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{{Short description|American department store chain}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bullocks
| logo = Bullock's
| image = Panoramic view of Los Angeles from the Lankershim building, showing South Broadway (left), 7th Street (center) and North Broadway (right), November 1917 (CHS-5772).jpg
| image_caption = [[Bullock's complex|Bullock's Downtown]], 1917
| founded = {{start date and age|1907}}
| founder = John G. Bullock
| defunct = {{End date and age|1995}}
| fate = Merged into Macy's
| parent = [[Federated Department Stores]] (1964-1988)▼
| hq_location_city = Los Angeles, California
[[Macy's]] (1988-1992)▼
| hq_location_country = US
[[Federated Department Stores]] (1994-1995)▼
| areas_served = Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas
| parent = {{plainlist|
▲* [[Macy's]] (1988-1992)
▲* [[Federated Department Stores]] (1994-1995)
}}
}}
'''Bullock's''' was a chain of full-line [[department store]]s from 1907 through 1995, headquartered in [[Los Angeles]], growing to operate across California, Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated as many as seven more upscale [[Bullocks Wilshire]] specialty department stores across Southern California. Many former Bullock's locations continue to operate today as [[Macy's]].
==History==
[[File:Broadway at Night, Los Angeles, Cal. (pcard-print-pub-pc-61a).jpg|thumb|Postcard view of Broadway c. 1908, showing original store]]
[[File:Bullock's logo on bridge across St. Vincent Court, 2019-3.jpg|thumb|Bullock's logo on bridge across St. Vincent Court, 2019]]
'''Bullock's''' was founded in 1907 at [[Bullock's Building|Seventh and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles]] by John G. Bullock, with the support of [[The Broadway|The Broadway Department Store]] owner [[Arthur Letts]]. In 1923, Bullock and business partner P.G. Winnett bought out Letts' interest after his death and the companies became completely separated. In 1929 Bullock & Winnett opened a luxury branch on [[Wilshire Boulevard]], referred to at the time as [[Bullocks Wilshire|Bullock's Wilshire]] (the apostrophe would later be removed).
In 1944 Bullock's acquired [[I. Magnin|I. Magnin & Co.]], a venerable [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]]-based upscale specialty chain.
Starting in 1958, Bullock's built a series of four shopping centers initially called '''Bullock's Fashion Square''', small, elegant, and open-air, with large Bullock's stores dominating, surrounded by only around 20 or 30 much smaller specialty stores, such as [[I. Magnin]], [[Desmond's (department store)|Desmond's]], [[Mandel's]] and [[Silverwoods]]. The total gross buildable area of Bullock's Santa Ana, for example was {{convert|340000|sqft|sqm}}, versus only {{convert|238000|sqft|sqm}} for all the other retailers combined. [[MainPlace Mall|Bullock's Fashion Square in Santa Ana]] opened in 1958, followed by a Fashion Square for the San Fernando Valley (later "[[Sherman Oaks Fashion Square]]") in 1962, a [[Del Amo Fashion Center|Fashion Square in Torrance]] (later called "Del Amo Fashion Square") in September 1966 and [[La Habra Fashion Square|Fashion Square in La Habra]] (which uniquely included a [[Buffum's]] branch from the beginning) in April 1968.<ref name="auto">{{cite thesis |last1=Cole |first1=David K. |title=Main Place: a Look at a Multi-use Redevelopment |date=1976 |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/72729/13981564-MIT.pdf |degree=Bachelor of Science | institution=University of Illinois}}</ref>
[[File:Bullocks Wilshire Department Store Final Logo.png|thumb|Bullocks Wilshire final logo]]
In 1964 the then public-owned Bullock's/I. Magnin organization was acquired by [[Federated Department Stores]], much to the dismay of surviving founder P.G. Winnett, who publicly lambasted the deal (which was initiated by his own son-in-law, Bullock's President Walter W. Candy Jr.). In the 1970s, to differentiate itself from the full-line Bullock's stores, the very exclusive Wilshire location dropped its apostrophe, and became '''Bullocks Wilshire''', and began its own expansion.
In February 1970, Federated Department Stores replaced its Bullock's Realty Corporation, which owned and managed the Fashion Square malls, with an organization called Transwest Management;<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386225480/ "New division will advise retailers"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', February 15, 1970 p.151.</ref> Transwest sold the Torrance (future "Del Amo") Fashion Square in March of that year to new co-owners Great Lakes and [[Guilford Glazer]] and Associates,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/166009374/ |title=15 Mar 1970, Page 191 - The Los Angeles Times at |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=1970-03-15 |accessdate=2022-06-05}}</ref> while selling the three other Fashion Squares for $13 million to Urban Investment and Development Company (UIDC), who would sell them in 1973 to Bank of America Realty Investor and [[Draper and Kramer]] for $16.3 million.<ref name="auto"/>
[[File:Bullock's Former Dept Store logo.jpg|thumb|Bullock's logo between c.1980–1985]]
Bullock's, Bullocks Wilshire, and I. Magnin retained their autonomy under Federated, as well as their carriage-trade niche, with I. Magnin expanding into the [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] metropolitan areas and Bullock's opening stores in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]],<ref name=lat-1975feb23>{{cite news |url=https://
<ref name=wsj-1971jan20>{{cite news |url=https://
The end came quickly for Bullock's after Macy's filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992,<ref name=lat-1992jan28>{{cite news |url=https://
===Luxury market===
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|-
| 01
| [[Downtown Los Angeles|Downtown]] / [[Bullock's complex]]
| [[Broadway (Los Angeles)|Broadway]], 7th, and Hill Street, [[Downtown Los Angeles]] (freestanding)
| 3/4/1907
| 6/26/1983
| [[Jewelry District (Los Angeles)|St. Vincent Jewelry Center]]
|
| {{convert|350000|sqft|sqm}} at opening, added additional buildings over time, {{convert|806000|sqft|sqm}} at closing.<ref>[http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/9453/ "Bullock's Department Store #1, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA (1906-1907)", PCAD]</ref>▼
*'''1907''' (at opening) {{convert|350000|sqft|sqm}} at 641 S. Broadway.
Added more buildings over time:<ref name="pcad"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Bullock's Department Store Collection of Photographs: Finding Aid |url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0199q5xn/ |website=Online Archive of California |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref><br/>
*'''1912''': 10-story brick and concrete structure by [[Morgan & Walls]] with an almost identical (to the first building) brick and terra cotta facade. Adjacent to the north at 639 S. Broadway.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nomination form for Broadway Theater and Historic District |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/d41bca98-3f44-45c2-b049-ad3bce5f4c01/ |website=National Park Service - NRHP |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
*'''1917, 1919''' expanded to 460,000 sq. ft.
*'''1923-28''' Added 400,000 sq. ft. via three more additions and purchase of two adjacent buildings.
*'''1934''': Added Store for Men on Hill Street, its last large-scale enlargement; built bridge over Saint Vincent's Court.
▲
|-
|
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{{main|Bullocks Wilshire}}
Bullocks Wilshire was one of the more important divisions of Bullock's, Inc. until it was consolidated into I. Magnin by Macy's in 1989. The division could be traced to the opening of a single luxury branch store of Bullock's in 1929.<ref name=lat-1929sep26>{{cite news |url=https://
===I. Magnin===
{{main|I. Magnin}}
I. Magnin was acquired in 1944<ref name=lat-1944jul15>{{cite news |url=https://
===Bullock's North===
<!-- NOTE TO OTHER EDITORS: When this section gets large enough, please transfer information in this section to its own Wikipedia page. -- This section is about the Federated Department store division that only shared part of its name with the Southern California-based department store chain, but was otherwise unrelated. -- [[Bullock's North]] redirects to this section. -->
In the early 1970s, Federated wanted to move into the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], an area of the country in which they never had any stores and was dominated by stores owned by Macy's and Broadway-Hale.<ref name=nyt-1971jan20>{{cite news |title=Federated Stores Starts Division at San Francisco |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 20, 1971 |page=45 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/20/archives/federated-stores-starts-division-at-san-francisco.html |url-access=subscription |quote=Federated Department Stores, Inc., the country's largest department-store chain, announced yesterday the establishment of a new division. Bullock's North, in the San Francisco area. The first store in the new division, to be followed by others, will be a 15,000-square-foot unit in the Stanford Shopping Center In Palo Alto, Calif. It is expected to open by spring, 1972.
The first store in the division opened at the [[Stanford Shopping Center]] in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] in March 1972. It had 150,000 square feet on two floors.<ref name=wwd-1971jun11>{{cite news |title=Bullock's North About To Sign For 2 New Stores In Bay Area: Middle Price Market |newspaper=Women's Wear Daily |date=June 11, 1971 |page=11 |volume=122 |issue=113 |last=Cohen |first=Ben |quote=Bullock's North, the Federated Dept. Stores Inc., division building its first store in the Stanford shopping center here is about to sign for two more stores. For the time being, the Stanford store will be the headquarters. As reported, the Stanford unit will be 150,000 square feet on two levels. According to the president, Bullock's is setting its sights on the upper middle price market in the area. Retail observers here think a major battle is shaping up between Bullock's North and Macy's California.
A store was originally scheduled to open in Marin County the following year. Federated obtained property and even received clearance from the [[Corte Madera, California|Corte Madera]] City Council to start construction, but resistance by local residents was so strong that they were able to obtain a [[recall election]] and were able to eject the city council members that had voted in favor for the new store off the council and thus killing the project.<ref name=wwd-1976aug11>{{cite news |title=Bullock's sets first San Francisco unit: Stonestown is picked as site for store |newspaper=Women's Wear Daily |date=August 11, 1976 |page=19 |volume=133 |issue=29 |last=Cohen |first=Ben |quote=Bullock's North is planning its fourth store in this area and the first in San Francisco, in the Stonestown shopping center. Bullock's expects to build a 180,000-square-foot unit on the former City of Paris site in the center, with a multi-story parking facility next door. Apparently, the new unit will be a full-line department store similar to units in Walnut Creek and Vallco Park. Both stores recently opened furniture departments. The main store, in the Stanford shopping center, still has no furniture section, and is the smallest of the three, 150,000 square feet. Bullock's committed itself to a branch in the Corte Madera shopping center in Marin County several years ago, but the electorate recalled the City Council members who had approved the plan.
A year later, Federated closed the division and sold five of the stores and quietly closed the San Mateo store.<ref name=nyt-1983jul21 /><ref name=lat-1983jul21 /><ref name=wwd-1983jul21 /> Nordstrom purchased three stores while [[Emporium-Capwell]] and [[Mervyn's]] each purchased a single store.
Line 306 ⟶ 321:
<!-- NOTE TO OTHER EDITORS: When this section gets large enough, please transfer information in this section to its own Wikipedia page -->
In the late 1980s, Federated recognized that many of their young affluent women customers were unable to find youthful designer clothing in [[plus-size clothing|plus sizes]] and that very few stores were catering to that market, with the exception of [[Lane Bryant]], Federated decided to test the idea that the plus-sized market young adult market was under-served by opening a stand-alone shop called '''Bullock's Woman''' in an upscale Las Vegas mall that already held a full-line Bullock's department store in March 1987.<ref name=lat-1987mar06>{{cite news |url=https://
By 1992, other units were opened in Burbank,<ref name=lat-1992jul26>{{cite news |url=https://
==See also==
Line 330 ⟶ 345:
[[Category:1907 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Lists of department store branches by company]]
[[Category:Seventh Street (Los Angeles)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles]]
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