C.C. Dept. Stores: The rest of "The Big Six" Department Stores

Back in the day, Center City was "the" place to shop and boasted six major department stores. John Wanamaker was the oldest and the subject of another post. But on east Market St, there were five other stores.

Founded by Quakers Justus C. Strawbridge and Isaac H. Clothier, Strawbridge & Clothier opened in 1868 on the northwest corner of 8th and Market Streets in a building that was once housed Thomas Jefferson’s office while he was Secretary of State. The firm soon replaced the original structure and expanded into neighboring buildings as well (1st photo). In 1928, Strawbridge’s replaced its earlier corner building with one in a Beaux Arts style (2nd photo). Designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm Simon & Simon, it cost $10 million, nearly bankrupting the company by the time it was finished during the Great Depression in 1932. Strawbridges prospered for decades but the business was eventually sold to the May Department Store Company in 1996. It closed in 2006 after being in business for 138 years.

Directly across Market St. from Strawbridges was Gimbel Bros., a firm that began with stores in small towns in the Midwest. In 1894 the brothers purchased a large store at Ninth and Market that had been operated briefly by Haines & Co. Most of the Gimbel family moved to Philadelphia and made it their base of operations for years, even after opening in New York and other major cities.

The original store (3rd photo) was expanded along the south side of Market Street east to Eighth Street. A 12 story expansion was built fronting on Chestnut Street in 1927, making Gimbel brothers the biggest department store in the world at the time. Designed in the neoclassical style, the new wing (which was the men's store) featured an elaborate clock on the corner of 9th and Chestnut. The Chestnut Street expansion–and the clock–remain (4th photo).

By the 1970s, Gimbels Market Street store, consisting of multiple buildings cobbled together over the years, was too old and too big to function efficiently. Seeking to evolve with the city, Gimbels agreed to anchor the planned $200 million Gallery, which would be built just up the street. The new Gimbels opened in August 11, 1977. The old store was demolished, and despite many plans over the years for redevelopment, the site remains a large surface parking lot. Sales at The Gallery declined and Gimbels liquidated in June, 1986.

The third store at Eighth and Market was Lit Bros., famed for its block of five-story buildings and its mottos, “Hats Trimmed Free of Charge” and “A Great Store in a Great City.” Lits grew out of a dress shop opened on North Eighth Street in 1891 by Rachel Weddell, who became known for trimming hats free if the materials were bought from her. Two years later, her brothers, Samuel and Jacob Lit, expanded her dress shop into a department store.

From 1895 to 1907, the store continued to expand, with the company taking over the remaining buildings on the block of Market between 7th and 8th Streets and adding new buildings at either end of the block designed to blend in with the existing buildings.

With alterations and additions, the Lit Brothers Store became the only full block of Victorian architecture in Philadelphia, composed of 33 buildings constructed between 1859 and 1918, with a common interior (5th photo).

Lits positioned itself as a more affordable alternate to its upscale competitors. In 1962, they purchased the suburban locations of Snellenburgs. The Lit Brothers chain subsequently closed in 1977. In the 1980's the building was repurposed as office and commercial space. In 2008, it joined the National Register of Historic Places.

Completing the Big Six were two stores at Eleventh and Market St., N. Snellenburg & Co. and Frank & Seder. Snellenburg’s began on South Street (6th photo) in 1869 and moved to Market St. in 1889, occupying the entire block between 11th & 12th (7th & 8th photo). The company manufactured it's own clothing, allowing it to be sold for lower prices; its slogan was "The Thrifty Store for Thrifty People." Their clothing factory still stands at 642 N Broad St; the building now houses the Phila. Corporation for Aging (9th photo). Their men's store was at 34 S 11th St and was recently rehabbed to house Mom's Organic Market and The Design Center.

The last store to arrive, on the NE corner of 11th & Market St., in 1915, was Frank & Seder, a branch of a Pittsburgh store that also operated in Detroit . At twelve floors, it was the city’s tallest department store, save for Wanamakers, but was the smallest. It's slogan was "Follow the leader to Frank & Seder's."

The cost of staying competitive was too much for Frank & Seder, which closed in Philadelphia in 1953 (10th photo) and went out of business entirely in 1959. Next to fall was Snellenburg’s. In 1962, Snellenburg's branch stores were sold and rebranded as Lit’s, leaving just the downtown store. One day, that store abruptly closed, with customers being ordered onto the street at 2 p.m.