Phoenix was too small and too poor to have the grand department stores that graced mostly eastern cities. But it had some beloved stores, nonetheless. They were part of a dense, walkable downtown business district that also included scores of specialty shops, as well as national chain department stores. Here are a few of the most prominent locals:
Goldwater's: Born in Russian Poland, Michel Goldwasser traveled to Paris, then London, changing his name to Michael Goldwater and becoming a successful tailor. In 1852, "Big Mike" and his brother Joe set off for San Francisco. He eventually ended up in the mining town of Gila City, Arizona Territory., in Yuma County. He mostly worked as a peddler. After many ups, downs and wanderings, the brothers opened a store in Phoenix in 1872. It closed only three years later and the brothers focused on their store in the territorial capital of Prescott. Big Mike's son Morris was manager and the enduring slogan "The best always" was born. Morris, a Democrat, was also elected Prescott mayor.
A store returned to Phoenix in 1896, thanks to the pushing of Big Mike's younger son, Baron. As a Washington Post story said, "The Phoenix store offered not only reliable merchandise at low prices but the latest fashions from New York and Europe. Baron decided that pleasing the ladies was the way to economic success. Once he had the new store running smoothly, Baron became active in the civic life of his adopted town.
"He was soon elected a director of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and saw the Sisters' Hospital (now St. Joseph's) through some financial difficulties. He helped establish the Phoenix Country Club, the Arizona Club and was a founder of the Valley National Bank. In his late thirties, still trim and good-looking, Baron became the town's most eligible bachelor. His parents hoped that all their children would marry in the Jewish faith, but Mike's death in 1903 followed by Sarah's death in 1905 allowed them to marry whomever they wished." Baron married Episcopalian Josephine Williams, on January 1, 1907. Barry Morris Goldwater was born two years later.
Goldwater's soon became the swankiest department store in Phoenix. For decades it was located on First Street between Washington and Adams streets in the Dorris-Heyman Building. It moved to Park Central Shopping Center, two miles north, in the late 1950s. Above is a photo from a Goldwater's display window in the 1940s, from the McCulloch Brothers collection of the ASU archives. Goldwater's eventually grew to nine stores, including locations in Scottsdale, Tucson, Las Vegas and Albuquerque. The family sold it to Associated Dry Goods in 1963, but that didn't stop Barry from being pilloried as a "department store heir" in the following year's presidential election. In a famous Herblock cartoon, Barry towers over a poor family huddled in a doorway. "If you had any initiative, you'd go out and inherit a department store," he says. The Goldwater's name endured until the late 1980s.
Diamond's: Jewish immigrants Nathan and Isaac Diamond founded this Phoenix icon as the Boston Store in 1897. A big draw in 1931 was the installation of air conditioning. It wasn't renamed until 1947. Located at Second Street and Washington, the store featured women's and men's clothing, shoes, outerwear, housewares, and much more. It, too, made the move to Park Central in 1957, with a 200,000 square foot store. Other locations followed, including Thomas Mall, Tri-City Mall, Scottsdale Fashion Square, and Metrocenter. The Diamond family were among the founders of the Phoenix Symphony. The chain was sold to Dayton-Hudson, then Dillard's.
Korrick's: Samuel Korrick, born in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), opened the New York Store in Phoenix in 1895. His brother Charles soon joined him and the store thrived. When Sam suddenly died in 1903, Charles, only 17 years old, was left to run the store. Sam's funeral saw every store in town close out of respect. Young Charles was helped by a guardian until he reached adulthood, and his younger brother Abraham came from El Paso. The name was changed to Korrick Dry Goods, eventually Korrick's. By 1914, it was housed in a handsome three-story building.
Korrick's stuck with downtown longer than most large retailers, adding three more floors in 1957. It only opened a branch store at Chris-Town in 1961. Charles and Abe retired the same year and Korrick's was eventually sold to the Broadway (later absorbed into Macy's). The bulky modernized building at Washington and First Street is still standing. Underneath the bland facing is the grand architecture of the original store.
Switzer's: That surface parking lot on the southeast corner of Central and Adams was once the home of Switzer's, Phoenix's finest purveyor of women's wear and a favorite of my mother (and diagonal from her office). The store was founded by Walter Switzer Sr., born in Flagstaff but then his family moved to Los Angeles. After a stint as a delivery boy for a women's apparel company — he dropped out of high school — Switzer came to Phoenix and opened his first store in 1917. His business survived a disastrous fire thanks to help from other retailers — Baron Goldwater told Switzer he could use space in the Goldwater's mezzanine for as long as he needed.
A second store opened at Park Central and gradually replaced the downtown location. Further expansion took Switzer's to Biltmore Fashion Park, Chris-Town, Scottsdale Fashion Square and elsewhere. The company was sold to Dress Barn in 1994, seven years after Walter Sr. died and five years after Walter Jr. retired and transferred ownership to his children.
Hanny's: The three-story streamline-moderne building at First Street and Adams now houses a restaurant. But it was built by Phoenix's premier men's wear company in 1947 as a vote of confidence in downtown amid post-war uncertainty. It was the first major construction there since the Depression and World War II. Vic Hanny started the enterprise in 1912 and it moved from "dry goods" to being a department store. Although Hanny's carried a variety of designer labels for women and men, its specialty was suits and other men's clothing. The original location was on Central between Washington and Adams. Hart Schaffner & Marx called in his loan during the Depression, according to Vic's great-granddaughter. He quit-claimed the store, but "continued to pay the loan and paid it off even though he'd lost everything." Vic got a call informing him that the store was telling people that "Vic Hanny recommends...." as if he were still associated with the store. Vic was furious and went to court to have "Vic" removed from name of the store.
Porter's: Popularly remembered as a Western-wear store, Porter's also had a heyday as a department store with wide offerings. Located at First Street and Adams, near all the other department store (including chains such as Sears), the store traced its history to 1891. Porter's downsized in the 1960s, with its signature store ending up in Old Scottsdale.
Gallery — click for a larger image:
It's 1936, but Goldwater's looks prosperous in the building it shared with Dorris-Heyman Furniture at First Street and Adams (McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
The Boston Store (the future Diamond's) at Third Street and Washington in the 1930s.
A Boston Store delivery truck, circa 1930 (McCulloch Bros. Collection/ASU Archives).
Porter's in the 1940s. The impressive buildings behind it are the Hotel Adams and the Professional Building (McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
It's 1944, so wartime fabric restrictions are still in place. Still, the interior of the old Central Avenue Hanny's looks full of options, including for a world where men wore hats(McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
The exterior of the older Hanny's location on Central, before the larger building on Adams was built (McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
The lingerie department of the Boston Store (Diamond's), 1941 (McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
J.J. Newberry and Kress in the 100 block of west Washington 1941 (McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
Right down the street from Goldwater's was national competition: Sears.
In the 1950s, the new Hanny's is across Adams Street from Porter's. The corner where the photographer stands is flanked by Sears and Montgomery Ward (McCulloch Bros/ASU Archives).
The biggest new retail construction downtown after World War II was the J.C. Penny's at Second Street and Washington, complete with a big underground parking garage. This shot was in 1958, with the Fox Theater next door (Brad Hall collection).
A postcard shows the first Korrick's at First Street and Washington (Brad Hall collection).
Washington Street in the early 1960s shows the post-World War II Korrick's, left. Penny's and the Fox Theater are on the right (Brad Hall collection). Korrick's opened a second store at Chris-Town Mall and soon abandoned downtown. The building was still standing as of 2023.
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My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon.
Read more Phoenix history in Rogue's Phoenix 101 archive.
I'm an old man but I only barely remember some of these stores. The one I remember best is not listed here: JC Penney's at 2nd & Washington. It built a new store in the early 1950s. It left in the early '70s after building a new and much larger structure at Park Central. The City of Phoenix took the building for offices, which was eventually demolished for the Collier assemblage downtown.
It used to bother me that downtown Phoenix lost its department stores, which seemed to condemn it to a kind of limbo. But this seems increasingly like almost every city's fate. Denver, for example, had five major department stores in the 1970s when I lived there. By the early '80s, they had all moved to Cherry Creek, about three miles away. Downtown Denver continued to prosper but its sidewalks are not nearly as lively as they used to be.
Here in Portland, Macy's closed its downtown store earlier this year. There's still a Nordstrom's, some large discounters like Ross, and many clothing boutiques but the absence is noticeable. It had been, like almost everywhere in the nation, a local department store back in the day: Meier & Frank. When these proud totems of local economies were absorbed by national chains, cities lost more than a little of their local color. I felt some sadness when Marshall Fields closed - its flagship store on State St in Chicago was magnificent. Macy's - the winner in this national demolition derby - occupies this space today, a pale imitation of its previous glory.
I'll confess here to joining Amazon Prime a few weeks ago. I did it for a couple of items that struck me as too overpriced here. I was struck how much cheaper they were and how easy Amazon makes it to get them. So, is this our fate, shopping online? If so, cities will lose much of their allure and excitement. There will always be restaurants, brew pubs, coffee shops, and nightclubs, of course. But something vital will be lost once real-world retail departs. Cities evolve, needless to say, and this may be something we can mourn consciously without resorting to the toxic nostalgia that informs the right.
I remember from childhood how wonderful downtown Phoenix was. To young eyes the neon, peopled sidewalks, and variety of stores were pure magic. There's still some of that in Portland but it's not quite the same. People want to be around other people. All the money you save on Amazon can't fill that void.
Posted by: soleri | December 07, 2017 at 06:24 PM
OT, my instincts from years as an investigative journalist tell me the Trent Franks resignation is being done to cloak something much larger.
I vividly recall the excitement of shopping in downtown Phoenix with my grandmother. Thank goodness Seattle still has a vibrant downtown shopping district, including the flagship Nordstrom and Macy’s. Hope it can survive the online challenge.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | December 07, 2017 at 09:34 PM
Downtown: Phoenix as a desert Oasis, once upon a time was a good thing. Phoenix as a town I recall, starting in 1950 was Walkable and friendly. It had good shops and good movie theaters. And it had Tom's Tavern.
I recall old timers talking about how the winter freeze had likely killed off Black Widow eggs. I recall selling scorpions to ASC's Dr. Stahnke. And desert tortoises being fed wet lettuce in folks back yards. And how I envied Soleri's house with the inside and outside fish pond.
Today Phoenix is a huge ugly quagmire of tall buildings engulfed in some of the planets worst air. As I travel the streets its obvious like most "evolving" cities Phoenix is unable to keep up with infrastructure demands. So its citizens continue to sink into the deepening piles of shit that accumulates from the sedentary types that squat down there. Currently I live on the edge of the valley closer to the desert and during the holidays will travel further into the desert and nearer to Mexico to seek out another place for my home on wheels (white man's tepee). I yearn to be more involved the coyotes and other like characters. I seek to observe a Horn Toad again as the Valley of the Sun has virtually genocided such great creatures.
May the new year see the rise of hunter gathers not machines.
Donald Trump appears almost sane along side the likes of AZ pols Franks and Ward. Must have been the CHEM trails go to him.
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 08, 2017 at 09:58 AM
Excellent article and just another reminder of the important role, that immigrants played in founding our cities. A very common thread is that in many of our big cities, you will find it was the Jewish immigrants who laid the foundations for their successful commerce and business districts. An example is New York City's garment district and jewelry industry. It's interesting (and sad) to be able to walk in downtown Phoenix and see where many of these businesses used to be, and what has come of it since.
Posted by: A. J. Edmondson | December 08, 2017 at 10:49 AM
Paul Ryan apparently told Franks to resign. If he was genuinely only interested in finding a surrogate, he could have used an agency that specializes in that area. This story suggests Franks went beyond the pale in some significant way. His CD will still have a culture-warrior zealot once he's gone, of course. The tragedy isn't that a mediocre holy roller got in over his head. It's that Arizona and the nation elect such blowhards in the first place.
Posted by: soleri | December 08, 2017 at 02:42 PM
Any clues as to where Franks got his hands on the $5 million he offered the "surrogate"?
Posted by: B. Franklin | December 08, 2017 at 03:12 PM
Ayn Rand named him in her will.
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 08, 2017 at 03:57 PM
Okay, AZCentral reported Frank's net worth as $33 million. I forgot he had an oil drilling business.
Posted by: soleri | December 08, 2017 at 05:00 PM
Trent Franks, you sick pup
Burn in hell, twisted hair lip
Eighth district hates you
Posted by: Kim formerly of El Mirage | December 09, 2017 at 12:24 AM
Kim, physical deformative comment not necessary!!
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 09, 2017 at 10:45 AM
RC-just watched Ben Bradlee movie and assume your instincts are same as his.Every politician is lying to you.:>)
Wasn't the Boston Stores still open after Diamonds opened?Since my first wife was an assistant buyer with Diamond's,anything about them catches my attention.
Posted by: Mike Doughty | December 10, 2017 at 01:39 PM
Mike, I believe all the Boston Stores became Diamond's in 1947. Friend of the blog, the late Jim Hamblin, was a Diamond's executive and I'm sorry he can't provide his perspective.
As for "The Post," Bradlee is right. I met him at a party at the Post back in the 1990s. My axiom is that everyone who wants to be in the paper shouldn't be, and everyone who doesn't want to be in the paper should be.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | December 10, 2017 at 03:00 PM
Cal, all is fair in love and haiku, even if a little off-colour or rude. Doesn't it say so in the constitution?
Posted by: NormW | December 10, 2017 at 07:13 PM
IMHO, physical deformities are off limits.
As are mental deficiencies unless you are the leader of the planets most dangerous country.
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 10, 2017 at 10:47 PM
Cal is right. I have to affinity for Franks' single issue politics or holier-than-thou attitude, but don't make light of his lip. He apparently was born with a cleft palate - not his fault.
Posted by: Jack | December 11, 2017 at 03:46 PM
Thanks Jack!
and
How a home environment grows a mental dangerous psychotic mind.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/gangster-capitalism-nostalgic-authoritarianism-trumps-america/
and will lead to this: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/coming-constitutional-crisis/
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 12, 2017 at 10:48 AM
Cal, I read your two links, which was not easy given the high jargon-to-content ratio in both of them. I have no way of knowing whether there's feasible left-wing politics in this nation because I have yet to see any examples of it outside a few city councils in small college towns. I think if there's a left-wing renaissance in this country, it will result from having mastered plain-speaking communications since I can't imagine many citizens comprehending what the hell it's talking about in the essays to which you linked.
To a certain extent, Bernie Sanders understood this problem and he generated a great deal of enthusiasm with his direct style. Still, there's always going to be a problem when one person is deemed to have all the answers. Religion can get away with this conceit much better than political movements. There are untold numbers of stubborn voters in this nation who will resist unto death the moralistic prescriptions of other people. Fuzzy messaging is a necessity for this reason. I know this drives ideologues crazy but not everyone is on the same page.
We have had two national catastrophes in the past 17 years. The first was George W Bush's selection in 2000 and the second was Russia successfully installing a reality-TV troll as president in 2016. In both cases, the razor-thin margins pointed out how critical it is that the progressive coalition coheres given the huge structural advantages Republicans have in our constitutional framework. You know the story.
It mystifies me that a rump group of maybe 5% of the population excuses right-wing authoritarianism as preferable to "neoliberalism", and that they'll vote third party or not at all because their "revolution" can't wait. I'm not a hipster, so I don't really share that faith. I'm fairly sure this nation won't transcend grubby reality any time soon. In the meantime, I suggest voting as if the lives of other people matter - children, women, immigrants, the sick, the homeless, and our dusky-hued brothers and sisters. The sanctimonious left won't suffer that much under Republican rule but those people will.
Posted by: soleri | December 12, 2017 at 02:16 PM
I been in Phoenix for most of my life and well remember downtown Phoenix in the late fifties. I so enjoyed the article about the stores in downtown and the history associated with it. Thank you for the trip down memory lane!
What I do not understand is how in the world the article went from history of downtown to Trent Franks and all of the other political jabber that was included???? We hear enough political garbage every minute of the day. I do like me to stay informed, However I was researching early downtown history, not who likes Republicans and who likes Democrats.
Posted by: Deana Croft | January 01, 2018 at 08:56 PM
Correction: I HAVE been in Phoenix. Don't wish to be criticized like poor Trent Franks was. cheezzzz what is this world coming to?
Posted by: Deana Croft | January 01, 2018 at 09:08 PM
I'm one of those old timers....I was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in 1952 and I recall going with my folks downtown to do ALL of our shopping....I was one of those neighborhood kids that sold scorpions and desert reptiles to Dr. Stanke (he lived on the corner of Cambridge just one block away from our house in Sherwood Heights-circa 1960's)...thanks to Cal Lash for the memories.......
Posted by: Jeff Cook | May 30, 2018 at 01:04 PM
I just came upon this reflection of department stores in downtown Phoenix. Wow! It inspired a flood of memories from being born in Phoenix and living there for most of my life. My Grandma Ross used to take me shopping with her. We'd ride the bus from 24th Street and Thomas to Downtown. It seemed like a cross country trip at the time. She let me put 'the collection' in the coin slots and I was fascinated by the driver's coin changer. We would have lunch at a drugstore counter and window shop at Korrick's and Goldwater's. Her real destination was the Home Silk Shop where she'd pore through bolts of fabric and eye skeins of yarn and crochet thread. I'd sit on a stool and check out the McCall's and Simplicity Patterns. A few years later my mom and I went to Korrick's to purchase my Girl Scout Uniform. I wore it proudly to the 'fly up' ceremony at Encanto Park where I promptly lost my only two medals in the lagoon. Moving to St. Louis in the early sixties introduced me to a whole different kind of downtown, grand buildings such as Stix, Baer, and Fuller and Famous-Barr seemed like skyscrapers compared to Phoenix downtown. There were also incredible animated Christmas displays at these stores. While the stores are long gone most of the buildings remain in downtown St. Louis. I believe the National Blues Museum is housed in the old Stix building. The early 70s brought me and my midwest raised spousal unit back to Phoenix. Change! Crazy city growth and malls in every corner of the Valley. Still drawn to the 'old school' Phoenix I found professional wear at Switzer's in Park Central and Thomas Mall. Before PETA guilted me I purchased a lovely fox jacket at Switzer's which now lives in my niece's closet. After a 40+ year stint in Phoenix (forever my native home) we have transplanted ourselves to Portland, Oregon. As mentioned - the downtown Macy's in Portland has closed, but the downtown area continues to be a vibrant spot. Pioneer Place is a lovely venue. There are specialty stores on the city streets: an old time haberdashery, jewelry stores, a block of food carts, myriad restaurants, and a fine cultural district flanked by Portland State University. I miss the Phoenix that used to be, the one where I explored vacant lots and petted the horses on the next block; the one where we raised our children with the support of excellent schools, teachers, extended family. and our faith community. But, I love Portland, too. I don't miss the unbearable heat or the political craziness. I enjoy the rain, the rivers that flow with water, and the progressive fell of Portland. Again, thanks for the memories. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Dinah S Jones | August 30, 2018 at 10:23 AM
how nice it is to remember those old stores in downtown Phoenix. My mother used to drag me downtown with her to shop at Lerner's where i would stand outside and see neighbors and school friends and walk east a little bit and look at myself in the cobalt blue mirrors in front of the Russell Stover candy store. The movie houses we had back then, in the 1940s were grand palaces of entertainment, and there were so many of them...the Fox, Rialto, Strand, Studio, Azteca, Palms....I loved going to the Azteca with my Mexican friends. Even though my Spanish was limited Antonio Aguilar was just as exciting as Hopalong Cassidy and Lash Larue, and Maria Felix was as pretty as any Hollywood actress. Having a few cents to go to the Penny Arcade (where I wasn't supposed to go) was a special thrill. Ah, the memories those places conjure up. Thank you Cal Lash for bringing them back to me...
Posted by: Bob Phillips | September 02, 2018 at 08:58 PM
My parents and I are Arizona natives. My maternal grandmother was the Clerk of Superior Court in Phoenix.
When I was 15, I was a store model for Korricks, Diamonds and Goldwaters. In 1955. I loved downtown Phoenix.
Posted by: JeanAnn Morris | January 07, 2021 at 09:51 AM