Download or read book Remembering Woolworth s written by Karen Plunkett-Powell and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1999-12-03 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A century of Americana is brought to life with more than 150 photos of the famous five-and-dime--with remembrances of everything from the background of its founder, Frank W. Woolworth, to the store's legendary lunch counters and historic skyscraper. color photos.
Download or read book Nickels and Dimes written by Nina Brown Baker and published by Voyager Books/Libros Viajeros. This book was released on 1954 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American success story of F.W. Woolworth, who with his idea for a ten-cent store, built a merchandising empire in the late 1800s.
Download or read book Five and Ten written by John K. Winkler and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-31 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, first published in 1940, is the unmissable biography of Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852-1919), the American entrepreneur behind the F. W. Woolworth Company and the operator of variety stores known as “Five-and-Dimes”. He was also the first to use self-service display cases, so customers could examine what they wanted to buy without the help of a sales clerk. Woolworth founded an international financial empire with a short lease on a tiny store, a couple of gross of tin cans and a simple but revolutionary idea. Woolworth grew up a poor farm boy who tended his father’s cows barefoot, but he followed the great American dream by parlaying native ingenuity, business sense, and understanding of people into a huge fortune and establishing an institution that became a familiar part of America’s way of life.
Download or read book F W Woolworth and the American Five and Dime written by Jean Maddern Pitrone and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2007-01-09 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a century, Woolworth's five and dime stores represented Americana, mirroring the country's growth, its good times and bad, its foibles and its fads. The chain was founded by Frank W. Woolworth, who in 1879 established two stores--one in Utica, New York, which failed and was closed down, and another in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which succeeded and marked the beginning of the legacy of the Woolworth's Five and Tens. This work is a full account of the chain, its rags-to-riches founder, Frank W. Woolworth, and his flamboyant and tragic descendants. It traces the important role that Woolworth stores played in the sit-down strikes of the 1930s, the lunch counter sit-ins that began in Greensboro, North Carolina, as part of the Civil Rights movement (which tainted Woolworth's as the Big Business enemy of the downtrodden), and the gradual disintegration of the five and tens during the 1980s and early 1990s. The dramatic story is enhanced with important photos featuring such events as the closing of a Woolworth's in Germany by Nazi soldiers and the Greensboro sit-in as well as archival photos from Woolworth's 40th, 50th, and 60th anniversary booklets.
Download or read book The Skyscraper and the City written by Gail Fenske and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-08 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Woolworth Building is noted for its striking but incongruous synthesis of Beaux-Arts architecture, fanciful Gothic ornamentation, and audacious steel-framed engineering. Here, in the first history of this great urban landmark, Gail Fenske argues that its design serves as a compelling lens through which to view the distinctive urban culture of Progressive-era New York. Fenske shows here that the building’s multiplicity of meanings reflected the cultural contradictions that defined New York City’s modernity. For Frank Woolworth—founder of the famous five-and-dime store chain—the building served as a towering trademark, for advocates of the City Beautiful movement it suggested a majestic hotel de ville, for technological enthusiasts it represented the boldest of experiments in vertical construction, and for tenants it provided an evocative setting for high-style consumption. Tourists, meanwhile, experienced a spectacular sightseeing destination and avant-garde artists discovered a twentieth-century future. In emphasizing this faceted significance, Fenske illuminates the process of conceiving, financing, and constructing skyscrapers as well as the mass phenomena of consumerism, marketing, news media, and urban spectatorship that surround them. As the representative example of the skyscraper as a “cathedral of commerce,” the Woolworth Building remains a commanding presence in the skyline of lower Manhattan, and the generously illustrated Skyscraper and the City is a worthy testament to its importance in American culture.
Download or read book The Charlton Story written by Earle Perry Charlton and published by Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In our present generation of mammoth discount chains, wholesale membership outlets, and internet buying, it has been increasingly difficult for the pioneer - older, more established retail chains - to continue to operate, the latest casualty being Montgomery Ward. What was once known as «America's Store», the venerable F.W. Woolworth Company, has disappeared from downtowns and shopping centers as shopping trends and merchandising have changed. This story of one of the five founders of the Woolworth Company, Earle Perry Charlton, chronicles his life (both personal and professional) and what it was like to establish a new type of business in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Starting with meager savings and little capital of his own, he established a chain of fifty-three E.P. Charlton five & ten cent stores that was based in Fall River, Massachusetts, and stretched across Canada and the west coast of the United States from Seattle to San Diego, before joining with four other friendly competitors in 1912 to form what was to become the F. W. Woolworth Company.
Download or read book Winfield written by Monica Randall and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2003-05-21 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This enchanting memoir explores the culture and history of a bygone era, filled with enthralling stories of infamous scandals and breathtaking Gilded Age tales of New York Society. 16-page photo insert.
Download or read book Dancing with the Devil written by Christopher Wilson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2002-02-20 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the affair that the Duchess of Windsor had with the openly gay heir to the Woolworth fortune in the early 1950s.
Download or read book For the Love of Murphy s The Behind the Counter Story of a Great American Retailer written by and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Skyscraper Gothic written by Kevin D. Murphy estate and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2017-07-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all building types, the skyscraper strikes observers as the most modern, in terms not only of height but also of boldness, scale, ingenuity, and daring. As a phenomenon born in late nineteenth-century America, it quickly became emblematic of New York, Chicago, and other major cities. Previous studies of these structures have tended to foreground examples of more evincing modernist approaches, while those with styles reminiscent of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe were initially disparaged as being antimodernist or were simply unacknowledged. Skyscraper Gothic brings together a group of renowned scholars to address the medievalist skyscraper—from flying buttresses to dizzying spires; from the Chicago Tribune Tower to the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. Drawing on archival evidence and period texts to uncover the ways in which patrons and architects came to understand the Gothic as a historic style, the authors explore what the appearance of Gothic forms on radically new buildings meant urbanistically, architecturally, and socially, not only for those who were involved in the actual conceptualization and execution of the projects but also for the critics and the general public who saw the buildings take shape. Contributors: Lisa Reilly on the Gothic skyscraper ● Kevin Murphy on the Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings ● Gail Fenske on the Woolworth Building ● Joanna Merwood-Salisbury on the Chicago School ● Katherine M. Solomonson on the Tribune Tower ● Carrie Albee on Atlanta City Hall ● Anke Koeth on the Cathedral of Learning ● Christine G. O'Malley on the American Radiator Building
Download or read book J C Penney written by David Delbert Kruger and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is now called JCPenney, a fixture of suburban shopping malls, started out as a small-town Main Street store that fused its founder’s interests in agriculture, retail business, religion, and philanthropy. This book—at once a biography of Missouri farm boy–turned–business icon James Cash Penney and the story of the company he started in 1902—brings to light the little-known agrarian roots of an American department store chain. David Delbert Kruger explores how the company, its stores, and their famous founder shaped rural America throughout the twentieth century. “Most of our stores,” Penney explained in 1931, “are located in agricultural regions where the tide of merchandising rises and falls with the prosperity of the farmers.” Despite the growth of cities in the early twentieth century, Penney maintained his stores’ commitment to serving the needs of farmers and small-town folk. Tracing this dedication to Penney’s rural upbringing, Kruger describes how, from one store in the sheep-ranching and mining town of Kemmerer, Wyoming, J. C. Penney Co. became a familiar chain on Main Street, USA, purveying value, providing good jobs, and marking rites of passage in many an American childhood. Kruger paints a biographical and historical picture of an American business mogul distinctly different from comparable capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, or Sam Walton. Despite his chain’s corporate structure, Penney imbued each store with a Golden Rule philosophy that demanded mutual respect between customers, employees, competitors, suppliers, and communities. By tracing that spirit to its agrarian source, and following it through the twentieth century, J. C. Penney: The Man, the Store, and American Agriculture provides a new perspective on this American cultural institution—and on its founder’s unique brand of American capitalism.
Download or read book Crap written by Wendy A. Woloson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-10-05 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crap. We all have it. Filling drawers. Overflowing bins and baskets. Proudly displayed or stuffed in boxes in basements and garages. Big and small. Metal, fabric, and a whole lot of plastic. So much crap. Abundant cheap stuff is about as American as it gets. And it turns out these seemingly unimportant consumer goods offer unique insights into ourselves—our values and our desires. In Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, Wendy A. Woloson takes seriously the history of objects that are often cynically-made and easy to dismiss: things not made to last; things we don't really need; things we often don't even really want. Woloson does not mock these ordinary, everyday possessions but seeks to understand them as a way to understand aspects of ourselves, socially, culturally, and economically: Why do we—as individuals and as a culture—possess these things? Where do they come from? Why do we want them? And what is the true cost of owning them? Woloson tells the history of crap from the late eighteenth century up through today, exploring its many categories: gadgets, knickknacks, novelty goods, mass-produced collectibles, giftware, variety store merchandise. As Woloson shows, not all crap is crappy in the same way—bric-a-brac is crappy in a different way from, say, advertising giveaways, which are differently crappy from commemorative plates. Taking on the full brilliant and depressing array of crappy material goods, the book explores the overlooked corners of the American market and mindset, revealing the complexity of our relationship with commodity culture over time. By studying crap rather than finely made material objects, Woloson shows us a new way to truly understand ourselves, our national character, and our collective psyche. For all its problems, and despite its disposability, our crap is us.
Download or read book One Nation Under Baseball written by John Florio and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2017-04-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Engaging and lively history of baseball in the 1960s"--
Download or read book Kmart s Ten Deadly Sins written by Marcia Layton Turner and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2003-07-25 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful look at how Kmart's management destroyed the company Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins spins an intriguing tale of the missteps of a retail giant who once had the industry in the palm of its hand and foolishly let it all slip away. This engaging book weaves corporate history in with financial analysis and commentary that leaves the reader with a better sense of where Kmart has been and what its potential is for a turnaround. This first in-depth examination of Kmart clearly identifies and discusses the ten missteps and miscalculations Kmart's CEOs have repeatedly made, including resisting investments in technology, brand mismanagement, and haphazard expansion, to name a few. Author Marcia Layton Turner taps many of her vast contacts within the retail business community to get the inside scoop on what really brought this once mighty retail giant to its knees. Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins is written for readers who find themselves wondering how a company with such bright prospects could end up filing for bankruptcy. Marcia Layton Turner (Rochester, NY) is the bestselling author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business. With an MBA in corporate strategy and marketing from the University of Michigan, she spent several years with Eastman Kodak in marketing and marketing communications. She is currently a freelance writer/author and ghostwriter for college-level business textbooks. Turner has also written for several top magazines and Web sites.
Download or read book The Occupy Handbook written by Janet Byrne and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2012-04-17 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analyzing the movement's deep-seated origins in questions that the country has sought too long to ignore, some of the greatest economic minds and most incisive cultural commentators - from Paul Krugman, Robin Wells, Michael Lewis, Robert Reich, Amy Goodman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Gillian Tett, Scott Turow, Bethany McLean, Brandon Adams, and Tyler Cowen to prominent labor leaders and young, cutting-edge economists and financial writers whose work is not yet widely known - capture the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon in all its ragged glory, giving readers an on-the-scene feel for the movement as it unfolds while exploring the heady growth of the protests, considering the lasting changes wrought, and recommending reform. A guide to the occupation, The Occupy Handbook is a talked-about source for understanding why 1% of the people in America take almost a quarter of the nation's income and the long-term effects of a protest movement that even the objects of its attack can find little fault with.
Download or read book Deep in a Dream written by James Gavin and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first major biography of the most romanticized icon in jazz thrillingly recounts his wild ride. From his emergence in the 1950s--when an uncannily beautiful young man from Oklahoma appeard on the West Coast to become, seemingly overnight, the prince of "cool" jazz--until his violent, drug-related death in Amsterdam in 1988, Chet Baker lived a life that has become an American myth. Here, drawing on hundreds of interviews and previously untapped sources, James Gavin gives a hair-raising account of the trumpeter's dark journey.
Download or read book The Flatiron written by Alice Sparberg Alexiou and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2010-06-08 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The marvelous story of the Flatiron: the instantly recognizable building that signaled the start of a new era in New York history. Critics hated it. The public feared it would topple over. Passersby were knocked down by the winds. But even before it was completed, the Flatiron Building had become an unforgettable part of New York City. The Flatiron Building was built by the Chicago-based Fuller Company--a group founded by George Fuller, "the father of the skyscraper"--to be their New York headquarters. The company's president, Harry Black, was never able to make the public call the Flatiron the Fuller Building, however. Black's was the country's largest real estate firm, constructing Macy's department store, and soon after the Plaza Hotel, the Savoy Hotel, and many other iconic buildings in New York as well as in other cities across the country. With an ostentatious lifestyle that drew constant media scrutiny, Black made a fortune only to meet a tragic, untimely end. In The Flatiron, Alice Sparberg Alexiou chronicles not just the story of the building but the heady times in New York at the dawn of the twentieth century. It was a time when Madison Square Park shifted from a promenade for rich women to one for gay prostitutes; when photography became an art; motion pictures came into existence; the booming economy suffered increasing depressions; jazz came to the forefront of popular music--and all within steps of one of the city's best-known and best-loved buildings.
