
Lord & Taylor, New York City; photo by Roger W. Smith

photo by Roger W. Smith
The following is an exchange of emails from today between me and the poet and essayist/writer Luanne Castle, host of the popular website (of which I am a fan)
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hi, Luanne
I am in the Lord and Taylor’s department store (great store) shopping for a pair of gloves, and I suddenly thought of your great post about the closing of stores.
Apropos this, see link to NY Times article from October below
“Lord & Taylor Building, Icon of New York Retail, to Become WeWork Headquarters”
by Michael J. De La Merced and Michael Corkery
The New York Times
October 24, 2017
best wishes,
Roger
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from Luanne Castle to Roger Smith
Ugh, I really hate to hear that (the article’s story). So sad. And what a beautiful old ceiling in the photo you shared. Thanks, Roger.
I watched a 20-year-old movie the other day and was astonished at how rapidly the world has changed in the past 20 years!
Best,
Luanne
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from Roger Smith to Luanne Castle
Thanks, Luanne.
I don’t know if you know New York City or have been there.
I grew up in Greater Boston, have lived in NYC since my early 20’s; my wife is a native New Yorker.
I am not a clothes horse (I’m actually the opposite) and I’m not a shopper, but my wife introduced me to Lord and Taylor’s department store and I love it.
It’s located on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets, two blocks from the New York Public Library, my home away from home … people come to see the Christmas display in the front windows at the Fifth Ave entrance.
It’s such a nice store to just be in … I will go there on breaks from the library and get a coffee and snack in the cafe … sometimes will do a little shopping or hang around … the staff is so pleasant.
It’s an oasis … my wife and I are so disappointed that it’s essentially closing next year (shrinking from the current ten floors to two).
My wife loves to shop there … she goes on Sundays when there’s parking in midtown Manhattan.
I loved to go Christmas shopping with my Dad and siblings in Jordan Marsh, the main department store in Boston, when I was growing up. They had wonderful displays of toys, such as a big, elaborate electric train display.
We have family photos of my older brother and my sister with the Jordan Marsh Santa — my brother was sitting on his knee … they both have that starry-eyed look of wonderment.
The demise of Lord and Taylor’s is a real disappointment. There is a Macy’s in a mall near where we live; shopping there is downright unpleasant.
Roger
— posted by Roger W. Smith
December 13, 2017
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addendum:
Check out Luanne Castle’s post
“RIP Dreamland”
about the decline of retail over the years as viewed by Luanne through the prism of her family’s experience and hers growing up.
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My friend Ella Rutledge commented as follows on Facebook:
Ella Rutledge, December 14, 2017:
You probably know that Jordan Marsh was long ago replaced by Macy’s and the Filene’s across the street has also been closed down. No more Filene’s Basement! I agree with you and your wife about department stores. Japan does them really well, and I used to love wandering through the many floors of beautiful things and smelling the perfume when I walked in the front door. Too bad about Lord & Taylor. [All of the US stores Ella mentions are in Boston, except for Lord and Taylor.]
Roger Smith:
Really interesting input, Ella. I was vaguely aware that Filene’s Basement was gone, didn’t know what had happened to Jordan Marsh (or Filene’s itself). Then, there was the bargain clothing store Raymond’s, where I bought a favorite sport jacket I had forever (wouldn’t fit me now) in college for $19. Interesting about the Japanese department stores. Wish I could visit them. I was in Tokyo once in the 1990’s. Strolled along Ginza but didn’t actually go into any of the department stores with the dazzling window displays, unfortunately.