12 Stores That Anyone Who Grew Up In Pittsburgh Will Undoubtedly Remember (2024)

FAQs

What are the former department stores in Pittsburgh? ›

For a time Kaufmann's was the most prominent of seven department stores in downtown Pittsburgh which included: Kaufmann & Baer, founded by cousins of the original 'Kaufmann's' founders (became Gimbel Brothers in 1925); Horne's; Boggs & Buhl; Frank & Seder's, Rosenbaum's, and Boggs & Buhl of Allegheny Center.

The Century III Mall planning began in 1976, opened in 1979, and closed in 2019. Anchor stores included Kaufmann's, Gimbels, JCPenney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward. It was the third-largest shopping mall in the world when it opened, but it has since been surpassed by much larger malls.

Kaufmann's operated its flagship store from 1887 to 2005. It was replaced by Macy's in 2005, which closed in 2015. The clock — a popular meeting spot for generations of Pittsburghers — remains on the corner of Fifth and Smithfield.

On April 7, 1818, Henry Sands Brooks opened H. & D.H Brooks & Co., which later became Brooks Brothers. Brooks called upon his sons to help run the store, creating a family business that would last over 200 years. Today, the company is the longest-running retailer in the US and can even be seen worn by presidents.

After Gimbels ceased operations in the late 1980s, the building sat vacant for several years and was redeveloped in the 1990s for retail, home to, among other shops, the first Barnes & Noble to open in Pittsburgh. In 2002, another redevelopment changed the building to offices, and is now home to the Heinz 57 Center.

The oldest building in Pittsburgh is the Fort Pitt Blockhouse in Point State Park. It was constructed in 1764. The first structures built in the city were designed and built by local inhabitants. However, the oldest architecturally designed building is the Burke Building.

The biggest dead mall in Pennsylvania, however, has been abandoned and left to rot since 2020. The Century III Mall was one of the largest shopping malls of its kind in the state of Pennsylvania when it first opened in 1979, according to abanondedonline.net.

At 153 years old, the Original Oyster House is Pittsburgh's oldest bar and restaurant. Located in the heart of downtown Market Square, near the courts and just across the river from the stadiums, the unique tavern has been designated a historic landmark by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundations.

However, the steel industry in Pittsburgh began to decline in the 1970s. Faced with foreign competition, the city's steel mills began to struggle. By the 1980s, the industry had collapsed, and many of the city's steel mills were closed.

Where was Hornes in Pittsburgh? ›

Horne's opened its first store on Market Street in Pittsburgh that same year and later moved to Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street, a seven-story landmark building that displays the Horne's name to this day.

However, the first reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co., which opened in 1796 on Pall Mall, London. The oldest department store chain may be Debenhams, which was established in 1778 and closed in 2021.

These Kaufmanns were cousins of the Kaufmann's department store owners, and they established Gimbels at Sixth and Smithfield. Like many of their competitors, Gimbles had locations in several suburban malls. Gimbels closed in 1986.

Chicago-based department store, Siegel-Cooper opened on Sixth Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets in 1896. Siegel-Cooper was one of the largest and most popular stores at the time though it was built late in the game. Byron Company (New York, N.Y.) Opening of Siegel, Cooper Co., 1896, Sixth Ave.

Opening. On Tuesday, May 13, 1969, the 1,130,000-square-foot (105,000 m²) Monroeville Mall opened its doors with Gimbels and Joseph Horne Co. at opposite ends and JCPenney in the middle. The five and dime G. C. Murphy store provided a lower-price alternative for shoppers on the lower level.