Butler Brothers Department Stores Explained

The Butler Brothers Department Stores were a chain of department stores that opened in the 1950s.

Merchandising company Butler Brothers built 2 complete department stores in Ohio and 4 in Greater Los Angeles,^[1] and one each in San Francisco and Seattle.^[2]

Greater Los Angeles

• Lakewood Center (1952), 5252 Lakewood Blvd., 2 stories,,^[3] opened November 8, 1951 to more than 175,000 visitors in one day. Its first customer was film star Joyce Holden.^[4]
• Alhambra, 343 E. Main St., opened November 15, 1951,^[5] helping anchor its busy downtown, a key shopping district in the San Gabriel Valley. Closed .^[6] No parking lot. Later home to Nahas department store which closed in 1980.^[7]
• Ontario, 317–327 N. Euclid Ave., 55-60 employees, opened September 19, 1961, ^[8]
• Van Nuys 6609 Van Nuys Boulevard northwest corner of Kittridge, opened September 21, 1951,^[9] with total space.^[10] This would later become a branch of Dearden's, a department store selling furniture, appliances and jewelry aimed at Latino residents.

In the 1960s the Los Angeles buying office and plant was at 3030 South Atlantic Boulevard in Vernon, an industrial suburb of Southeast Los Angeles County.^{[11] [12]}

San Francisco

• Stonestown Shopping Center in a suburban area of the city of San Francisco.^{[13] [14]}

Ohio

• Cleveland metropolitan area, Euclid, Ohio, E. 222nd at Lake Shore Blvd. opened in April, 1951, originally a Scott-Burr store.^[15]
• Cincinnati, 616–628 Race Street, opened October 1, 1951. The store consisted of four sales levels and employed a staff of 200.^[16] Butler Bros. covered the Victorian storefront in a sleek, then-modern brick façade. The store had been A. E. Burkhardt's furriers, then Miller's department store, then a J. J. Newberry variety store. The Butler Brothers closed by 1960 when it was turned into a Kroger grocery; later the building was a Singer shop, then a Wurlitzer shop, then The Chong from 1988 until March 2020.^[17]

Washington State

• Northgate Mall, Seattle^{[18] [19]}

Federated Stores

The Butler Brothers Department Stores should not be confused with Federated Stores, also under Butler Brothers, which started which were ca. 1400 independently owned and operated department stores based on a common operating model and selling goods acquired through the Butler Brothers wholesale network.^[20]

External links

• Photo of Van Nuys location at Calisphere

Notes and References

1. News: Butler Brothers Southern California expansion . Valley Times . May 2, 1957 . 23.
2. Web site: Commerce . United States Congress Senate Committee on . Hearings . 28 March 2024 . en . 1962.
3. News: Open new $million store Thursday at Lakewood Park shopping center . 6 April 2024 . Daily News . 2 November 1951 . 17.
4. News: Butler Brothers Opening Attracts More Than 175,000 . 6 April 2024 . Independent . 9 November 1951 . 2.
5. News: Butler Brothers Alhambra ad . 6 April 2024 . Pasadena Independent . 14 November 1951 . 9.
6. News: From Boom to Blight and Back Again? Alhambra Hopes Redevelopment Will Bring Shoppers Back to Main St . 6 April 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 4 December 1988 . 681.
7. News: Blight:Alhambra Goes in Search of Shoppers . 6 April 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 4 December 1988 . 686.
8. News: Butler Bros. Store Opens in Ontario . 6 April 2024 . The Pomona Progress Bulletin . 19 September 1951 . 17.
9. News: Butler Brothers Will Establish Department Store in Van Nuys . 6 April 2024 . The Van Nuys News . 30 November 1950 . 1.
10. News: Butler Bros. Department Store Pointing Toward Opening Date . 6 April 2024 . The Van Nuys News . 30 August 1951 . 33.
11. Book: Stores of the World: Buyers & Buying Agents . 1966 . Newman Books Limited . 274 . 28 March 2024 . en.
12. Web site: Commerce . United States Congress Senate Committee on . Amendment to Section 202, Interstate Commerce Act: Terminal Area Exemption: Hearing, Eighty-seventh Congress, First Session, on S. 1978, a Bill to Amend Section 202 (c) of the Interstate Commerce Act to Provide for Partial Exemption from the Provisions of Part II of Such Act of Terminal Area Motor Carrier Operations Performed by Or for Common Carriers by Water in Interstate Commerce Subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933. August 4, 1961 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 28 March 2024 . en . 1962.
13. News: Dunnigan . Frank . July 2017 . Streetwise: Happy Birthday Stonestown . 6 April 2024 . Outside Lands . en.
14. News: Do you want to succeed? . newspapers.com . 6 April 2024 . The San Francisco Examiner . 6 July 1952 . 23 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240406175247/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-advertisement/144881504/ . Apr 6, 2024 .
15. News: Butler Brothers Euclid Ohio Easts 222nd at Lake Shore Blvd. (ad) . newspapers.com . 8 April 2024 . East Cleveland Leader . 25 September 1952 . 4 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240408044806/https://www.newspapers.com/article/east-cleveland-leader-butler-brothers-eu/144984809/ . Apr 8, 2024 .
16. News: Butler Brothers Preparing For Opening; Color Are keynote In City's Newest Store . newspapers.com . 6 April 2024 . The Cincinnati Enquirer . 21 September 1951 . 14 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240406160122/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-butler-brothers/144871922/ . Apr 6, 2024 .
17. News: New Department Store Open; Thousands Flock To Look, Many Becoming Shoppers . newspapers.com . The Cincinnati Enquirer . 5 October 1951 . 15 . live . https://archive.today/20240617193506/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer/144872100/ . 17 Jun 2024 .
18. News: Washington . newspapers.com . 6 April 2024 . The Spokesman-Review . 4 April 1954 . 103 . live . https://archive.today/20240617230629/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review/144881176/ . 17 Jun 2024 .
19. News: Bradfield . Patti . Thanks for the memories, Northgate . 6 April 2024 . The Seattle Times . 26 May 2005 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240406175247/https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/thanks-for-the-memories-northgate/ . 6 April 2024 .
20. News: New Owner Takes Over Federated Store . newspapers.com . Rushville Republican . 6 April 2024 . 27 May 1946 . 7 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240406161238/https://www.newspapers.com/article/rushville-republican-new-owner-takes-ove/144872892/ . 6 April 2024 .