and 10 other local Teamster presidents—were indicted on six counts of conspiracy to restrain trade, commit violence, and prevent citizens from obtaining work. The unions appealed to President Theodore Roosevelt on May 7, asking him to investigate
7236-567: The metropolitan region after the Teamsters walked out. The strike eventually pitted the Teamsters against the Employers' Association of Chicago , a broad coalition of business owners formed a few years earlier to oppose unionization in Chicago. The strike was a violent and deadly one. Riots erupted on April 7 and continued almost daily until mid-July. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of striking workers and their supporters would clash with strikebreakers and armed police each day. By late July, when
7344-399: The one-year anniversary, September 9, 2007. Dozens attended "Field's Fans" rallies each anniversary from 2008 to 2012. Many Chicagoans felt betrayed by Macy's takeover of Marshall Field’s when the company began to change its aesthetics and customer service standards, and demoted many Chicago-based brands. In December 2006, Macy's reported 30% slower sales in former Marshall Field's stores;
7452-519: The other was taking bribes early in the strike. Charges of bribery were levied against the leaders of the strike as early as April 16, but were generally ignored. The unions levied their own accusations of bribery against the employers during legal hearings on May 12. The evening of June 3, Thorne swore out arrest warrants for Shea on charges of criminal libel for making in-court accusations of bribery. The arrest infuriated Shea. Late that evening, having made bail, he convened an emergency meeting of
7560-421: The other wholesale dry goods merchants in town. In 1887, Harry Gordon Selfridge was appointed to lead the retail store and headed it as it evolved into a modern department store . That same year, Field personally obtained Leiter's remaining interest in the 1879 Singer building and in 1888 started buying the buildings adjoining his for additional floor space. Marshall Field also had a child at this time. In 1892,
7668-504: The parents of Henry Field, Marshall Field III , and Gwendolyn Mary Field, who married Sir Archibald Charles Edmonstone, 6th Baronet ; Marshall Jr. and Albertine were thus the grandparents of Archduchess Elyssa (Edmondstone), Grand Duchess of Tuscany . On 22 November 1905, at the age of 37, Marshall Jr. incurred gunshot to the abdomen and died a few days later in hospital. The circumstances of his death are still uncertain, and proposed explanations have included suicide, domestic accident with
7776-444: The partnership in 1867 to focus on his own growing real-estate interests on one of the burgeoning city's important thoroughfares, State Street . His brother, Milton Palmer, left at this time as well. The store was renamed Field, Leiter & Company , sometimes referred to as "Field & Leiter". The buyout, however, did not bring an end to Potter Palmer's association with the firm. In 1868, Palmer convinced Field and Leiter to lease
7884-725: The purchase of Halle Brothers Co. , a leading department store in Cleveland , Ohio . Field's also continued to expand its hometown base in Illinois, opening a store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg in 1971. CherryVale Mall in Rockford and Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills followed in 1973, and stores at Water Tower Place in Chicago and Fox Valley Mall in Aurora opened in 1975. The suburban expansion continued in 1976 with
7992-473: The reactionary publisher of the Chicago Evening Post . The writs were sweeping in nature. One of the first, if interpreted literally and enforced, would have stripped the unions of their rights to strike: :You are enjoined and restrained from in any manner molesting, interfering with, hindering, obstructing or stopping any of Montgomery Ward & Co.'s agents, servants and employés in
8100-410: The secretary. The EA's goal was to secure the open shop , resist unionization, and break unions in workplaces where they existed. The EA was heavily funded by the city's banks and by large companies such as Rand McNally . The Teamsters quickly became the target of the EA. The Teamsters were one of the largest unions in Chicago. But since the Teamsters controlled the city's transportation network,
8208-400: The store's gaslights. The men worked on by candlelight and the glow from the approaching flames. The employees got enough steam up to operate the store's powerful pumps in the basement, and volunteers went to the roof and used the store's fire hoses to wet down the roof and the wall on the side of the oncoming fire. Early in the following morning however, the city's waterworks burned, thus ending
8316-601: The strike ended, 21 people had been killed and a total of 416 injured. It was the second-most deadly labor dispute in 20th-century American history, surpassed only by the East St. Louis Riot of 1917. Court testimony in late summer revealed that various businessmen (including the general manager of Montgomery Ward) had taken bribes to lock out their workers. The testimony also revealed that union leaders had asked for and received bribes to end their strikes. The testimony significantly undercut public support for labor unions, and
8424-403: The strike quickly collapsed. The strike is generally considered to have lasted 103 days from the date the Teamsters entered the fray on April 6 until its conclusion on July 19, when most unions voted to withdraw from the dispute. The strike is considered one of the most important of early 20th-century American history because of its violence, the strength and depth of inter-union solidarity, and
8532-476: The strike, that the bribes had been delivered, and that Driscoll had skimmed portions of these bribes into his own pocket. $ 50,000 in canceled checks were produced in court to support Driscoll's claims. Driscoll's accusations unleashed a flood of allegations by other witnesses. Shea and another Teamsters leader, Albert Young, accused Thorne and other employers of offering them bribes to strike business competitors, and offered evidence in court of previous bribes which
8640-576: The strikebreakers. On May 7, 1903, the union struck the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company . Kellogg Switchboard, too, locked out its workforce and hired strikebreakers. The Teamsters Joint Council of Chicago, a citywide organization of all Teamster locals in the Chicago area, began a sympathy strike on June 24, 1903. The three employers sought injunctions against the sympathy strike, which they won on July 20, 1903. The Brass Molders' strike collapsed soon afterward. During this strike,
8748-899: The structure was renovated and reopened in 1998 as a replacement for Nordstrom's own Seattle parent store. BATUS closed its Gimbels division in 1986 and transferred five former Gimbels locations in Wisconsin to its Marshall Field's division: downtown Milwaukee, Northridge Mall and Southridge Mall in Milwaukee, Hilldale Shopping Center in Madison and in downtown Appleton . The former Gimbels Northridge and Southridge locations were retained by Field's for only three years; due to poor performance, they were sold in 1989 to H.C. Prange Co. of Sheboygan. The Evanston and Oak Park stores were closed in 1986, their 1929 buildings deemed out of date and too costly to operate. A major restoration and renovation of
8856-492: The structures between the 1879 building on State Street and Wabash Avenue to the east were demolished and the famous influential architect Daniel H. Burnham and his firm D.H. Burnham & Company was commissioned to erect a new building in anticipation of the influx of visitors from the World's Columbian Exposition scheduled for 1893. The nine-story "Annex" at the northwest corner of Wabash and Washington Streets has opened under
8964-504: The suburbs, including opening a store in 1950 in partnership with pioneering suburban developer Philip M. Klutznick (a famous Jewish leader and later U.S. Secretary of Commerce ) at his new Park Forest Plaza , which utilized revolutionary new concepts in land use and architecture. In 1956, Klutznick and Field's jointly opened Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Illinois , a center Klutznick developed on land that Field's already owned;
9072-532: The title of "world's largest department store" over John Wanamaker & Co. in Philadelphia and R.H. Macy & Co. in New York . In 1912, the 16-story Trude Building at the southwest corner of Wabash and Randolph was acquired and demolished, an act that was considered to be one of the first demolitions, if not the first, of a high-rise skyscraper of those just recently being built. In its place rose
9180-462: The union also went back to work in June and July. By August 1, 1905, the strike was over and the employers ended the lockout. The strike significantly strengthened the EA, which in the next few years fiercely attacked the Teamsters and other unions for corruption. By the mid-1920s, unionization rates in Chicago had fallen dramatically, and even the once-powerful Chicago Teamsters unions had shrunk to
9288-410: The union's support was also critical to the success of any other union's job action. In early 1904, the Teamsters aligned all their contracts to expire simultaneously on May 1, 1905. The EA then passed a resolution on June 16, 1904, declaring that no employer would sign a contract with the Teamsters after May 1, 1905. On December 15, 1904, 19 clothing cutters at Montgomery Ward went on strike to protest
9396-413: The unions organized a boycott of all banks involved in the fundraising efforts. With the garment workers' strike all but forgotten, the tailors' union asked that the other unions end their sympathy strikes. The Teamsters, the critical union in the strike, agreed to do so if the employers would agree to rehire all striking workers. But on April 23, Montgomery Ward declared it would defer to the decision of
9504-419: The unions, ordering them to stop picketing and return to work. Historians point out that court actions strongly favored the employers. When a wagon owner refused to do business with Montgomery Ward for fear the Teamsters would picket him, a court forced the team owner to do business with the retailer or be found in contempt of court. In another case, a judge seated a grand jury whose foreman was A. A. McCormick,
9612-586: The wages of the female employees were not representative of their role in the company and, therefore, became the subject of the 1913 Illinois Senate Investigation. Women were paid very low wages, the average being $ 5 to $ 8 per week. The "testimony at an Illinois Senate investigation in 1913 from spokesmen for the Illinois Manufacturers' Association ; banks; Sears, Roebuck ; and Marshall Field's revealed that most major employers paid women workers as low as $ 2.75 (~$ 85.00 in 2023)." Even in 1913, that
9720-565: The water supply and making further efforts useless. The last employee had scarcely exited the building when it burst into flames, shooting fire from every window. The store burned to the ground. However, as a result of the employees' herculean efforts, so much merchandise was saved that the store was able to reopen in only a few weeks (the Wholesale Department on October 28, and the Retail Department on November 6) in
9828-531: The way it dramatically weakened public support for unions nationwide. The Employers' Association of Chicago (the EA) was formed in 1902 during a strike against telephone equipment manufacturers. In January 1902, Brass Molder's Union Local 83 struck Stromberg-Carlson and Western Electric , seeking to win the closed shop in collective bargaining negotiations. The employers locked out the workers and brought in strikebreakers . Union members began to physically attack
9936-465: The wholesale division sold merchandise in bulk to smaller merchants throughout the central and western United States and at that time did six times the sales volume of the local retail store. Chicago's location at the nexus of the country's railroads and Great Lakes shipping made it the center of the dry goods wholesaling business by the 1870s, with Field's former partner from before the war, John V. Farwell, Sr. , (1825–1908), being his largest rival. It
10044-451: The world's largest department store, its many restaurants and separate men's and women's lounges becoming an important social destination for upscale Chicago. Shedd continued to expand Field's wholesale business and grew its manufacturing business, buying textile mills in the South in 1911 (see Cannon Mills Company ) as well as overseeing the purchase of the Marshall Field Trust's interest in
10152-468: The year for fear it would have imperiled the candidacy of Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne for Mayor of Chicago . Violence broke out and continued almost daily until mid-July. Riots occurred on April 7 when Montgomery Ward attempted to use wagons driven by strikebreakers to deliver raw materials and finished goods. The most serious that day involved 1,000 striking workers and sympathizers, who attacked several heavily guarded wagons on Union Street. On April 29,
10260-573: Was a sympathy strike and lockout by the United Brotherhood of Teamsters in the summer of 1905 in the city of Chicago, Illinois . The strike was initiated by a small clothing workers' union. But it soon spread as nearly every union in the city, including the Teamsters, supported the job action with sympathy strikes. Initially, the strike was aimed at the Montgomery Ward department store, but it affected almost every employer in
10368-406: Was arrested again on June 5, this time for failing to pay bond regarding the June 3 conspiracy indictment. Although the bribery accusations undercut both sides, public support for the unions suffered most. While nearly every union continued to support the strike publicly, most sent their members back to work by the end of June. The Teamsters continued to support the strike, but various divisions of
10476-477: Was badly affected by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but reopened relatively quickly. The company also survived the Panic of 1873 because of relatively low levels of debt. By 1881, Field had forced Leiter to sell his share of the business and changed the store's name to "Marshall Field and Company". Field took an early 19th-century consumer landscape that was centered around the principle of caveat emptor , or "let
10584-487: Was buried on January 19 in the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. In 1905, Field's fortune was valued at $ 125 million (equivalent to $ 3.29 billion in 2023). His will stated that after various bequests were made, Field's remaining estate was to be held in trust for 40 years for his two grandsons; 60% was to go to Marshall Field III and 40% to Henry Field. Henry Field died in 1917, leaving the Field fortune in
10692-557: Was co-founded by Field and John D. Rockefeller , to rival nearby Evanston 's Northwestern University . A bust of Marshall Field stands beside those of other early 20th century Chicago industrial magnates on the north riverbank of the Chicago River facing the Merchandise Mart . The company that Marshall Field founded was absorbed into Macy's a century after his death. Marshall Field%27s The company's flagship Marshall Field and Company Building on State Street in
10800-469: Was incorporated. Spurred on by Selfridge, Marshall Field razed the three buildings north of it, which had been occupied since 1888, as well as the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan -designed 1879 Central Music Hall at the southeast corner of State and Randolph Streets in 1901. In their place rose a massive, twelve-story building fronting State Street in 1902, including a grand new entrance. In 1906,
10908-448: Was needed. With no collective bargaining negotiations scheduled, much of the strike's activities occurred in the courts in May, June and July. Shea refused to appear in court to provide pre-trial testimony regarding the April 29 indictment. When threatened with jail for contempt of court, he finally appeared but answered all questions with variations of "I don't know." The injunctions also began having an effect. In late May, nearly all
11016-627: Was not a living wage. During the hearing, Marshall Field's revealed that it could double the women's salaries but refused to do so. Furthermore, women faced more mistreatment within the company such as sex segregation, which limited their mobility within the company. James Simpson was appointed president following Shedd's retirement. Though considered to have favored the declining wholesale division, he did expand its retail operations, first buying A. M. Rothschild & Co. at State Street and Jackson Boulevard in December 1923, which Field's operated as
11124-408: Was not. A number of other men confided to Gage that they were not willing to publicly disagree with Field, the wealthiest and most powerful businessman in Chicago. Field also opposed organized labor during the 1905 Chicago teamsters' strike . Field avoided political and social intrigue, instead focusing on his work and on supporting his family and his favorite causes. Field was a very active member of
11232-432: Was out of the path of the fire. The Company's drivers and teams were ordered out of the barns. Horace B. Parker, a young salesman, rushed to the store's basement, broke up boxes, and built a fire in the furnace boiler so that the steam-powered elevators could be operated. These employees worked feverishly through the night to remove vital records and valuable goods to safety. At one point, the gas tank exploded, which put out
11340-650: Was renamed Farwell, Field & Company. only for Field and Leiter to soon withdraw from the partnership with Farwell when presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Potter Palmer , plagued by ailing health, was looking to dispose of his thriving business, so on January 4, 1865, Field and Leiter entered into partnership with him and his brother Milton Palmer. So the firm of P. Palmer & Company became Field, Palmer, Leiter & Company , with Palmer financing much of their initial capital as well as his own contribution. After Field and Leiter's immediate success enabled them to pay him back, Palmer withdrew two years later from
11448-537: Was the first store to offer revolving credit and the first department store to use escalators . Marshall Field's book department in the State Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the " book signing ." Moreover, every year at Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of the downtown shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their ingenuity and beauty, and visiting
11556-406: Was the largest building in the world. The 1887 Wholesale Store designed by Richardson at Franklin between Quincy and Adams Streets was closed and demolished at this time. But the new building, faced with a change in retail distribution and wholesale patterns in addition to the deepening " Great Depression ", could not save Field's wholesale division. Simpson left the Company, and James O. McKinsey ,
11664-418: Was the scale of the profits generated by the John G. Shedd -led wholesale division during this time that made Marshall Field the richest man in Chicago and one of the richest in the country. Following the departure of Leiter, the retail store grew in importance. Though it remained a fraction of the size of the wholesale division, its opulent building and luxurious merchandise differentiated Marshall Field from
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