Marshall Field's

Marshall Field's is a department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota with its flagship store on State Street in Chicago. Since August 30, 2005, it has been a division of Federated Department Stores. It was formerly a division of May Department Stores, which acquired it on July 30, 2004 from Target Corporation, until the Federated takeover of May Company.

Related Topics:
Department store - Minneapolis, Minnesota - State Street - Chicago - August 30 - 2005 - Federated Department Stores - May Department Stores - July 30 - 2004 - Target Corporation

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The founder, Marshall Field, first obtained employment at a dry goods store in Chicago in 1852. Field rose to become a partner in the company. In 1865, Field with partner, Levi Leiter moved to an old store of Potter Palmer's on Lake Street. In 1868, the two partners joined Potter Palmer in his new store on State Street and ran the store known as Field, Palmer, and Leiter. Shortly thereafter, Palmer retired from retailing and the store became known as Field & Leiter. The store burned to the ground during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, and under Field's leadership a temporary store was re-opened within weeks. In 1879 a new store was built that would grow to cover an entire city block on State Street. In 1881 Field bought out his remaining business partner and changed the store's name to Marshall Field and Company. (Leiter opened his own department store further south along State Street.) The architect of the store, Daniel Burnham (of "make no small plans" fame) was the planner of the Beaux-Arts rebuilding of Chicago and a leading figure in the planning of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and Field's store first reached national prominence at this time. In 1907 a new 12-story building replaced the older store, and in 1914 another new 20-story Store for Men was built across Washington Street. It was the largest department store in the world. The Tiffany Ceiling is the first ceiling ever built in favrile iridescent glass. With its restaurants and separate men's and women's lounges, this store became an important social destination. The company built the Merchandise Mart in 1930, which still claims to be the largest commercial building in the world.

Related Topics:
Marshall Field - Dry goods - Chicago - Levi Leiter - Potter Palmer - State Street - 1881 - Daniel Burnham - World Columbian Exposition - Tiffany - Favrile iridescent glass - Merchandise Mart

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Marshall Field's was the first American department store to open a buying office in Europe, which was located in Manchester, England. It was also the first department store to open a sit-down restaurant and the first to offer a bridal registry. The Great Clock at the corner of State and Washington streets is a common symbol of the company and the area.

Related Topics:
Manchester, England - Sit-down restaurant - Bridal registry

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The store's legendary iconography parallels the company's close relationship to Midwestern identity. The green shopping bags adorned with the company's signature script and the famous clock were the source of controversy following the chain's purchase by the (then) Dayton-Hudson Corporation in 1990 - new bags in (cheaper) brown paper received a storm of protest from the store's notoriously loyal following, leading the parent company to reinstate the green bags in short order. Every year at Christmas Marshall Field's downtown store windows are filled with animated displays as part of the downtown shopping district display.

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The State Street flagship was renovated in 2003 to great fanfare, with the store opening 10% of its floor space to outside vendors in a manner simlar to Selfridge's in London, a store founded by a former Field's executive whose building was based on the architecture of the Marshall Field's store.

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