Arnold Constable
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Arnold Constable & Company was a
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
chain in the
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metropolitan area. At one point it was the oldest department store in America, operating for over 150 years from its founding in 1825 to its closing in 1975. At the company's peak, its flagship "Palace of Trade" in
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– located at 881-887
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at East 19th Street, through to 115
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– was acknowledged to be the store which took the largest portion of the " carriage trade", in New York, serving the rich and elite of the city, such as the wives of
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and
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.


History

Arnold Constable & Company began as a small dry goods store at 91 Front Street in lower Manhattan opened in 1825 by Aaron Arnold, who had immigrated to the United States from the
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. Arnold moved the business to a larger space on Pine Street, and took on partners, his nephews George and James Hearn, with the business being known as Arnold and Hearn until 1842, when the Hearns began their own store. James Mansell Constable was an employee of A. Arnold & Co. who would later marry Arnold's daughter, and he was taken on as a partner in 1842, with the store name changing to Arnold Constable & Company in 1853.Pearson, pp.85-86


Migrations and expansions

In 1857 the store moved into a four-story white
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and Common ...
palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
located at 309-311
Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
White & Willsensky, p. 103 with frontages on
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and
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Streets. A few years later as the country suffered from inflation, the store became one of the first to issue charge bills of credit to its customers each month instead of on a bi-annual basis. The firm continued to expand, and in 1862 added a five-story building at 307 Canal, as well as a fifth-story to the original building. The new additions were aesthetically integrated with the existing structure. Recognized as an emporium for high-quality fashions, the store soon outgrew its Canal Street store, and in 1869 the firm erected a marble building on Broadway and East 19th Street, designed by
Griffith Thomas Griffith Thomas (1820–1879) was an American architect. He partnered with his father, Thomas Thomas, at the architecture firm of T. Thomas and Son.
, in an area which would become known as the "Ladies' Mile" Shopping District. The store was one of the pioneers of this shopping district, being among the first to move there.Pearson, pp. 11–13 At the time, Arnold Constable was the second largest dry goods store in the city, and the building was called the "Palace of Trade" by newspapers. The building was expanded in 1872, adding carpets to its inventory and an upholstery department, and then extended all the way through the block to
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
in 1876-77 to accommodate a wholesale department. Arnold Constable was then said to be "one of the largest business establishments in the world," and the business was so profitable that the ''
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'' reported in 1897 that the company was the fifth largest real-estate owner in New York City. Among the properties the company owned was an office building at Fifth Avenue and East 18th Street, which connected to the firm's gigantic emporium. Despite Arnold's death in 1876 the business continued to expand over the years until it was necessary to follow the city's
uppertens Upper ten thousand, or simply, ''The Upper Ten'', is a 19th-century phrase referring to the wealthiest 10,000 residents of New York City. The phrase was coined in 1844 by American poet and author Nathaniel Parker Willis. Soon, the term came to be ...
population uptown and move into an even larger space at Fifth Avenue and 40th Street in 1914, the site of the former Vanderbilt mansion, and now the
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of the
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.


European expansion

Clark Lawrence Sharpstein (1807-1880) started was a clerk at Arnold's nephew's store before moving to Arnold, Constable when it was still on Canal Street. He quickly gained a senior position at the company, and was one of the drivers behind the move to Broadway. Arnold sent him on buying trips to Paris. In 1855, he established a Paris branch of Arnold, Constable, becoming a partner in the overall firm. He continued to run the Paris store until his death, except for a one-year leave in 1870. The European business also included a London store; a lithograph depicting that store is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.


Later years

In 1925, Arnold Constable joined with the specialty retailer Stewart & Company and expanded into the suburbs. In 1937, the first suburban branch opened in
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
. Later suburban expansions included locations in Hempstead and
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on
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and in
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. Most branch stores were in downtown areas, often in small shopping centers. There were 11 to 12 American stores in the 1960s before business declined, a victim of the growth of malls over standalone stores. Eventually, the 10 suburban branches closed. In 1961, Arnold, Constable sold its main store to the New York Public Library for its Mid-Manhattan Branch, but leased the first few floors back from the library to continue operating the store. By July 1974, it terminated the lease on all but the ground floor space. In March 1975, it closed down the main store altogether. Smaller mall stores continued and even expanded, under the ''NoName'' and ''Garment District'' brands. The NoName stores literally had no name and no logo. A logo design was trademarked but never used. In the 1990s, remaining operations were sold to Canadian retailer Y M Inc., which now operates US chains Annie Sez, Mandee, and Afaze.


The "Palace of Trade"

The second Arnold Constable flagship store now located in the
Ladies' Mile Historic District The Ladies' Mile Historic District was a prime shopping district in Manhattan, New York City, at the end of the 19th century, serving the well-to-do " carriage trade" of the city. It was designated in May 1989, by the New York City Landmark Pres ...
began as the second of two twin buildings with marble facades, both designed by architect
Griffith Thomas Griffith Thomas (1820–1879) was an American architect. He partnered with his father, Thomas Thomas, at the architecture firm of T. Thomas and Son.
in Second Empire Commercial style,Pearson, pp.83-84 the other being for the retailer Edward Hoyt, who moved uptown to the area at about the same time as Arnold Constable. Later alterations to the buildings have obscured their identical beginning. The Arnold Constable building grew by accretion over time, with sections divided by brick firewalls, but the interiors were kept as open as possible, supported by only cast-iron columns to allow for flexibility in displaying merchandise. In later years, sections would be connected together with courts naturally lit with skylights. As well as sales floors, the building contained warehouse storage space and workshops.Pearson, p.17 The first major alteration to the building occurred in 1872, with a extension along 19th Street, adding a side entrance. The "miraculous" two-story
mansard A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
roof was also added at that time. Four years later, another was added, bringing the building to Fifth Avenue. Griffith Thomas did both extensions, and followed his original design, except that the ornamentation was done in cheaper
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
rather than in the more expensive marble of the original building. In 1883-84, an annex was added on 18th Street, which was connected to the main building by a four-story bridge, and directly at the ground floor and basement. This building was designed by William Schickel in
Renaissance Revival style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...
. In 1894, a twelve-story tower, also designed by Schickel, was added at the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and East 18th Street. Originally intended for ground floor retail with manufacturing above, the upper floors were redesignated for office use before the building was completed in 1895.Pearson, p.222 After Arnold Constable & Company moved farther uptown in 1914, the building was converted, in 1915, for wholesale use. The "Palace of Trade" was well-thought-of as architecture. The ''
New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...
'' said of the completed building: "By a nice arrangement and symmetrical adaptation of all its parts the massiveness of the structure is pleasantly relieved, and the building thus rendered, from an architectural point of view, one of the finest edifices in the city."


References

Notes Bibliography * * *Pearson, Marjorie (ed.
''NYCLPC Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report, volume 1''
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...
(May 2, 1989)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold Constable and Company Defunct department stores based in New York City Broadway (Manhattan)