Department store window photographs

The B. Altman Company was founded by Benjamin Altman in 1865 at 10th St. and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan's East Village and in the early 1870s, the retail establishment relocated to Ladies' Mile. As the department store steadily grew into one of New York's leading retailers, a larger premises was planned, opening in 1877 at 301 6th Ave between 18th and 19th Streets. In 1904, the New York Evening Sun described the Altman’s Sixth Avenue establishment as “one of the greatest stores in the world … a Bon Marché of the New World.” In 1906, the store relocated once again to a larger premises on Fifth Ave and 34th St. which was dubbed the "Palace of Trade...the store was organized literally by departments: women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing, lingerie, maids’ uniforms, linens, fine lace, and even art objects and rare books and manuscripts, all under one roof." Customer's flocked to the Fifth Avenue location, making B. Altman a pioneer on the development of the Fifth Avenue retail scene.



Upon the death of Benjamin Altman in 1913, the store was operated by his philanthropic organization, the Altman Foundation. However in 1986, the New York state tax code changed, making it illegal for a charitable organization to own a for-profit endeavor which funded it. Sold to other business entities, the company floundered, filing for bankruptcy in 1989 and shuttering its doors in 1990. The B. Altman Building located on Fifth Avenue was granted landmark status by New York City in 1985 and now houses the CUNY Graduate Center and for a brief period was home to NYPL's SIBL Library.

George Washington Taylor and Samuel Lord opened Lord & Taylor department stores in 1826 as a small dry goods company on 47 Catherine street in New York City. In 1853, the company moved into a building on the corner of Grand and Chrystie streets. By 1872, the stored had moved and opened two additional stores, one at 20th and Broadway, and the other at Grand and Broadway. In 1910, Lord and Taylor was purchased by United Dry Goods Companies, the parent company to the Associated Merchant's Company



By then, Lord and Taylor had expanded their building at 20th street to the end of the block at 5th avenue, making it the first department store to reside on the street which would later become a center of commerce. The company's final move came in 1914, when they relocated to a ten story Italianate building at 5th avenue and 38th street. The rooftop of this building was fitted with excellent employee facilities, such as an open air garden, a dining room, lounge, hospital, and gym. It was at this location that Lord and Taylor became known for its artful department store display windows for promotions and holidays. Lord and Taylor pioneered new retail policies in shopping for its time. They were the first department store with fixed-price policies, the first to include a steam elevator, the first who did not employ men to to entice customers to enter, and the first to open a branch in the suburbs at Manhasset. Lord and Taylor also opened the first juniors, maternity, bridal,and petites departments. Under the direction of retail executive Dorothy Shaver, Lord and Taylor launched "The American Look" campaign in 1932, becoming the first department store to promote the works of American fashion designers over Parisian designers.

Saks Fifth Avenue was an extension of Andrew Saks' A. Saks & Co. store, which opened in Washington, D.C.'s F Street shopping district in 1867. Horace Saks and Bernard Gimbel came up with "Saks Fifth Avenue" in the early 1900s but it took almost two decades for their creation to come to fruition. The first Saks Fifth Avenue store opened on September 15, 1924, and, as is still the case, sold high-end women's and men's fashions. Adam Gimbel became President of Saks Fifth Avenue in 1926 after the death of Horace Saks. Adam Gimbel was responisble for expanding the brand, setting up stores throughout the country. Gimbel retired in 1969. Affiliates of Investcorp S.A. ("Investcorp") acquired Saks & Company in July 1990. In April 2015, Marc Metrick became president of the company, and five years later, Metrick took on the title of CEO as well.

Best & Co. was a department store founded in New York City in 1879 by Albert Best. Part of the 'Ladies' Mile' shopping district, the stalwart Manhattan store expanded its footprint with locations in tony suburbs in the tri-state area before expanding to Washington, D.C. and Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1966, the chain included 20 US-based locations when it was acquired by a fashion conglomerate, McCrory's who closed and liquidated the Best & Co. properties during the 1970s.

Macy's is an American department store founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. In 1994 it became a division of the Dayton based Federated Department Stores and became affiliated with Blomingdale's department store chain. As of 2015, Macy's was the top U.S. department store chain by price sales. The flagship store is located at Herald Square in New York City.

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