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Originally Posted by JohnIII
Truth is the sky is the limit as well; especially if the former Gimble's site were to get a supertall with stores on the lower 2 floors or a television studio; something nice. Why not rebuild it; so far it really has potential.
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Shame this icon is gone .... replaced by a freaking parking lot .
The surviving structure on Chestnut Street still sports an ornate canopy | Photo: Shadowbat
The surviving structure on Chestnut Street still sports an ornate canopy | Photo: Shadowbat
One of the biggest parking lots in Center City–not that long ago known as the “Disney Hole”–was the site of Gimbels, a grand department store of the late 19th and most of the 20th century. The site, long held by the real estate firm Goldenberg Group, was, according to the company’s plan, to be Market8, a casino and mixed use development. But last week the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded Philadelphia’s second casino license to Live! Hotel and Casino. The property remains in limbo.
Of the three big stores at Eighth and Market Streets–Gimbels, Strawbridge and Clothier and Lit Brothers–Gimbels held court at the southwest corner. Gimbels’ history began not in Philadelphia, but in rural Vincennes, Indiana, where Bavarian immigrant Adam Gimbel opened his first dry goods establishment in the 1840s after years of peddling goods along the Mississippi. A little over 40 years later, on September 29, 1887, five of Adam’s sons (the Gimbel brothers) opened a new store in Milwaukee. Adam Gimbel had “retired” in 1885 and moved to Philadelphia, though he continued to make trips to Milwaukee to check up on the business.
As Gimbels became successful in Milwaukee, the brothers began to prospect new markets. They considered Chicago and Saint Louis were considered, but both cities had well established stores of their own that the Gimbels would have to compete against. They decided Philadelphia, would be ideal–it would give the store immediate access to the East Coast market. Haines and Company–a dry goods store at Ninth and Market–was severely hammered by the Panic of 1893. Facing liquidation the following March, the owners agreed to sell the establishment to the Gimbel brothers for the grand sum of $1 million. On March 21, 1894, the store reopened as Gimbels Philadelphia.”Handsomely dressed women fought and scrambled to gain admittance to the store. Bonnets were crushed, clothing torn, and umbrellas twisted into almost unrecognizable shapes,” noted the Philadelphia Record. At least one window broke under pressure from the crowd.