![]() Entertainers performed throughout the store. Therefore, going to Lazarus was an event, and shoppers could participate in the excitement. The Lazarus family believed that a department store should be like a big circus, with 50 to 100 special events going on in the store each day. An escalator arrived at Lazarus in 1913, but customers were too scared to ride it at first. A former Harvey Girl managed the Lazarus tea room. Mirrors were set up so that store management could monitor salespeople and ensure that they were delivering good customer service. Lazarus initiated other noteworthy developments. The modern era of retailing had arrived in Columbus. The construction of this new building signaled that Lazarus wanted to be competitive in everything. Although there was only enough merchandise to fill the first three floors, the store had room for growth. In 1909, Lazarus built a six-story building at Town and High Streets. Starting as a switchboard operator, she later became an officer in the company. In 1905, Jessie Ross became the first woman to work at Lazarus. The accounts receivable concept was introduced at Lazarus in 1904. 1895 saw the construction of a power plant to provide electricity for the store. In 1891, the Niagara Soda Fountain allowed customers to take a break from shopping and enjoy refreshments. introduced a number of things that contributed to the store’s development. When Fred and Ralph Lazarus took over the family business - still a men’s store - they added a department that featured shoes for the entire family. Other than his brainstorm, he didn’t do much to advance the store. ![]() ![]() These ex-servicemen came into the store, bought a new suit, left their old uniform at the store, and walked out wearing their new clothes.Īlas, Simon was a good man, but he was no merchant. Soldiers returning to civilian life were eager to buy new clothes, so he drove a wagon to Rochester and brought home 200 suits to sell in his store. In 1851, Lazarus established the store that would become such an important part of Columbus history.Īfter the Civil War, Lazarus had a spectacular brainstorm. Lazarus invested in his half-brother’s store, later taking it over when he moved on to other pursuits. Meyers shared how Rabbi Simon Lazarus and his wife, Amelia, arrived in Columbus with $3,000. Setting the scene with this helpful background, Mr. This gave the garment industry something to work from in creating standardized sizes for men. The United States government published soldiers’ measurements, so manufacturers had access to them. The arrival of Singer sewing machines in the 1840s helped the industry grow, but the Civil War made it flourish. By the 1830s, the ready-to-wear industry took a revolutionary turn, when a Rochester, New York merchant created his own menswear patterns, made to sizes that he established. In fact, Elise added, Charles Dickens had his character, David Copperfield, visit a slop shop. Although the garments were made out of “shoddy cloth,” were of poor quality, and didn’t fit well, merchants didn’t care because they didn’t expect these customers to return. Next, he described “slop shops,” where sailors bought clothes when they came into port. It started in 1800, when Napoleon needed uniforms for his army and found women willing to sew them. Meyers began with an interesting description of the development of the ready-to-wear garment industry. Last night, David and Beverly Meyers and their daughter, Elise Meyers Walker, came to the Grandview Heights Public Library to share details about the history of Lazarus that they uncovered while writing their recently published book, Look to Lazarus: The Big Store. Lazarus was also the place where I went to buy the Bonne Bell Lip Smackers that my third-grade classmates and I wore around our necks (I chose “Sugar Plum”) and Lancome’s “Helsinki Pink” nail polish, my first real cosmetics purchase. Thirty years later, I still have most of the special English imports that I bought there. I steered clear of the Talking Tree on the sixth floor, but I loved shopping in the Liberty of London department on the Front Street Level. Lazarus was also home to the decorated Christmas windows my family went to see every year (these pictures show Uncle Steve, my cousin Mary, and me looking at them on Thanksgiving in 1977). I still hanker for Lazarus’s celery dressing, broccoli and mushroom chowder, chicken salad, “Mexican beef” sandwiches on toasted cheese bread, and vanilla ice cream balls rolled in pecans and covered in hot fudge. Many longtime Columbus residents have fond memories of Lazarus, the department store that was a fixture of the city for more than 150 years.įor me, Lazarus meant going to the Colonial Room and the Chintz Room, where five menu items became some of my most favorite dishes.
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