I. Magnin & Co.

Dates

• Existence: 1877-1995

Biography

In late January, Macy’s announced it had sold the famous I. Magnin Building in Union Square. At its prime, I. Magnin was a shopping destination among destinations and a place to shop and be seen shopping among the city’s elite.

A visit to The Chronicle’s archive turned up some classic images of the building’s construction and history, as well as I. Magnin’s earlier history — 118 years of it — in San Francisco. When the store finally closed in 1995, two of The Chronicle’s most well-known columnists of the 20th century wrote in its honor.

I. Magnin and Co. was founded in 1877 in San Francisco by Mary Ann Magnin and her husband, Isaac. Mary Ann set up a small shop in the city, where she made and sold fancy baby clothes alongside Isaac’s wood carvings.

The store moved around San Francisco’s retail hot spots, “gradually developing an exclusive clientele,” The Chronicle wrote in Mary Ann Magnin’s 1943 obituary. Advertisements for the store appeared in the pages of The Chronicle as early as 1900.

As the store expanded, “Mrs. Magnin saw to it that her buyers throughout the world kept her supplied with the choicest items.”

The signature I. Magnin Building, a 10-story white marble store, opened on Union Square in 1948.

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records: