Century 21 is a chain of department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

s in the northeastern United States. There are stores located in Long Island/Westbury (NY), Brooklyn (NY), Morristown (NJ), and Paramus (NJ), but the largest location is in Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...

, across the street from the World Trade Center

World Trade Center

The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

 site. A new location was opened in Fall 2009 in Rego Park, Queens (NY).

The Century 21 department store chain is a separate company unrelated to the nationwide real estate firm Century 21

Century 21 Real Estate

Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a real estate agent franchise company founded in 1971. The Century 21 System consists of over 8,000 independently owned and operated offices. Other examples of such a system are Coldwell Banker, Engel & Völkers, ERA Real Estate, ...Century 21 has offices in more than...

, and pre-dates them by ten years.

History

The company was founded in 1961, the original store being located at 472 86th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The Century 21 flagship location is in Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...

. The store became an emotional flashpoint during and after the 9/11 Terrorist attacks. The store was evacuated after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, and the interior was heavily damaged from the collapse of the twin towers.

Initially it was not certain that the store would be rebuilt, but the owners opted to remain at the same site and the store was renovated and reopened in the summer of 2002. Thousands of people waited hours on the morning of the reopening so they could have a sales receipt from that day.