Downtown Brooklyn's Fulton Street has a rich retail history, once bustling with department stores and specialty shops. The recent closure of Macy's reignites memories of significant stores like Abraham & Straus, which adapted over the decades to maintain competitiveness. Other notable retailers, such as Frederick Loeser & Co., exemplify the changes endured by the retail landscape. Brownstoner's exploration of these tales from the past illustrates how shopping habits and building use have evolved over time, marking a transformation in community identity within Brooklyn.
The retail corridor has certainly seen change over the centuries, and the recent announcement that Macy's would be closing its Fulton Street location brings to mind some of the other stores that have disappeared from the street.
In 1905, Abraham & Straus purchased the ground rights along Livingston Street, from Hoyt Street to Gallatin Street; expanded its basement store; and increased the building by 100,000 square feet.
Frederick Loeser & Co. survived until 1952, when it finally closed. The building underwent a massive face lift on the Fulton Street side in 1953.
Downtown Brooklyn's Fulton Street has long been a shopping mecca, home to large department stores and specialty retailers alike.
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