[Magdalen] Changing Tastes.

[Scott Knitter]

Ugh...can't believe it. I sometimes wonder how long Chicago will
sustain its flagship Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's) plus the one
not far from it in Water Tower Place.

The flagship Field's always used to amaze me with what all they had: a
piano department, a book department, even a stamp-and-coin collectors'
department...besides all the expected departments. I haven't checked
lately whether they still have their wine department. The tea
department was run by Whittard's for a few years and then closed.
There's a fine food court on the seventh floor and a less fine but
serviceable one in the basement. The seventh-floor one has annoyingly
short hours but features Rick Bayless' Frontera Fresca and Marcus
Samuelsson's Marcburgers. And there's still the Walnut Room and a
Frango Cafe. I think the Walnut Room would be the saddest casualty if
that store were ever closed for good.

I love being able to take a CTA L train (it's a subway downtown) to
Lake Street and walk right into the Macy's store without going
outside. One used to be able to walk right into Carson Pirie Scott via
the Monroe station as well, but no longer. Carson's is a rather
stylish CityTarget now and doesn't use that entrance.

On Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 4:47 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen
<magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>
>
> The last major store in downtown Minneapolis (MN USA),
> the iconic treasure that was originally Dayton's, then
> Marshall Field's, and finally Macy's closes this Sunday
> 19 March.
>
> This store was the flagship of the company that bought
> Marshall Field's and then rebranded all its branches
> that name before itself being bought several years ago
> by Macy's and rebranded.
>
> Along the way the Dayton Company gave birth to both
> B. Dalton (for Bruce Dayton) Bookstores, and Target
> the latter which in turn became the largest part of the
> retailer, and then  a separate entity.
>
> When I left the Upper Midwest USA 31 years ago,
> the down town sector was vibrant, with several department
> stores, including a large Nieman-Marcus store.  What has
> killed these old retailers is on line shopping.  Who'd a-
> thunk-it then?
>
> The final closure of what was downtown Dayton's is like
> losing a family member to someone of my generation.
> I wonder what's to become of the twelve story block-square
> building?
>
> There are a few smallish Macy's in some of the various
> shopping malls in Minneapolis, but they can't replace the
> real thing down town.
>
> I can still remember the familiar jingle, "Everything's better
> in downtown Minneapolis......"
>
>
>
> David S.



-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA