Reich and Lièvre was a chain of stores across California in the early 1900s, focusing on upscale women's apparel, a format known at the time as "cloak and suit shops". Founded by Maurice Reich and real estate broker George Lièvre and based in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, it had multiple branch locations in that city as well as
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
(1530 Broadway),
San José,
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
(808 K St.),
Stockton,
Fresno
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.
In 1920, Mr. Reich bought out Mr. Lièvre, but the name was kept.
Locations
The Los Angeles store was located at the
Issacs Building
Issacs Building is a historic eight-story office building located at 737-747 S. Broadway in the Jewelry District and Broadway Theater District in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles.
History
Issacs Building was built in 1913 and it hou ...
, 737-745 S.
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
.
In Oakland, an expanded store opened in a dedicated, luxurious new building 1922. The architect was William Knowles.
In Sacramento, too Reich and Lièvre was considered a leading women's fashion store along with
Weinstock's.
Product lines
As of 1922, the Oakland store, for example carried (for women) gowns, suits, wraps, coats, dresses, informal frocks, millinery, hosiery, veiling, neckwear, handkerchiefs, underwear, petticoats, blouses and sweaters, as well as in new departments sports apparel, shoes, jewelry, handbags, gloves and corsets. The store also carried infants' wear, children's wear, and housed a beauty shop.
Epilogue
The retailer went out of business in 1927. The four-story, Oakland store became a branch of the Bedell chain.
In San Francisco, the 51 Stockton St. store near
Union Square became Reich's.
Reich's grandson, Jay Rich, as of a 1982 report, ran a chain of Rich's Women's Apparel stores in Sacramento, Carmichael, Yuba City and
Roseville, California
Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the United States Census Bureau, US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500, making it the third-l ...
.
References
{{History of Retail in Southern California
Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Defunct department stores based in the San Francisco Bay Area