Sears Roebuck & Company Department Store (Brooklyn)
| Sears Roebuck & Company Department Store | |
|---|---|
_01b_-_Sears_Roebuck_%26_Company.jpg) The building in 2019 | |
| Built | 1932 |
| Architect | Nimmons, Carr & Wright, with Alton L. Craft |
| Architectural style(s) | Art Deco |
| Designated | May 15, 2012 |
| Reference no. | 2469 |
The Sears Roebuck & Company Department Store is a landmarked former department store in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.
Description[edit]
The Sears Roebuck & Company Department Store is an Art Deco edifice of three stories, plus a 103-foot tower. The building is situated at the corner of Beverly Road and Beford Avenue in an L shape, with nine bays of grouped windows or entrances along Bedford and four along Beverly. Each window bay had a large display window, while the entrance bays are flanked by limestone piers and decorative spandrel panels that draw the eyes upward. The entrances are recessed to protect customers from inclement weather.[1]
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2024) |
History[edit]
Background[edit]
The town of Flatbush was annexed by the neighboring city of Brooklyn in 1894.[2] In the subsequent decades the area saw intense development, spurred by increasing transit. By the 1920s the intersection of Church and Flatbush Avenues was a busy commercial area.[3] Having started with mail order sales, Sears, Roebuck and Co. expanded to retail operations in 1925; by 1929 it was the third-largest retailer in the country, and it continued growing through the subsequent Great Depression.[1]
Sears opened its first retail store in New York City in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1930. They announced a new flagship store for the location at Bedford Avenue and Beverly Road in March 1932; the site was near the busy commercial area on Flatbush Avenue, and its location was chosen to target the "motoring shopper"—land in the area was cheaper than congested downtown Brooklyn, and it was centrally located between the established, older neighborhoods to the north and the developing, car-equipped southern regions.[1] Originally, the site was to have occupied two blocks, separated by the course of East 23rd St.; the road was not extended, and the blocks were merged.[1]
Construction[edit]
The site was originally occupied by roughly ten homes and car barns.[4] The Cheshill Realty Corporation acquired 25 parcels for the store through private negotiations in 1931–1932; the Brooklyn Eagle called the purchases the "Flatbush mystery". The announcement of the new store, coinciding with two others in Union City and Hackensack, New Jersey, was only made once all the land had been purchased.[1]
21st century[edit]
The building was designated a New York City landmark in 2012.[5] At this point, Sears was in dire financial straits; the company had merged with Kmart a few years earlier amid increasing competition from ecommerce, and under chief executive Eddie Lampert started spinning off brands and selling stores. In 2018, the company filed for bankruptcy protection,[6] and the store would become the final open Sears location in New York City.[7]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the parking lot served as a drive-thru testing area.[7] In November 2021, the Sears closed.[8] While the landmarked building is protected from demolition, Clipper Equity announced plans to build two seven-story buildings on the site for a total of 650 residential units on the remaining lot area.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Postal, Matthew (May 15, 2012). "Sears Roebuck & Company Department Store" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Music, Speeches, Good Cheer, All Combined, at the Flatbush Annexation Celebration". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 20, 1894. p. 24.
- ^ Campanella, Thomas J (2019). Brooklyn: The Once and Future City. Princeton University Press. pp. 300–307. ISBN 978-0-691-16538-7.
- ^ "3 Stores Planned By Sears, Roebuck". The New York Times. March 22, 1932. p. 38.
- ^ Newman, Andy (May 15, 2012). "City Room: Brooklyn's Art Deco Sears Store Is Now a Landmark". The New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Hsu, Tiffany (October 15, 2018). "How Sears Went From Gilded-Age Boom to Modern-Day Bust". The New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Sandoval, Gabriel (September 18, 2021). "Sears Closing Brooklyn Store, Its Last Outpost in New York City". The City. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ "Final Sears Store In New York City To Close In November Following Nearly 90 Years Of Operation". CBS News. September 21, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Lovinger, Joe (March 30, 2022). "Bistricer plans 650 units at landmarked Sears in Flatbush". The Real Deal. Retrieved February 15, 2024.