Kaufman-Straus was a local department store that operated in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, from 1879 to 1969. In 1879, local
retail clerk
A retail clerk, also known as a salesclerk, shop clerk, retail associate or (in the United Kingdom) shop assistant or customer service assistant, is a service role in a retail business.
A retail clerk obtains or receives merchandise, totals bil ...
Henry Kaufman opened the first store on Jefferson between 7th and 8th. Four years later, Benjamin Straus entered into partnership with Kaufman. In 1887, the Kaufman-Straus store moved to South 4th Street in space leased from the
Polytechnic Society of Kentucky. The new flagship store opened in 1903, at 533-49 South 4th Street, designed by local architect
Mason Maury. In 1924, Kaufman-Straus was acquired by
City Stores Company and the following year the flagship store underwent extensive renovations. City Stores rebranded the company as Kaufman's in 1960. It operated two stores in suburban Louisville at The Mall and Dixie Manor. In 1969, Kaufman's was acquired by
L. S. Ayres, and the downtown Louisville store was subsequently closed in 1971.
The flagship store was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1983.
[ It is a six-story building.][ With .]
References
Defunct retail companies of the United States
Defunct companies based in Louisville, Kentucky
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky
Commercial buildings completed in 1902
Commercial buildings in Louisville, Kentucky
Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places
Retail companies established in 1879
Retail companies disestablished in 1969
National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky
American companies established in 1879
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements architecture
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