Macy's Herald Square
R. H. Macy and Company Store | |
Location | 151 West 34th Street Manhattan, New York |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°45′01″N 73°59′18″W / 40.75028°N 73.98833°W |
Built | 1901 |
Architect | De Lemos & Cordes |
NRHP reference No. | 78001873 |
NYSRHP No. | 06101.001712 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | June 2, 1978[2] |
Designated NHL | June 2, 1978[3] |
Designated NYSRHP | June 23, 1980[1] |
Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is the flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan, New York City. The building's 2.5 million square feet (230,000 m2),[4] which includes 1.25 million square feet (116,000 m2) of retail space, makes it the largest department store in the United States and among the largest in the world. The store has an in-store jail, Room 140, where customers suspected of shoplifting are detained.[5]
The Macy's building was completed in 1902 after the store had occupied several previous locations in New York City. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was made a National Historic Landmark in 1978.[3][2][6]
History
Previous flagship locations
Macy's was founded by
As the business grew, Macy's expanded into neighboring buildings, opening more department stores, and used publicity devices such as a store
In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine (1850–1879), a nephew; and Abiel T. La Forge (1842–1878) of Wisconsin, who was the husband of a cousin.[10][11] Macy died just two years later in 1877 from Bright's disease.[12] La Forge died in 1878 and Valentine died in 1879.[10][11] Ownership of the company was passed down through the Macy family until 1895, when the company, now called "R. H. Macy & Co.", was acquired by Isidor Straus and his brother Nathan Straus, who had previously held a license to sell china and other goods in the Macy's store.
Move
The original Broadway store was designed in 1901 and 1902 by architects
Renovations
In 2012, Macy's began the first full renovation of the flagship store at a reported cost of $400 million (~$525 million in 2023).
In 2016, the company explored adding one or two towers to the building to house hotel or office space. The next year, it considered turning the structure's roof into a park.[20][21] Macy's unveiled plans in 2019 to build a 1.2-million-square-foot (110,000 m2) office building atop the existing store.[22][23] The following February, the plans were updated: the tower would be over 900 feet (270 m) tall and consist of 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m2) of space, including a sky lobby. The tower's construction would also include improvements to the nearby area.[24][25]
Incidents
In August 2014, Macy's agreed to a $650,000 penalty proposed by the
On June 1–2, 2020, during the George Floyd protests in New York City, 17 people attempted to loot Macy's Herald Square as part of a series of looting incidents around Midtown Manhattan but were thwarted by NYPD. The store had been boarded up on May 31 in advance of the protests, but looters took the boards apart.[27][28] Though physical damage was limited, The New York Times reported that it was symbolic of Macy's financial troubles, which had resulted after the location was forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[29]
Events
Macy's is noted for its elaborate animated holiday and Christmas window displays in many of its U.S. stores, but most notably at the Herald Square location. Each year presents a different theme shown in six windows on the Broadway side of the building. Each window includes animated displays with complex scenery, attracting thousands of viewers. Since 2012, the windows have been designed, fabricated and animated by Standard Transmission Productions,[30][31][32] based in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
In summer 2007, Macy's mounted a public art exhibition at the Herald Square flagship, using its windows to display pieces from fashion designers Misaki Kawai, Anna Sui, and John F. Simon Jr. Art Under Glass was viewable to the public through that year's fashion week.[33]
Other events include:
- Thanksgiving Dayand ends at Macy's Herald Square.
- Macy's Santaland: an area with Christmas decorations and toys where children can meet and be photographed with Santa Claus.[35]
- Macy's Flower Show: an annual spring event where flowers are coordinated to bloom as they are installed in the store.[36]
- Macy's Believe campaign: a
Partnerships
Through a partnership with tech retailer b8ta, "The Market @ Macy's" section features pop-up spaces for new brands.[38]
See also
- Macy's, Inc., for a history of the company formerly known as Federated Department Stores, owners of Macy's
- National Historic Landmarks in New York City
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
References
Notes
- ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "R.H. Macy and Company Store". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 11, 2007. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
- The Huffington Post.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Adams, George R. (February 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: R. H. Macy and Company Store" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 4 photos, exterior, undated (1.03 MB)
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ Evans, Stephen (March 1, 2005). "The death of the department store". BBC News. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ISBN 0-195-11634-8., pp.945-946
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2., p.1102
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5., pp.225-226
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0061350375.
- ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ "Top 2012 Retail Projects" (PDF). Architectural Record. September 2012. p. 32.
- ^ Palmieri, Jean E. (November 5, 2015). "Macy's Completes Renovation of Men's Department at Herald Square". Women's Wear Daily.
- ^ Fickenscher, Lisa; Weiss, Lois (January 7, 2016). "Macy's considers adding a tower to iconic Herald Square store". New York Post.
- ^ Fickenscher, Lisa (June 6, 2017). "Macy's considering turning Herald Square roof into public park". New York Post. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ Plitt, Amy (April 25, 2019). "Macy's will raise a skyscraper atop its Midtown flagship". Curbed NY. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ^ Chung, Jen (May 15, 2019). "Macy's Will Build Skyscraper On Top Of Herald Square Flagship". Gothamist. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ Londono, Vanessa (February 7, 2020). "Macy's-Topping Skyscraper By FXCollaborative Revealed, in Midtown Manhattan". New York YIMBY. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ Lovett, Kenneth (August 20, 2014). "Macy's agrees to pay $650G to settle state probe into racial profiling at its Herald Square store". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ McShane, Larry; Gioino, Catherina (June 2, 2020). "Nightmare on 34th St.: Videos capture scene as rioters kick their way inside Macy's flagship store in Midtown". nydailynews.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Brown, Lee (June 2, 2020). "'Hundreds' of looters rush into Macy's Herald Square store". New York Post. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Cerullo, Megan (November 19, 2016). "Photos: Go Behind The Scenes Of The Macy's Herald Square Christmas Windows". Gothamist. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ Cerullo, Megan (November 20, 2015). "Miracle on 34th Street Comes to Life in Red Hook". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ Cerullo, Megan (November 3, 2017). "Window Dressing". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ^ Nathan, Lillien (July 11, 2007). "Anna Sui Opens Macy's Art Exhibit, Loves Psychedelia". New York. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Security Tight As Millions Attend". CBS New York. November 24, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ Pisani, Joseph (October 23, 2020). "Christmas without Santa Claus? He won't be at NYC Macy's for first time in almost 160 years". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ Fox, Alison (March 24, 2019). "Macy's Flower Show set to bloom with space-age theme, thousands of plants". amNewYork. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ Davenport, Emily (October 27, 2020). "Macy's launches annual Believe campaign to benefit Make-A-Wish". amNewYork. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ Wolf, Alan (June 13, 2018). "Macy's Taps b8ta For In-Store Pop-Up Shops". Twice. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
Further reading
- Hungerford, Edward "Early History of Macy's" in The Romance of a Great Store (1922)
External links