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| What
in time became the Mandel Brothers department store had its beginning in
1855, when brothers Simon and Leon Mandel established a dry goods store
in Chicago with the help of a close relative. Within a few years,
younger brothers Leon and Emanuel were also made partners in the firm.
During the 1860s, business at the store, then located near Clark and
VanBuren, increased rapidly. Despite suffering tremendous losses during
the fire of 1871, the merchants speedily rebuilt and restocked their
store.
In 1874, Marshall Field persuaded the Mandels to relocate their thriving firm to State Street, where the more famous retailer had built his own grand emporium. Field was a firm believer that a rising tide (of pedestrian traffic) lifts all ships (department store revenues), and so apparently did the Mandel Brothers. The new store was located in the southern half of the Colonnade Building, located near the corner of State and Madison Streets. In the late 1890s, the building and its neighbor to the south were extensively remodeled. Among other changes, the street-level colonnade was removed and replaced by a series of two-story, plate-glass display windows. In 1912, after Marshall Field once again intervened to keep the store on State Street, an entirely new structure was erected. 
Mandel Brothers, State and Madison Streets, ca. 1915 The firm remained in business until the 1970s, opening a couple of branch stores along the way. Its former home on State Street now houses a Filene's Basement, a T.J. Maxx, and several other retail shops and offices. |
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Page authored: 3
February 1997 -
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