Herpolsheimer's Department Store
William G. Herpolsheimer came to Grand Rapids to be a partner with Mr. Voight (of Voight house on College Ave). They opened a dry goods store together on 1 Sept 1870. Later Mr. Herpolsheimer decided to start his own store. He acquired the empty lot at the NW corner of Ottawa and Monroe where the Luce Building had burned in 1902. (The Luce Bldg is where Central's first graduation was held in 1862). He built a new building there. In 1911 a 10-story addition was added.
This postcard view shows Herpolsheimers at the corner of Ottawa looking NW down Monroe toward the Pantlind Hotel. Postmarked 1910.
The original Herpolsheimer's on Monroe and Ottawa with the name shown on the
addition.
This building in the foreground would become Central Bank and be covered in Art
Deco black panels
In 1928 the store was sold to Hahn Dept Stores later called Allied.
After Herpolsheimer's relocated in 1948, this building was sold to Wurzburg's. It has now been replaced by a new art museum.
See also The Herp's - Herpolsheimer's Blog
RSS: Herpolsheimer's, Grand Rapids
http://railwaysurgery.org/Herps/HerpsTrain.pdf
1912 - 1-11 Porter Block also 25-33 Monroe Ave
In 1948 a new store was built at the corner of Division, Monroe and Fulton
replacing the Porter Block and the vacated Commerce ST NW. It shows
a corner of the Gilbert building beyond.
These two views are from the same direction, Fulton to the left, Monroe to the right, Division is the cross-bar
The old
The new
c. 1954 Sanborn map
We shopped in this store when I was a kid. You entered into a big wide glassed-in lobby off Division.
Just ahead was the counter where ladies' hose was sold. Alice Hall, her nick name was Pete, sold the hose. Each pair was wrapped in tissue paper in a cardboard box. Pete would pull a stocking out and put her hand in it so you could see the color. Some hose was silk, some cotton, some nylon.
There was a lunch counter room off to the left. That's where we ate.
Farther back was a double escalator that went right up to the posh Kent Room. That's where the rich ladies ate. We never ate there.
We'd go down to the basement where there was a walled-in take-out snack counter that served chocolate-malt ice cream cones!
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The Christmas train
http://railwaysurgery.org/Herps/HerpsTrain.pdf
At Christmas time there was a little train that hung from the ceiling and went around in a circle above Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Rudolph would kick his leg and a present would slide down a chute and his red nose would light up. I only rode the train once. It was really jerky but fun.
Although we did our daily shopping at the neighborhood stores, my mother took us downtown to the BIG department stores for Christmas. We took the bus. I liked the ones that had a few single seats up front across from the driver. I liked having my own seat although my mother made me give it up to any elderly old lady who got on after we did which I thought was most unfair.
We stopped at Herpolsheimer's Department Store who had Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer whose nose lit up when he talked to you. He would send a present down a chute with his hoof. There was a train that went around in the sky. I was only allowed to ride it once. It rattled and jerked. They had a Santa too but NOT the REAL one. He was really just one of Santa's Helpers, a big elf, dressed up to look like Santa.
There were more helpers dressed like Santa standing on the street corners ringing bells by big red kettles but they didn't give out any presents. Then it was onward as my mother dragged me along the snow-covered sidewalk while I struggled through the slush and on-rushing raised knees to our next stop Steketees Department Store. They had Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse who were too busy to talk while they hurriedly gave out presents.
Finally we would stop at Wurzburg's Department Store which had amazing window displays of houses and trains full of people all dressed up for Christmas who moved. There were also animals who moved. I had to watch each figure move in each window. Then we had to go up the escalators to the 6th floor toy department where we had to stand in a very long line surrounded by toys so I could visit with the REAL Santa Clause. I knew he was real because he had ridden in the Santa Claus Parade and when it was over, he went right inside Wurzburg's.
There was no property card just a few pages about when it was converted to
the City Center an indoor-mall concept that failed.
Herp's became Lazarus and was reduced to just the south side of the building
along Fulton while a series of smaller stores such as Vandenberg Jewelry were
moved in on the north side. The basement was converted into a food court that
included a relocated Andy's Fine Foods. It never caught on.
When it became an indoor mall
showing how it was before the mall.
Showing how it was before Herp's.
When Herp's became Lazurus, the building was combined with the Luman Building to form an enclosed mall with a basement food arcade. Many of the retailers left their stores on Monroe and Ottawa and moved in. A new parking ramp was built where the Cody Hotel used to be with an enclosed walkway. It failed. Now the parking ramp is gone and the mall is now the Grand Rapids Police Department.
Just south of this store on Division and Fulton was the Cody Hotel so of course I thought Buffalo Bill Cody owned it. It was torn down for a parking ramp which was just torn down for some new skid row art center.
The Gilbert building was at the corner of Commerce and Monroe. There was no
property card but the heading card was filed in demolished buildings so it must
have been torn down when the new Herpolsheimers was built.. When I was a child,
the Luman bldg was Ganto's Dress Shop. After the freeway went through and
destroyed central Grand Rapids, an attempt was made to save downtown.
From article Down Retail
From Heading History and the City of GrandRapids
From web site: MyCityofGrandRapids.info