The Fair Store was a discount department store that was founded in 1874 in Chicago, Illinois.

Founder Ernst J. Lehmann decided on the name "The Fair Store" as he felt "the store was like a fair because it offered many different things for sale at a low price." Lehmann bought and sold goods on a cash-only basis; he offered odd prices (i.e., prices not in multiples of five cents) to save customers a few pennies on every purchase. The flagship store was moved to the corner of State and Adams Streets in 1875; a modern twelve-story building would be completed on that site in 1897 and contained 286,000 square feet of floor space.

Promoting itself with the motto "everything for everybody under one roof," the Fair was now one of the largest retailers in the city. Offering a wide range of goods at low prices, the store offered services such as free wrapping, delivery, and an on-site nursery. In 1900, when annual sales were about $8 million, the store had nearly 3,800 workers; by the 1910s, floor space reached nearly 800,000 square feet. The Fair had 5,500 workers, making it one of the largest employers in the city.
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Photograph from 1883 |

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Cover from The Fair Department Store Christmas Catalog of 1953. |
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The Fair Department Store at 128 South State Street, Chicago, is owned by Montgomery Ward. Adorned in Christmas decorations in 1961. |
However, the Randhurst store would also be the first converted to the Montgomery Ward nameplate in August 1963; the other locations would convert to the parent company's nameplate in 1964.
The flagship building on State Street was closed and demolished in 1984; though a new building was planned for valuable real estate, none was built until 2001.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
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The Fair Department Store at State and Adams, Chicago. |
The flagship building on State Street was closed and demolished in 1984; though a new building was planned for valuable real estate, none was built until 2001.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
I remember shopping there. It was a very nice store.
ReplyDeleteInteresting quick read, my maternal grandparents lived in the Chicago for a bit as did a few other relatives. I have a small hardcover book celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Fair published in 1915.
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