View source for Gimbels

{{Short description|American department store chain}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Gimbel Brothers
| logo = Gimbels Department Store Final Logo.png
| logo_alt = 
| logo_caption = 
| image = Milwaukee July 2022 034 (Gimbels Building).jpg
| image_alt = 
| image_caption = Exterior of the former Gimbels flagship store in [[Milwaukee]] (2022)
| trade_name = Gimbels
| former_name = 
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry = [[Retail]]
| genre = [[Department store]]s
| founded = {{Start date and age|1842}} in [[Vincennes, Indiana|Vincennes]], [[Indiana]], United States
| founder = [[Adam Gimbel]]
| defunct = {{End date and age|1987}}
| fate = [[Liquidation]]
| hq_location = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States
| num_locations = {{plain list|
* 53 (at peak, 1965)
* 35 (at closing, 1987)
}}
| num_locations_year = 
| areas_served = {{flat list|
* [[Connecticut]]
* [[New Jersey]]
* New York
* [[Pennsylvania]]
* [[Wisconsin]]
}}
| key_people = {{plain list|
* Adam L. Gimbel
* [[Bernard Gimbel]]
}}
| products = {{flat list|
* Clothing
* footwear
* bedding
* furniture
* jewelry
* beauty products
* housewares
}}
| num_employees = 
| num_employees_year = 
| parent = {{plain list|
* [[Brown & Williamson]] (1973–1980)
* [[Batus Inc.]] (1980–1987)
}}
| subsid = [[Saks Fifth Avenue]] (1923–1973)
| footnotes = 
}}

'''Gimbel Brothers''' (known simply as '''Gimbels''') was an American [[department store]] corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch [[Adam Gimbel]] opened his first store in [[Vincennes, Indiana|Vincennes]], Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the company moved its operations to the Gimbel Brothers Department Store in [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin. It became a chain when it opened a second, larger store in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, in 1894, moving its headquarters there. At the urging of future company president [[Bernard Gimbel]], grandson of the founder, the company expanded to [[New York City]] in 1910.

The company is known for creating the oldest Thanksgiving parade, the [[6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade|Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade]], originating in 1920 in Philadelphia. Gimbels was also considered the chief rival of [[Macy's]] with their feud popularized in American culture. As of 1930, Gimbels had grown to 20 stores, whose sales revenue made it the largest department store chain in the world. The company expanded to a peak of 53 stores by 1965, and closed in 1987 with 35 stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Connecticut.<ref name=":32">{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/07/24/gimbels-throws-in-the-discount-towel-at-herald-square/|title=Gimbels Throws In The Discount Towel At Herald Square|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=July 24, 1986|first=Philip|last=Lentz|access-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
The company was founded by a young [[Bavaria]]n Jewish immigrant, [[Adam Gimbel]], who opened a general store in [[Vincennes, Indiana]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Bender|first=Marylin|date=July 23, 1972|title=Are Gimbels' Troubles All Wrapped Up?|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/23/archives/are-gimbels-troubles-all-wrapped-up-after-two-lean-years-chain-sees.html|access-date=October 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=September 10, 1969|title=Adam Gimbel Dies Here at 75; Headed Saks Fifth Ave. Stores; Adam Gimbel, Ex-Head of Saks, Dead| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/09/10/88861960.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|access-date=October 14, 2020|language=en}}</ref> After a brief stay in [[Danville, Illinois]], Gimbel relocated in 1887 to [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin,<ref name=":2" /> which was then a [[boomtown]] heavily populated by German immigrants. The new store quickly became the leading department store there. However, with seven sons, Adam Gimbel saw the opportunity to expand elsewhere.

In 1894, Gimbels—then led by the founder's son, Isaac Gimbel—acquired the Granville Haines store (originally built and operated by Cooper and Conard) in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, and in 1910, opened another branch in [[New York City]].<ref name=":2" /> With its arrival in New York, Gimbels prospered, and soon became the primary rival to the leading [[Herald Square]] retailer, [[Macy's]], whose [[Macy's Herald Square|flagship store was located a block north]]. This rivalry entered into the American popular [[argot]] as "[[wikt:does Macy's tell Gimbel's|Does Macy's tell Gimbels?]]", an idiom used to brush off any query about matters the speaker didn't wish to divulge. To distinguish itself from Herald Square neighbors, Gimbels' advertising promised more: "Select, don't settle."<ref name=bjn>{{cite news|url=http://boulderjewishnews.org/2011/n-trivia-would-gimbels-tell-macys/|title=NY Trivia: Would Gimbels Tell Macy's?|last=Bernheimer|first=Kathryn|date=August 28, 2011|newspaper=Boulder Jewish News}}</ref>

Gimbels became so successful that in 1922 the chain [[Initial public offering|went public]], offering shares on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] (though the family retained a controlling interest).<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 7, 1922|title=New Gimbel Stock on Market Today; Public Offering of $12,000,000 of Preferred and 50,000 Shares of Common|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/08/07/archives/new-gimbel-stock-on-market-today-public-offering-of-12000000-of.html|access-date=October 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The stock sales provided capital for expansion, starting with the 1923 purchase of across-the-street rival Saks & Co.,<ref name=":2" /> which operated under the name [[Saks-34th Street]]; with ownership of Saks, Gimbel created an uptown branch called [[Saks Fifth Avenue]].<ref name=":3" /> Moving into radio, Gimbels purchased [[WINS (AM)|WGBS]] in New York and [[WTEL_(AM)#WIP|WIP]] in Philadelphia. In 1925, Gimbels entered the [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] market with the purchase of Kaufmann & Baer's,<ref name=vin>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tSJKAAAAIBAJ&dq=ritz%20carlton%20pittsburgh&pg=1377%2C5569264|title=Store Planned for Pittsburgh|newspaper=[[The Vindicator]]|location=Youngstown|date=March 13, 1990|agency=[[United Press International]]|access-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref> acquiring [[WPGP (AM)|WCAE]] in the deal. Although expansion spurred talk of the stores becoming a nationwide chain, the [[Great Depression]] ended that prospect. Gimbel did increase the number of more upscale (and enormously profitable) Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the 1930s, opening branches in Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.

=== Success ===
By 1930, Gimbels had seven flagship stores throughout the country and sales of $123 million (${{Inflation|US|.123|1930|r=1|fmt=c}} billion today) across 20 stores; this made Gimbel Brothers Inc. the largest department store corporation in the world.<ref name=":1" /> By 1953, sales had risen to $300 million (${{Inflation|US|.3|1953|r=1|fmt=c}} billion today).<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://www.investors.com/news/management/leaders-and-success/bernard-gimbel-was-a-publicity-genius/|title=Bernard Gimbel, A Force Behind Thanksgiving Parade|last=Smith|first=Scott S.|date=November 23, 2013|newspaper=[[Investor's Business Daily]]|access-date=November 18, 2016}}</ref> In 1962, Gimbels acquired Milwaukee competitor [[Schuster's]], and in that region operated stores from both chains for a while as '''Gimbels Schuster's'''.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Daykin|first=Tom|date=November 19, 2019|title=Plan to put $15 million in city financing toward redevelopment of former King Drive Schuster's advances|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2019/11/19/former-schusters-redeveloped-15-million-city-cash/4237519002/|access-date=October 14, 2020|website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|language=en-US}}</ref> By 1965, Gimbel Brothers Inc. consisted of 53 stores throughout the country, which included 22 Gimbels, 27 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, and four Saks 34th St.<ref name=":1" />

==== Gimbels and the middle class ====
Gimbels' principles and merchandise sought to reflect the ideals of middle class America.  Their principles consisted of "courtesy, reliability, good value, and enlightened management".<ref name=":0"/>  By using middle class values Gimbels attracted shoppers to a store that also could fit their budgets.  Keeping the store plain and less extravagant than some of its competitors, Gimbels used the slogan "the customer pays for fancy frills."<ref name=":0"/> Gimbels was about the product, not the aesthetics. By offering a wide range of cutting-edge technology in its merchandise, Gimbels reflected the ideals held by the middle class of staying up to date with technologies and carrying new appliances and merchandise at an affordable price.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Middle Class City: Transforming Space and Time in Philadelphia 1876-1926|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HD6Fhx_db7MC&q=gimbels|last=Hepp IV|first=John|publisher=University of Pennsylvania|date=July 14, 2003|isbn=978-0812237238|pages=148–149|access-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref>

==== Merchandise ====
Gimbels Department Store offered a variety of merchandise and products, including home appliances, outdoor equipment, furniture, clothing, and much more. With multiple floors in its flagship stores, each floor offered a given category of merchandise. The Philadelphia Gimbels specifically offered fine jewelry, men's clothing, women's clothing, children's clothing, furniture, toys, art supplies, and appliances for the house. This store also contained The Gimbel Auditorium, Television Headquarters, a salon, and music center. With a wide variety of options Gimbels was a one stop shop that made shopping easy and accessible.

==== Publicity ====
Despite its limited presence, Gimbels was well-known nationwide, in part because of the carefully cultivated rivalry with Macy's, but also thanks to an endless stream of publicity. The New York store received considerable attention as the site of the 1939–1940 sale of art and antiquities from the [[William Randolph Hearst]] collection.<ref>{{cite book|title=Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NBtrEQ8RfukC&q=hearst+collection|last=Whitaker|first=Jan|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=April 1, 2007|isbn=978-1429909914|pages=192, 308}}</ref> Gimbels also gained publicity through appearances in the 1947 film ''[[Miracle on 34th Street]]'' and the 1967 film ''[[Fitzwilly]]''; it also made an appearance in the 2003 film ''[[Elf (film)|Elf]]'', long after the chain had ceased to exist. Gimbels was also frequently mentioned as a shopping destination of [[Lucy Ricardo]] and [[Ethel Mertz]] on the hit 1950s TV series ''[[I Love Lucy]]''.

The [[Slinky]] made its debut at the northeast Philadelphia Gimbels store.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2049243_2048651_2049036,00.html|title=All-Time 100 Greatest Toys|last=Townsend|first=Allie|date=February 16, 2011|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=May 2, 2017|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> The Philadelphia Gimbels was also the first department store in the world to move customers from floor to floor via the [[escalator]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Couch|first1=Ernie|last2=Couch|first2=Jill|title=Pennsylvania Trivia|location=Nashville|publisher=Rutledge Hill Press|date=June 29, 1995|page=190|isbn=978-1558533561}}</ref>

==== Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade ====
{{Further|6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade}}
The idea of a department-store parade originated in 1920 with Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia with the parade now known as the [[6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade]].  The Gimbel family saw the parade as a way to promote holiday shopping at its various store locations.  Macy's did not start a parade until 1924.  When Gimbels ceased operating in 1986, television station [[WPVI]] assumed responsibility for the parade, with sponsorship by [[Reading, Pennsylvania]]–based [[Boscov's]].  Currently, [[Dunkin' Donuts]] is the chief sponsor of the parade.<ref name=":0" />

=== Acquisition and closure ===
Brown & Williamson, the American subsidiary of&nbsp;[[British American Tobacco]], a diversified conglomerate based in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], acquired Gimbels in 1973.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Barmash|first=Isadore|date=January 14, 1986|title=British Owner is Planning to Sell Gimbel Chain and Others in U.S.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/14/business/british-owner-is-planning-to-sell-gimbel-chain-and-others-in-us.html|access-date=October 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Brown & Williamson also owned&nbsp;[[Marshall Field's]]&nbsp;(purchased in 1982),&nbsp;[[Frederick & Nelson]],&nbsp;[[The Crescent (department store)|The Crescent]]&nbsp;stores, and&nbsp;[[Kohl's]]&nbsp;(purchased in 1972).<ref name=":4" /> Brown & Williamson later created the&nbsp;[[Batus Inc.|BATUS Retail Group]]&nbsp;as a subsidiary company for its retail holdings.<ref name=":1" />

BATUS initially left the Gimbels chain in the four autonomous divisions that had been established under Gimbel family ownership: Gimbels New York, Gimbels Philadelphia, Gimbels Pittsburgh, and Gimbels Milwaukee. Each division operated independently of each other in advertising and buying. Each division offered their own charge card which could only be used at Gimbels stores in the same division. In 1983, Gimbels New York and Gimbels Philadelphia were combined into a single entity, Gimbels East, in an attempt to reduce corporate overhead.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 22, 1983|title=Company News; 2 Divisions Of Gimbels To Merge|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/22/business/company-news-2-divisions-of-gimbels-to-merge.html|access-date=October 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Deciding that Gimbels was a marginal performer with little potential for increased profitability, BATUS in 1986 decided to close its Gimbels division and sell its store properties.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Groves|first=Martha|date=September 11, 1986|title=Batus to Sell Last of Famed Gimbels Stores|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-09-11-fi-10999-story.html|access-date=October 14, 2020|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US}}</ref> Some of the more attractive branches were taken over by [[Stern's]] ([[Allied Stores]]), Pomeroy's ([[Allied Stores]]), [[Kaufmann's]] ([[May Department Stores]]), or [[Boston Store (Wisconsin)|Boston Store]].<ref name=":5" /> The cornerstone of the chain, the downtown Milwaukee store where Adam Gimbel had first found success (and supposedly the most profitable Gimbel store), was handed to BATUS sister division Marshall Field's, but eventually closed in 1997.

== Store divisions ==
Gimbels flagship stores were located in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee.

=== New York flagship store ===
The Gimbels New York City [[flagship]] store was located in the cluster of large department stores that surrounded [[Herald Square]], in [[Midtown Manhattan]]. Designed by architect [[Daniel Burnham]], the structure, which once offered {{convert|27|acre|m2}} of sales space, has since been modernized and entirely revamped. When this building opened, on September 29, 1910, a major selling point was its many doors leading to the [[34th Street – Herald Square (New York City Subway)|Herald Square]] [[New York City Subway]] station. Due to such easy access, by the time Gimbels closed in 1986, this store had the highest rate of "shrinkage", or [[shoplifting]] losses, in the world.<ref>{{cite book|title=100 Years In America: A History of a Jewish Family a Century After Immigration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdtDAwx2Nk8C&q=herald+square|last=Shulkin M.D.|first=Mark Weiss|publisher=iUniverse|date=May 19, 2011|isbn=978-1462010431|location=Bloomington, Indiana|page=30|access-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref> Doors also opened to [[Gimbels Passageway|a pedestrian passage under 32nd Street]], connecting [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Penn Station]] to the 34th Street (New York City Subway) and [[33rd Street (PATH station)|33rd Street]] ([[Port Authority Trans-Hudson|PATH]]) stations.  This Gimbels Passageway was closed in the 1990s for security reasons during a period of high crime.

The structure was converted in 1989 to A&S Plaza, a mall named for its anchor department store, a midtown branch of [[Brooklyn]]'s [[Abraham & Straus|A&S]]. The store became a [[Stern's]] in 1995, and the mall was renamed [[100 West 33rd Street|Manhattan Mall]]. The anchor store closed in 2001 and the space was subdivided within the mall, while the upper levels were converted to offices. A new [[JCPenney]] anchor store opened in 2009, in the lower two levels. That anchor store closed in 2020 and by 2021 all stores in the mall had closed, and the building served only as office space.

The building that housed a Gimbels branch at [[86th Street (Manhattan)|86th Street]] and [[Lexington Avenue]] remains, but has been converted to apartments.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/07/business/gimbels-at-86th-a-born-loser.html|title=Gimbels at 86th: A Born Loser|last=Scardino|first=Albert|date=June 7, 1986|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 2, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Philadelphia flagship ===
The Philadelphia flagship opened in 1893 when the Gimbel brothers bought the bankrupt Haines and Company dry goods store at Ninth and Market Streets. The store gradually expanded eastward to Eighth Street.<ref name="gildedmall">{{cite web |url=https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/11/the-gilded-mall-of-market-street-gimbels-had-it/|title=The Gilded Mall Of Market Street: Gimbels Had It |last=Phillippi |first=Nicholas |date=November 24, 2014 |website=Hidden City|access-date=July 15, 2021}}</ref> In 1927 an extension south to Chestnut Street was completed and the store now comprised an entire city block,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.phillymag.com/property/2015/05/07/former-gimbels-site-at-9th-and-chestnut-sold-for-big-bucks/|title=Former Gimbels Site at 9th and Chestnut Sold for Big Bucks |last=Jennings |first=James |date=May 7, 2015 |website=[[Philadelphia (magazine)|Philadelphia]] |access-date=July 14, 2021}}</ref> making it for a time the [[List of largest department stores|largest department store in the world]].<ref name="gildedmall"/> In 1977 Gimbels moved to [[Fashion District Philadelphia|The Gallery]] mall across Market Street. The original buildings were demolished in 1979-1980 except for the 1927 addition which was converted to professional office spaces, primarily a data center and medical offices.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arrigale |first1=Lawrence M. |last2=Keels |first2=Thomas H. |title=Philadelphia's Golden Age of Retail |date=2012 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |page=122}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/11/we-havent-forgotten-gimbels-thanksgiving-parade/|title=We Haven't Forgotten: Gimbels Thanksgiving Parade Was The First |last=Greenberg |first=Kyrie |date=November 24, 2014 |website=Hidden City|access-date=July 14, 2021}}</ref> The Gallery location closed in 1986.<ref name="gildedmall"/>

=== Pittsburgh flagship ===
In [[Pittsburgh]], [[Starrett & van Vleck]] designed the downtown flagship of the Gimbels Department Store, which was built in 1914 at 339 Sixth Avenue.  After Gimbels ceased operations in the late 1980s, the building sat vacant for several years and was redeveloped in the 1990s for retail, home to, among other shops, the first [[Barnes & Noble]] to open in Pittsburgh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sbnonline.com/article/a-class-a-gimbels-this-old-department-store-building-in-the-heart-of-downtown-pittsburgh-has-undergone-a-50-million-transformation-that-demonstrates-how-to-give-history-a-class-a-future-in-the-region/|title=A Class-A Gimbels|first=Daniel|last=Bates|website=Smart Business Magazine|accessdate=March 10, 2021}}</ref> In 2002, another redevelopment changed the building to offices, and is now home to the [[Heinz 57 Center]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddevelopment.com/?portfolioitems=heinz-57-center-north-america-hq|title=Oxford Development Company|website=www.oxforddevelopment.com|language=en-US|access-date=May 3, 2017}}</ref> In 1997, it was added to the list of historic landmarks by the [[Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=7285|title=Protest Against Gimbels Department Store, 1935|website=Clio|access-date=May 3, 2017}}</ref>

=== Relationship to Saks ===
Saks was founded by Horace Saks in New York City. In 1923, Gimbels purchased Saks, which became a subsidiary of Gimbel Brothers, Incorporated, a publicly traded company.  Adam Long Gimbel, grandson of the founder of Gimbels, [[Adam Gimbel]], turned Saks into a national brand. In 1973, Brown & Williamson, who later formed [[BATUS Inc.]], acquired Gimbel Bros. and the Saks Fifth Avenue brand.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2016/03/08/yesterdays-milwaukee-gimbels-department-store-1925/|title=Yesterday's Milwaukee: Gimbels Department Store, 1925|last=Beutner|first=Jeff|date=March 8, 2016|website=Urban Milwaukee|language=en|access-date=May 15, 2019}}</ref> BATUS closed Gimbels in 1986,<ref name=":1" /> and subsequently sold Saks to [[Investcorp|Investcorp S.A.]] in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-25-fi-413-story.html|title=Investcorp Buying Saks for $1.5 Billion : Retail: Luxury stores' British owners accept bid by international investment group.|date=April 25, 1990|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 15, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>


===Historical Marker, Vincennes, Indiana===

[[File:Gimbel's Department Store Historical Marker, Vincennes, Indiana - side one.jpg|thumb|left|Gimbel's Department Store Historical Marker, Vincennes, Indiana - side one]]

[[File:Gimbels' Department Store Historical Marker, Vincennes, Indiana - Side two.jpg|thumb|left|Gimbels' Department Store Historical Marker, Vincennes, Indiana - Side two]]

==Gallery==
<gallery caption="Gimbels">
File:Gimbels with Hearst antique NYWTS.jpg|Adam, Frederic, and Bernard Gimbel
File:Gimbels LOC4a18217v (cropped).jpg|Philadelphia store, c.1910
File:1910 Gimbels advertisements - The New York Times - GIF.gif|Display advertisements announcing the 1910 opening of the New York flagship store
Image:Gimbels_Interior.jpg|Interior of the New York Gimbels flagship store, 1950, following remodeling by designer [[Raymond Loewy]]
File:3126-Greeley Square.JPG|The New York flagship location, now [[100 West 33rd Street]], is on the right
File:Manhattan Mall - from 86th floor of the Empire State Building (3810422070).jpg|The New York flagship location, now Manhattan Mall, seen from the Empire State Building
File:New York (6035571938).jpg|The New York flagship location in 2008
File:Manhattan Mall renovation jeh.jpg|The [[100 West 33rd Street|Manhattan Mall]] now occupies the former Gimbels location in [[Midtown Manhattan]]
File:West 32nd Street skybridge.jpg|Historic [[Art Deco]] triple-deck skybridge over 32nd St that once connected the New York Gimbels flagship store with [[Saks Fifth Avenue#Saks–34th Street|Saks-34th Street]], also owned by the chain
File:Heinz57Center.jpg|The [[Heinz 57 Center]], formerly the Gimbel Brothers Department Store, built in 1914, located at 339 Sixth Avenue in [[Downtown Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]
File:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (8483677416).jpg|The iconic clock outside the Gimbels flagship in Pittsburgh
File:Milwaukee Riverwalk.jpg|The former Milwaukee flagship, the large white building on the left
File:2010 Milwaukee River Iroquois.jpg|Riverboat passing the former Milwaukee flagship location
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Ferry, John William. ''A History of the Department Store''. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1960.{{ISBN?}}
* Harris, Leon.  ''Merchant Princes''.  New York:  Harper & Row, 1979.{{ISBN?}}
* [[Michael Lisicky|Lisicky, Michael]]. ''Gimbels Has It!''. Charleston: The History Press, 2011.{{ISBN?}}
* Mahoney, Tom, and Sloane, Leonard.  ''The Great Merchants:  America's Foremost Retail Institutions and the People Who Made Them Great''.  New York:  Harper & Row, 1974.{{ISBN?}}

{{British American Tobacco}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1887 establishments in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1987 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1887]]
[[Category:British American Tobacco]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in New York City]]
[[Category:Defunct department stores based in New York City]]
[[Category:Economy of Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Economy of New York City]]
[[Category:Retail companies disestablished in 1987]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1887]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1987]]
[[Category:Elf (franchise)]]
[[Category:Gimbel family| ]]