Silverwoods, originally promoted as F. B. Silverwood, after its founder, was a men's clothing store chain founded in Los Angeles in 1894 by Francis Bernard (F.B. "Daddy") Silverwood, a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship.
The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadian ...
originally from near
Lindsay, Ontario
Lindsay is a community of 22 367 people ( 2021 census) on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough. It is the seat of the City of Kawartha Lakes (formerly Victor ...
. He was a colorful character covered in the newspapers, a "songster" composer of popular songs, Shriner, and who famously married in 1920.
The first F. B. Silverwood store opened on May 8, 1894 at 124 S. Spring St., carried only men's furnishings, had four employees and had sales of $38,000 that year. Silverwood then moved to a larger location at 221 S. Spring St. The flagship store was established in 1904 at Sixth & Broadway. In 1920 the store removed to temporary quarters at 320 S. Broadway while the old store was demolished starting January 26, 1920. A new six-floor store was built on the site of the old one at 6th and Broadway. The new store opened September 1, 1920.
Upon opening in 1920 the flagship had the following departments:
*1st floor, hats and furnishings
*2nd floor, suits and overcoats
*3rd floor, boys' clothing
*4th floor, storeroom
*5th floor, general offices and alterations
*Basement, outing and work clothes; gloves
The company incorporated in November 1920. At that time there were four branches (Long Beach, Bakersfield, Maricopa and San Bernardino) plus the flagship. F. B. Silverwood died in March 1924. In later decades the store was purchased by
Hartmarx and focused on business suits until the end, later becoming out of sync with clothing preferences of Southern California men.
By 1992 when the chain closed, Silverwoods had grown to an eighteen store chain with branches across
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...
.
Stores
In 1973, Silverwoods branches were located at:
References
{{History of Retail in Southern California
Defunct department stores based in Greater Los Angeles
Defunct clothing retailers of the United States