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Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
fleurblue
(---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: July 21, 2009 02:12AM
This was on Milwaukee Ave. just south of Diversey. The store was a complete department store. It had a women's and men's clothing area, accessories, hats, coats, a jewelry, cosmetic, and greeting card department. In the basement there was a barber shop, a shoe repair, a dry cleaners, toy department, and large appliance area. A beautiful home center was opened later stocked with china, cookware, nick-nacks, small appliances, and a basement featuring lawn mowers, fans, and seasonal items such as Christmas trees and ornaments. The store was spotless, well organized and well stocked. It was a favorite place for kids my age to buy presents for a reasonable price. We still have kitchen stuff purchased at Klaus. Does anyone know when Klaus first opened and when it closed?
BC
BC
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
Philomena
(---.frstil.dsl-w.verizon.net)
Date: July 30, 2009 02:05AM
There was a Goldblatts on Diversey & Milwaukee, with a lunchmeat counter. Is it the same building? I remember huge side-opening windows Goldblatts would open in the summer. The store would be terribly warm inside. The Goldblatts near Belmont & Central was cleaner.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
fleurblue
(---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: August 01, 2009 01:58AM
Klaus was about a block north of Goldblatts on Milwaukee Ave. Compared to Goldblatts at the time Klaus was like Marshall Fields on a small scale. Quite modern for that area.
I do remember Goldblatts with the salami and other food and candy sold on the first floor. Do you remember the old couple who sold popcorn under the stairway? The popcorn aroma filled the store. They poured a yellowish oil over the corn from a white ceramic coffee pot. Sooooooo greasy.
I didn't remember the large windows; it was very warm in the summer. The Woolworths next door was hot and had those ceiling fans which didn't do much. Both stores had creaky wooden floors.
I do remember Goldblatts with the salami and other food and candy sold on the first floor. Do you remember the old couple who sold popcorn under the stairway? The popcorn aroma filled the store. They poured a yellowish oil over the corn from a white ceramic coffee pot. Sooooooo greasy.
I didn't remember the large windows; it was very warm in the summer. The Woolworths next door was hot and had those ceiling fans which didn't do much. Both stores had creaky wooden floors.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
marfair
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: August 02, 2009 01:56PM
fleurblue Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This was on Milwaukee Ave. just south of Diversey.
> The store was a complete department store. It
> had a women's and men's clothing area,
> accessories, hats, coats, a jewelry, cosmetic, and
> greeting card department. In the basement there
> was a barber shop, a shoe repair, a dry cleaners,
> toy department, and large appliance area. A
> beautiful home center was opened later stocked
> with china, cookware, nick-nacks, small
> appliances, and a basement featuring lawn mowers,
> fans, and seasonal items such as Christmas trees
> and ornaments. The store was spotless, well
> organized and well stocked. It was a favorite
> place for kids my age to buy presents for a
> reasonable price. We still have kitchen stuff
> purchased at Klaus. Does anyone know when Klaus
> first opened and when it closed?
Information regarding Klaus was a bit vague, but the operation appears to have left Milwaukee Ave by the early 80s.
-------------------------------------------------------
> This was on Milwaukee Ave. just south of Diversey.
> The store was a complete department store. It
> had a women's and men's clothing area,
> accessories, hats, coats, a jewelry, cosmetic, and
> greeting card department. In the basement there
> was a barber shop, a shoe repair, a dry cleaners,
> toy department, and large appliance area. A
> beautiful home center was opened later stocked
> with china, cookware, nick-nacks, small
> appliances, and a basement featuring lawn mowers,
> fans, and seasonal items such as Christmas trees
> and ornaments. The store was spotless, well
> organized and well stocked. It was a favorite
> place for kids my age to buy presents for a
> reasonable price. We still have kitchen stuff
> purchased at Klaus. Does anyone know when Klaus
> first opened and when it closed?
Information regarding Klaus was a bit vague, but the operation appears to have left Milwaukee Ave by the early 80s.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
fleurblue
(---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: August 02, 2009 04:41PM
Marfair, thanks for the info. Hey, I'll try to be more detailed in the future--haa! Loved the place so much, just had to run on, and on, and on.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
jk
(---.apk.net)
Date: September 11, 2009 03:22AM
Klaus had a shoe store added on at the south end of the block. I took accordion lessons from a guy who was in that general area -- might even have been a second-floor office above part of the Klaus complex. Klaus was where you went for your First Communion suit and "good" pants.
Goldblatt's basement was also the cut-rate department. That intense buttery popcorn smell did fill the place.
Was it the Woolworth's or the Goldblatt's that had a hot dog counter near the front? And the Woolworth's had a long diner counter, and maybe some tables too. Triple-decker BLTs, cut on the diagonals into four pieces, speared with colored toothpicks, stood up on the crusts in a crown formation with potato chips filling the inside of the plate.
We lived around Belmont & Milwaukee, and Goldblatt's or the Logan theater were the southern limit of walking, with the Logan Square public library in the same area.
Goldblatt's basement was also the cut-rate department. That intense buttery popcorn smell did fill the place.
Was it the Woolworth's or the Goldblatt's that had a hot dog counter near the front? And the Woolworth's had a long diner counter, and maybe some tables too. Triple-decker BLTs, cut on the diagonals into four pieces, speared with colored toothpicks, stood up on the crusts in a crown formation with potato chips filling the inside of the plate.
We lived around Belmont & Milwaukee, and Goldblatt's or the Logan theater were the southern limit of walking, with the Logan Square public library in the same area.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
fleurblue
(---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: September 11, 2009 03:41AM
I remember the shoe store located between the main Klaus and the Klaus Home
Center. I thought the shoe store was privately owned and named Martin Bootery. I may be wrong about that.
The lunch counter as I remember it, was in the Woolworth along the front window. You have a good memory for the food served there--I don't remember eating there.
I remember the Logan Theater and the Logan Square Library which was our favorite even though it required about an hour walk pulling a coaster wagon for our return trip with a ton of books.
Center. I thought the shoe store was privately owned and named Martin Bootery. I may be wrong about that.
The lunch counter as I remember it, was in the Woolworth along the front window. You have a good memory for the food served there--I don't remember eating there.
I remember the Logan Theater and the Logan Square Library which was our favorite even though it required about an hour walk pulling a coaster wagon for our return trip with a ton of books.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
Way Back
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: October 03, 2009 01:22AM
My friend,, whose parents live at Milwaukee and Wolfram, told me the Klaus store burned down.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
LPLT
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: February 21, 2010 07:46PM
The Klaus was on Milwaukee, at Dawson, across the street from the original Abt Electronics. I lived about a half a block down, on Dawson, in the 1960s.
On February 1, 1985, there was a massive arson fire in the old Klaus building. Three Chicago firefighters died trying to put out the fire. The last time I was in the old neighborhood, there was still a memorial to the firefighters at the bank on Diversey.
I remember going to the diner counter at the Woolworths on Diversey. Goldblatt's and Woolworths stuff was cheaply made, compared to Klaus's stuff.
I used to blow my allowance on 45s in the Klaus basement, along with baseball cards and comic books at the Pawlowski Drug Store a block or two north from Klaus.
On February 1, 1985, there was a massive arson fire in the old Klaus building. Three Chicago firefighters died trying to put out the fire. The last time I was in the old neighborhood, there was still a memorial to the firefighters at the bank on Diversey.
I remember going to the diner counter at the Woolworths on Diversey. Goldblatt's and Woolworths stuff was cheaply made, compared to Klaus's stuff.
I used to blow my allowance on 45s in the Klaus basement, along with baseball cards and comic books at the Pawlowski Drug Store a block or two north from Klaus.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
sevinuv9
(---.194.252.64.snet.net)
Date: April 01, 2010 11:49AM
I loved Klaus! It had the best quality goods in the area.
And it seems this thread is following Goldblatt's, too. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of that store is the popcorn! I can literally imagine the smell and taste! Horrible stuff, but I have to admit, I liked it, and had some every time I went there. We didn't know any better back then, did we?
And it seems this thread is following Goldblatt's, too. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of that store is the popcorn! I can literally imagine the smell and taste! Horrible stuff, but I have to admit, I liked it, and had some every time I went there. We didn't know any better back then, did we?
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
YoungInChicago
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 03, 2010 03:15AM
I don't know if it was Klaus or Goldblatt's because I was very young but I'm trying to find out which store I "remember." It was within a short distance from our apartment at 26th and Spaulding. I thought on the corner but I'm in town and drove by today and am thinking maybe at Milwaukee and Diversey as opposed to Milwaukee and Spaulding. But what I do remember is it burned at some point between 1966 and 1969. However what started this whole memory game of mine is a classmate of mine died jumping on the rooftops in the apartments where I lived and I was trying to find information about his death in the paper. Does anyone know which store I'm talking about and where it was located or of the boy's death?
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
daveg
(---.lightspeed.joltil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 06, 2010 12:13PM
YoungInChicago Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know if it was Klaus or Goldblatt's
> because I was very young but I'm trying to find
> out which store I "remember." It was within a
> short distance from our apartment at 26th and
> Spaulding. I thought on the corner but I'm in town
> and drove by today and am thinking maybe at
> Milwaukee and Diversey as opposed to Milwaukee and
> Spaulding. But what I do remember is it burned at
> some point between 1966 and 1969. However what
> started this whole memory game of mine is a
> classmate of mine died jumping on the rooftops in
> the apartments where I lived and I was trying to
> find information about his death in the paper.
> Does anyone know which store I'm talking about and
> where it was located or of the boy's death?
There was a Glodblatt's on 26th street
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know if it was Klaus or Goldblatt's
> because I was very young but I'm trying to find
> out which store I "remember." It was within a
> short distance from our apartment at 26th and
> Spaulding. I thought on the corner but I'm in town
> and drove by today and am thinking maybe at
> Milwaukee and Diversey as opposed to Milwaukee and
> Spaulding. But what I do remember is it burned at
> some point between 1966 and 1969. However what
> started this whole memory game of mine is a
> classmate of mine died jumping on the rooftops in
> the apartments where I lived and I was trying to
> find information about his death in the paper.
> Does anyone know which store I'm talking about and
> where it was located or of the boy's death?
There was a Glodblatt's on 26th street
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
daveg
(---.lightspeed.joltil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 06, 2010 12:16PM
YoungInChicago Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know if it was Klaus or Goldblatt's
> because I was very young but I'm trying to find
> out which store I "remember." It was within a
> short distance from our apartment at 26th and
> Spaulding. I thought on the corner but I'm in town
> and drove by today and am thinking maybe at
> Milwaukee and Diversey as opposed to Milwaukee and
> Spaulding. But what I do remember is it burned at
> some point between 1966 and 1969. However what
> started this whole memory game of mine is a
> classmate of mine died jumping on the rooftops in
> the apartments where I lived and I was trying to
> find information about his death in the paper.
> Does anyone know which store I'm talking about and
> where it was located or of the boy's death?
There was a Goldblatt's on 26th street. Don't recall a Klaus. Building is long gone, replaced with a strip mall I think.
Don't know about the places on Milwaukee.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know if it was Klaus or Goldblatt's
> because I was very young but I'm trying to find
> out which store I "remember." It was within a
> short distance from our apartment at 26th and
> Spaulding. I thought on the corner but I'm in town
> and drove by today and am thinking maybe at
> Milwaukee and Diversey as opposed to Milwaukee and
> Spaulding. But what I do remember is it burned at
> some point between 1966 and 1969. However what
> started this whole memory game of mine is a
> classmate of mine died jumping on the rooftops in
> the apartments where I lived and I was trying to
> find information about his death in the paper.
> Does anyone know which store I'm talking about and
> where it was located or of the boy's death?
There was a Goldblatt's on 26th street. Don't recall a Klaus. Building is long gone, replaced with a strip mall I think.
Don't know about the places on Milwaukee.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
Berwyn Frank
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 06, 2010 10:43PM
Cizek Menswear was on the corner of 26th & Spaulding until somewhat recently. Kaplans Department Store was at 3409 W. 26th St (SW cor. of Homan). Is that what one you were thinking about? Klaus-Kaplans? Sounds somewhat the same. Lurie bros. Dept. Store was at 3535 W. 26th St (SW cor. of Drake). Zemskys, which is still in business, is just west of that.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
Berwyn Frank
(---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 07, 2010 02:40AM
Holy cow, I just realized something Dave. I think YounginChicago is refering to NORTH Spaulding not S. Spaulding which would be Little Village. It is odd to hear someone refrence a north side street as "26th & Spaulding," at least to a southwestsider like me. I tought only us soult side guise did dat.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
YoungInChicago
(---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: June 07, 2010 03:19PM
Thanks you guys! But nope it's South Spaulding in Logan Square area. As I said I was young so my memories aren't too sharp because I'm far from young now LOL I asked my brother who remembered the store as well if he knew the name and he said he thought it was ACE Hardware. But I just spent last week in Chicago (I live in KC now) and didn't see any of those stores so I'm not sure he's any closer to knowing that me. Plus he's a few years younger. I just remember two distinct memories, one is shopping at a store where I walked in a side door and it seemed like down a couple of stairs, which seemed to be the same side of the street as my "house" really apt. and the fire which we watched from our apartment and later got in trouble for being in, which again seemed like my side of the street and I remember seeing lots of windows on that same side. The vision that sticks in my mind is picking up a burned doll and seriously contemplating keeping it but then thinking I'd get in trouble. And I remember lots of ice, big chunks like the whole fire debris was frozen.
Someone on this forum helped me with information about the boy's death, which is incredible. THANK YOU!
Someone on this forum helped me with information about the boy's death, which is incredible. THANK YOU!
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
Elaine W
(192.175.17.---)
Date: June 07, 2010 09:31PM
YounginChicago--if you really mean Logan Square, then you must mean NORTH Spaulding. East/west streets on the south side have numbers (some also have names), but there are no numbered streets on the north side. Spaulding is a north/south street, approximately 3300 west. On the south side, Spaulding intersects with 26th street in the Little Village neighborhood; on the north side, the street that runs at 2600 north is Wrightwood. The intersection of Spaulding and Wrightwood is in the Logan Square neighborhood. Milwaukee Avenue, which runs on a diagonal, intersects Spaulding about a block north of Wrightwood.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
daveg
(---.lightspeed.joltil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 07, 2010 09:55PM
YoungInChicago
Some Community Maps that might help:
Logan Square
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/logan_square.html
Little Village - you might remember it as South Lawndale
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/little_village.html
Some Community Maps that might help:
Logan Square
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/logan_square.html
Little Village - you might remember it as South Lawndale
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/little_village.html
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
YoungInChicago
(---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: June 07, 2010 10:08PM
LOL I've never been very good with directions. It's Logan Square, whether North or South LOL As I said I just spent the week in Chicago so I'm sure about the Logan Square part. North, South....not so much.
Re: Klaus Department Store
Posted by:
billbryce
(---.dhcp.embarqhsd.net)
Date: December 27, 2010 06:28PM
I have been trying to remember Klaus's department stores name for the past several years and now I have found it............yeah.........
I grew up in Logan Square (northwest side guys) and remember it fondly.
My memory is really bad now days, but I remember how much I enjoyed growing up in Logan Square. I miss those old days. Basically the late 50's thru the 60's.
And if anyone remembers Karen Bolton and her family, please email me.
bill_bryce1@yahoo.com
I grew up in Logan Square (northwest side guys) and remember it fondly.
My memory is really bad now days, but I remember how much I enjoyed growing up in Logan Square. I miss those old days. Basically the late 50's thru the 60's.
And if anyone remembers Karen Bolton and her family, please email me.
bill_bryce1@yahoo.com
