General Discussion Forgotten Chicago Forum
Feel free to discuss anything related to the website here.
Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Kchi
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 02, 2010 01:02PM
There has been quite a bit discussed in this forum on Wielboldt's. I always found the lower scale Goldblatt's interesting. Here are some links with a brief history. The stores I was familar with were at Chicago and Ashland, Belmont and Ashland and on Milwaukee and Kedzie.
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2683.html
http://chicago.urban-history.org/sites/d_stores/l_miller.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mss2400/431011360/
http://www.pbcchicago.com/content/projects/goldblatts_office_building.asp
http://www.dshistory.com/stores/goldblatts_chicago/
I was hoping for some discussion to identify all the locations. Any personal memories, especially from anybody who may have worked or shopped there. And especially any information as to what the old buildings are currently being used as.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2010 01:15PM by Kchi.
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2683.html
http://chicago.urban-history.org/sites/d_stores/l_miller.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mss2400/431011360/
http://www.pbcchicago.com/content/projects/goldblatts_office_building.asp
http://www.dshistory.com/stores/goldblatts_chicago/
I was hoping for some discussion to identify all the locations. Any personal memories, especially from anybody who may have worked or shopped there. And especially any information as to what the old buildings are currently being used as.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2010 01:15PM by Kchi.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
shoreline
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 02, 2010 01:11PM
We shopped at the both Lawrence and Broadway (Racine) and the Lincoln and Belmont locations. All of the Goldblatts stores were downscale in terms of interior decor.They were however very price competitive when compared to Fields and Carsons, etc. The current tenant at the Uptown locations is a bookseller.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
daveg
(130.36.62.---)
Date: December 02, 2010 02:21PM
South side:
There was a Goldblatt's on 26th street a few blocks west of Kedzie. It's gone now but I recall it being a rather large (several storied) building back in the 50s.
I'll guess many of these stores were of the same style, with the one on 26th looking similar to the Chicago Ave. store. Of course, the State Street store was huge. The building is now owned by DePaul University.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2010 05:03PM by daveg.
There was a Goldblatt's on 26th street a few blocks west of Kedzie. It's gone now but I recall it being a rather large (several storied) building back in the 50s.
I'll guess many of these stores were of the same style, with the one on 26th looking similar to the Chicago Ave. store. Of course, the State Street store was huge. The building is now owned by DePaul University.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2010 05:03PM by daveg.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Steve B.
(---.performancemetal.com)
Date: December 02, 2010 03:21PM
In the Back of the Yards neighborhood, there was a Goldblatt's on the southeast corner of 47th and Ashland. At some point (in the 1940s?) they moved across the street to the southwest corner to occupy four floors of a much larger building. I believe they had furniture and appliances on the upper two floors and everything else on the first two. As a pre-teen, I got caught shoplifting fishing tackle in the basement! Their snack shop served Richardson Root Beer from a large barrel dispenser. After being vacant for several years, the first floor now houses another business.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Kchi
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 02, 2010 03:41PM
I almost forgot about the Goldblatts at Belmont and Central across the street from where the Will Rogers theater was located. There is a food store called A&G located in the building now.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
deb
(---.nap.wideopenwest.com)
Date: December 02, 2010 11:40PM
There was a Goldblatt's in the Scottsdale Shopping Center at 79th and Cicero. I used to work summers at the State Street store in the 70's when I was in college. Not as classy as Field's or Carson's but they paid better.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
bwalsh
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 03, 2010 12:56AM
The one at Scottsdale shopping center was my "local" Goldblatt's. The first time I ever put anything on layaway was there. I remember it had a small little basement where the toy department was located. To reach it, you had to go down a real narrow stairway which had stuff displayed along one side of it. The store itself was only a one story building. It actually burned down just a few years after first opening in about 1953, but they rebuilt and were one of the last locations to close.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4105174166/in/set-72157623109336484/
Not sure if this link will work, but I have a picture of the store just before it was demolished recently. I tried to add the picture itself here, but it didn't work.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4105174166/in/set-72157623109336484/
Not sure if this link will work, but I have a picture of the store just before it was demolished recently. I tried to add the picture itself here, but it didn't work.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Kchi
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 03, 2010 11:49AM
Found this list of locations from a 1970 ad
3149 Lincoln
4722 Broadway
2778 Milwaukee
3601 Grand
5630 Belmont
3939 Madison
1615 Chicago
333 State
9100 S Commercial
8101 S Cicero
3311 W 26th Street
443 E 34th Street
3161 S Ashland
110 W Lake Addison
2430 N Harlem Elmwood Park
616 Hollister Rockford
1084 Mt Prospect Rd Mount Prospect
Larkin & Theodore Joliet
3057 W 159th Markham
250 Plaza Park Forest
McKinley Mishawaka
5206 S Hohman Hammond
645 Broadway Gary
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2010 12:04PM by Kchi.
3149 Lincoln
4722 Broadway
2778 Milwaukee
3601 Grand
5630 Belmont
3939 Madison
1615 Chicago
333 State
9100 S Commercial
8101 S Cicero
3311 W 26th Street
443 E 34th Street
3161 S Ashland
110 W Lake Addison
2430 N Harlem Elmwood Park
616 Hollister Rockford
1084 Mt Prospect Rd Mount Prospect
Larkin & Theodore Joliet
3057 W 159th Markham
250 Plaza Park Forest
McKinley Mishawaka
5206 S Hohman Hammond
645 Broadway Gary
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2010 12:04PM by Kchi.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
StrayKitten
(66.28.242.---)
Date: December 03, 2010 05:43PM
I remember going to the one at 91st and Commercial when I was little around 1958 or so. There were two things that I especially remember. One were the "calling bells" which sounded when they needed a staff member. I was told these were used instead of an intercom announcing names. Every now and then you'd hear a "ding ding" sounding.
The thing I remember best about Goldblatts was going to the basement after church on Sunday. The basement was where the food was sold. I remember the strong smell of polish sausage, and to this day whenever I smell polish sausage I think "it smells like Goldblatt's basement." They also had a candy counter where they would sell those big blocks of chocolate. And, freshly roasted nuts! Those are the only foods I remember our family getting there, but I know that there was a lot more offered!
The thing I remember best about Goldblatts was going to the basement after church on Sunday. The basement was where the food was sold. I remember the strong smell of polish sausage, and to this day whenever I smell polish sausage I think "it smells like Goldblatt's basement." They also had a candy counter where they would sell those big blocks of chocolate. And, freshly roasted nuts! Those are the only foods I remember our family getting there, but I know that there was a lot more offered!
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
captain54
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 03, 2010 07:29PM
the 4700 S Ashland store is not listed, and the 3161 S Ashland location was
a warehouse, not a store, according to this blurb from 1954
[i]"Goldblatt owns and operates a chain of 14 retain department stores. Of these stores, 10 are in the city of Chicago and one in each of the cities of Joliet, Illinois, Hammond, Gary, and South Bend, Indiana. It has a central office in Chicago, Illinois, where the administrative work in connection with Goldblatt's organization is performed, including the purchase of various kinds of merchandise usually found in a large department store. To service its 14 department stores, Goldblatt maintains in Chicago, Illinois, warehouses at 3913 South Wentworth Avenue, 3161 South Ashland Avenue, 201 East 63rd Street, and 328 South Wabash Avenue."[/i]
a warehouse, not a store, according to this blurb from 1954
[i]"Goldblatt owns and operates a chain of 14 retain department stores. Of these stores, 10 are in the city of Chicago and one in each of the cities of Joliet, Illinois, Hammond, Gary, and South Bend, Indiana. It has a central office in Chicago, Illinois, where the administrative work in connection with Goldblatt's organization is performed, including the purchase of various kinds of merchandise usually found in a large department store. To service its 14 department stores, Goldblatt maintains in Chicago, Illinois, warehouses at 3913 South Wentworth Avenue, 3161 South Ashland Avenue, 201 East 63rd Street, and 328 South Wabash Avenue."[/i]
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
liz
(---.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net)
Date: December 04, 2010 05:49AM
Goldblatt's sold those vanilla sugar wafers,devil food cookies and the chocolate covered graham crackers.my mom always bought those . they never lasted long. I also remember the marble loaf cake you got there.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
bowler
(---.chipublib.org)
Date: December 06, 2010 06:19PM
BTW, the old Goldblatt's store on Chicago and Ashland has been converted into the new West Town Branch of the Chicago Public Library. Memebers of the Goldblatt's family were there for the grand opening in September.
http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/west-town/
http://www.chipublib.org/aboutcpl/cplpr/2010/westtownopening.php
http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/west-town/
http://www.chipublib.org/aboutcpl/cplpr/2010/westtownopening.php
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
daveg
(130.36.62.---)
Date: December 07, 2010 02:22PM
bowler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BTW, the old Goldblatt's store on Chicago and
> Ashland has been converted into the new West Town
> Branch of the Chicago Public Library. Memebers of
> the Goldblatt's family were there for the grand
> opening in September.
>
> http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/we
> st-town/
>
> http://www.chipublib.org/aboutcpl/cplpr/2010/westt
> ownopening.php
On our West Town FC tour back in October, this building and its history was mentioned as we walked across the street from it. Great re-use of the building IMO. Thanks for the links.
-------------------------------------------------------
> BTW, the old Goldblatt's store on Chicago and
> Ashland has been converted into the new West Town
> Branch of the Chicago Public Library. Memebers of
> the Goldblatt's family were there for the grand
> opening in September.
>
> http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/we
> st-town/
>
> http://www.chipublib.org/aboutcpl/cplpr/2010/westt
> ownopening.php
On our West Town FC tour back in October, this building and its history was mentioned as we walked across the street from it. Great re-use of the building IMO. Thanks for the links.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Chipast
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: December 07, 2010 03:33PM
They somehow could have re-used the building for something else. The old Kraft Building on N.Pesthigo was a nice building too.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
(63.226.79.---)
Date: December 07, 2010 10:03PM
I'm pretty sure there was a Goldblatt's on Waukegan Road and Dempster Ave. in Morton Grove, next to where Par King used to be - there's a Bally's Gym there now. My old man used to go there to get David Berg hot dogs, in links twisted together.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
shoreline
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 08, 2010 12:58PM
Way Out,
The large department store at Dempster and Waukegan Rd was EJ Korvette. It occupied nearly all of the space in the strip mall. The company was a mid sized discounter based in Philadelphia named for Eight Jewish Korean War Veterans. The prime years for the operation were the 1960s.
The large department store at Dempster and Waukegan Rd was EJ Korvette. It occupied nearly all of the space in the strip mall. The company was a mid sized discounter based in Philadelphia named for Eight Jewish Korean War Veterans. The prime years for the operation were the 1960s.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Chipast
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: December 08, 2010 01:38PM
I remember going to that place in 1971 & Dec.1977, Around the time it was going out of business.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 08, 2010 03:59PM
Thanks, I kinda figured I had the name wrong!
Billy Boy Arnold wrote a song called 'I Ain't Got You', where he brags that he has a 'charge account at Goldblatt's', among other things. When the 60s British bands like The Animals and The Yardbirds later covered the song, they butchered the name since I'm sure they'd never heard of it. In the version by The Animals, it sounds like they're saying 'gold slacks'!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2010 04:02PM by WayOutWardell.
Billy Boy Arnold wrote a song called 'I Ain't Got You', where he brags that he has a 'charge account at Goldblatt's', among other things. When the 60s British bands like The Animals and The Yardbirds later covered the song, they butchered the name since I'm sure they'd never heard of it. In the version by The Animals, it sounds like they're saying 'gold slacks'!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2010 04:02PM by WayOutWardell.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
MIKETOUHY
(---.try.wideopenwest.com)
Date: December 08, 2010 08:26PM
shoreline Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Way Out,
> The large department store at Dempster and
> Waukegan Rd was EJ Korvette. It occupied nearly
> all of the space in the strip mall. The company
> was a mid sized discounter based in Philadelphia
> named for Eight Jewish Korean War Veterans. The
> prime years for the operation were the 1960s.
There was a Goldblatt's at that location later on.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Way Out,
> The large department store at Dempster and
> Waukegan Rd was EJ Korvette. It occupied nearly
> all of the space in the strip mall. The company
> was a mid sized discounter based in Philadelphia
> named for Eight Jewish Korean War Veterans. The
> prime years for the operation were the 1960s.
There was a Goldblatt's at that location later on.
Re: Goldblatt's
Posted by:
Deejo
(---.pools.spcsdns.net)
Date: December 12, 2010 03:11AM
The author Saul Bellow worked at the Chicago/Ashland Goldblatts growing up. He lived at 2200 W. Cortez.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2010 03:22AM by Deejo.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2010 03:22AM by Deejo.
