The Denver Dry Goods Company
Encyclopedia
The Denver Dry Goods Company, also known as "The Denver", was established in Denver, Colorado
in 1879 by Michael. J. McNamara and L.H. Flanders as M.J. McNamara & Company and later The McNamara Dry Goods Company. The beginnings of the company can be traced back to 1876 when they had both worked as clerks at another dry goods store in Denver. In 1877, McNamara left that store and formed a partnership with Edgar H. Drew. After two years, Drew left and L. H. Flanders came on as co-owner. In 1893, McNamara turned the store's ownership over to Dennis Sheedy and Charles Kountz and in 1894, the company was reorganized under the name, "Denver Dry Goods Company". For a while it was claimed to be the largest department store
west of Chicago
. A description on one postcard from 1916 read: "The Largest Store in the Central West, 400 Feet long-Seven Acres Floor Area, 1,200 Employees, A $1,500,000 Stock, 15th to 16th on California Street Denver Colorado".
The Denver Dry Goods Company later became part of Associated Dry Goods (ADG), and in the 1970s and early 1980s it was considered one of ADG's most profitable operating units, just behind Lord and Taylor. ADG invested in expanding The Denver, both with suburban stores in the greater Denver market and stores in far-flung locales such as Billings, Montana
. Also under ADG the downtown Denver store
was renovated. Many Colorado residents fondly recall the stores' motto, "Where Colorado Shops With Confidence"
The store was acquired by May Company
as part of Associated Dry Goods Corp. in 1986 (which had acquired it in 1966), 9 of the 12 locations were shutdown and sold-off and the remaining 3 units were converted to May-Daniels & Fisher
stores in 1987. The original downtown store was built in 1889 and was expanded in 1898, 1906 and 1924. It was converted to apartments in 1994.
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
in 1879 by Michael. J. McNamara and L.H. Flanders as M.J. McNamara & Company and later The McNamara Dry Goods Company. The beginnings of the company can be traced back to 1876 when they had both worked as clerks at another dry goods store in Denver. In 1877, McNamara left that store and formed a partnership with Edgar H. Drew. After two years, Drew left and L. H. Flanders came on as co-owner. In 1893, McNamara turned the store's ownership over to Dennis Sheedy and Charles Kountz and in 1894, the company was reorganized under the name, "Denver Dry Goods Company". For a while it was claimed to be the largest 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...
west of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. A description on one postcard from 1916 read: "The Largest Store in the Central West, 400 Feet long-Seven Acres Floor Area, 1,200 Employees, A $1,500,000 Stock, 15th to 16th on California Street Denver Colorado".
The Denver Dry Goods Company later became part of Associated Dry Goods (ADG), and in the 1970s and early 1980s it was considered one of ADG's most profitable operating units, just behind Lord and Taylor. ADG invested in expanding The Denver, both with suburban stores in the greater Denver market and stores in far-flung locales such as Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
. Also under ADG the downtown Denver store
Denver Dry Goods Company Building
Denver Dry Goods Company Building is a historic department store building located in downtown Denver, Colorado. For a while, the store was claimed to be the largest department store west of Chicago...
was renovated. Many Colorado residents fondly recall the stores' motto, "Where Colorado Shops With Confidence"
The store was acquired by May Company
May Company
May Company may refer to several American businesses:*The May Department Stores Company, a defunct retail company acquired by Federated Department Stores in 2006**May Company California, a defunct California department store that merged with J. W...
as part of Associated Dry Goods Corp. in 1986 (which had acquired it in 1966), 9 of the 12 locations were shutdown and sold-off and the remaining 3 units were converted to May-Daniels & Fisher
May-Daniels & Fisher
May-Daniels & Fisher was a Denver, Colorado department store created in 1957 when the original May Company operations in Colorado, founded in 1877 in Leadville , were merged with the newly acquired The Daniels & Fisher Co...
stores in 1987. The original downtown store was built in 1889 and was expanded in 1898, 1906 and 1924. It was converted to apartments in 1994.
Further reading
- Ballenger & Richards Denver City Directory 1888-1910
- Annual Reports of the Associated Dry Goods Corporation (ADG), 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984.