A few months ago, this Sears Roebuck Company building in Hackensack, NJ caught my eye. It looked like it would have done way back when. I was curious to know what year it was built and how it had missed being demolished for another more modern structure.
I found the following reference to the building in the New York Times of November 17, 1931. “Sears, Roebuck & Co. buy Hackensack Site: Department Store to Cost About $500,000 Planned for Plot in Main Street.”
The Sears Roebuck Company was founded in Chicago in 1886 by Richard W. Sears and Alvah C. Roebuck. Sears, a railroad agent, received an impressive box of watches and began selling them and other jewelry by mail order. Roebuck was a watch repairman who Sears hired as his business grew. Eventually, they founded Sears, Roebuck & Co.
The first catalog was produced in 1888. Eventually, the catalog carried sewing machines, bicycles, sporting goods and automobiles. Over the years, the company became the largest retailer in the U.S., a position it held up to the mid-1980s. Though it is no longer the largest retailer, the company has evolved into a major online retailer and a trusted source for tools, appliances, affordable clothing and other goods.
1888? Wow, I wonder what the first catalog looked like…
Yeah, me too. Definitely no color pictures.
Sears is one of those reliable places that shoppers can visit to purchase anything. They weren’t big on fashion for women, not for me years ago anyway, but I remember buying lots of baby clothing there when I lived in Texas. They issued me my first credit card.
Sears has touched all our lives in some way. They are an institution. Bought my first winter coat in Sears.