Lost Chicago Department Stores (Landmarks)

Within thirty years of the Great Chicago Fire, the revitalized city was boasting some of America’s grandest department stores. The retail corridor on State Street was a crowded canyon of innovation and inventory where you could buy anything from a paper clip to an airplane. Revisit a time when a trip downtown meant dressing up for lunch at Marshall Field’s Walnut Room, strolling the aisles of Sears for Craftsman tools, or redeeming S&H Green Stamps at Wieboldt’s. Whether your family favored The Fair, Carson Pirie Scott, Montgomery Ward, or Goldblatt’s, you were guaranteed stunning architectural design, attentive customer service, and eye-popping holiday window displays. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, advertisements, catalog images, and postcards, Leslie Goddard’s narrative brings to life the Windy City’s fabulous retail past.