bonwit teller
i lived in nyc in the late 70s and loved bonwit teller. in fact, i still have my bonwit teller credits card wtih its lovely floral bouquet !
kangaroo ceramic planter pot made in italy bonwit teller italian statue vintage ...
what can consumers expect when you relaunch bonwit teller & co. this year ?
vintage bonwit teller purse in burgundy... very good vintage condition ...
with the headline: the decline of bonwit teller: did time pass retailer by? .
columbiana center in columbia, sc never had a bonwit teller. only richland mall ha a bonwit teller and it lasted less than 2 years. the wrong store for the wrong market .
real art, not like the junk i destroyed at bonwit teller ,
trump reportedly said of the decorations .
in severance, joan visits bonwit teller on a shopping spree. this time, mad men got the packaging right .
( bonwit teller), hortense mcquarrie odlum (1939). a woman' s place: the autobiography of hortense odlum. (new york, ny: scribner, 286 p .). former president of bonwit teller. oldum, hortense mcquarrie, 1892 -; bonwit teller & co. ; businesswomen - - united states - - biography .
the bonwit teller store on the corner of 56th street and fifth avenue was razed to make room for trump tower .
jay hyde crawford was a fashion illustrator most famous for his design for department store bonwit teller. a simple bouquet of violets created in 25 minutes according to him. in 1986 bonwit teller held a party for him to celebrate the enduring image .
apparently the casket of gems didn’t attract enough customers, and in april 1930, bonwit teller took over the stewart store. by this time bonwit teller was a formidable retailer, with stores in southampton, bar harbor, palm beach and similar outposts .
mr. trump in 1980 with a model of trump tower before it was built on the site of the bonwit teller building .
vintage kangaroo white ceramic planter, plant pot. marked made in italy for bonwit teller. no chips or breaks... .
floyd and hortense odlum would sell their investment in bonwit teller to walter hoving' s hoving corporation. at the same time, albert m. greenfield' s philadelphia - based investment company bankers securities corporation acquired bonwit teller' s philadelphia stores. with bonwit teller, hoving would establish a strong retail presence on fifth avenue that would also include tiffany & co. although hoving was responsible for the significant growth of bonwit teller, it was ultimately this over - expansion, along with constantly changing ownership, that led to the firm' s collapse .
pair of glazed ceramic plates with a relief zebra design. signed. made in italy for bonwit teller. circa 1970... .
its competitors were diversifying their product lines, ...... re diversifying their product lines, and bonwit teller became noted within
it was a small print ad for “parfums chanel” announcing the chanel line of fragrances now available at bonwit teller, an upscale department store .
i am the daughter of a woman who worked for the original bonwit teller stores in nyc an white plains. i still have a bonwit teller tin, a bonwit teller bear and her bonwit teller tag. i t broke my heart to see such a glorious, elegant store be so mismanaged and brought to ruin by companies like genesco and federated who didn' t really give a damn about saving it and simply milked the cash cow until it was dry. my mother worked in the miss bonwit women' s dept. what wonderful memories i have of the original elegance and splendor of the ny and white plains stores .
bonwit teller beverly hills actually took over jj haggarty' s store at wilshire rodeo. the wj sloane building was next door and became gumps .
andy warhol. bonwit teller window display advertising mistigri perfume. 28 jun 1955. dan arje papers. new school archives and special collections digital archive .
wanting his own business, bonwit established a store in new york at sixth avenue and eighteenth street in 1895. two years later edmund d. teller and he relocated their establishment (now known as bonwit teller) to sixth avenue and twenty - third street. the partners incorporated their firm in 1907 as bonwit teller & company and in 1911 relocated yet again, this time to the corner of fifth avenue and thirty - eighth street. [ 3 ]
in mad men episode 3. 08: souvenir, pete encounters joan working at bonwit teller. he leaves with a replacement dress, but sharp - eyed fans noted that pete’s bag was not bonwit’s signature violet - covered package .
i worked at the new york bonwit teller in the eighties as a sales - clerk. it was a wonderful experience. the store was always impeccably neat. every item a customer purchased was wrapped in purple bonwit teller tissue paper. i also enjoyed browsing the nearby stores, such as tiffany’s. the store had a way of making you feel safe, sad to see any department store go, but especially bonwit teller, and i really miss my employee discount card .
donald trump with a model of trump tower before it was built on the site of the bonwit teller building in new york, aug. 1, 1980 .
paul joseph (or josef) bonwit (september 29, 1862 – december 11, 1939) was a german - born american businessman. he was the founder of bonwit teller department store in new york city. bonwit controlled the company bearing his name from its founding in 1895 until its sale in 1934 .
andy warhol' s window display at bonwit teller department store, 1961. photograph by nathan gluck © estate of nathan gluck. courtesy of luis de jesus los angeles
edward l. lach, jr. paul j. bonwit, american national biography online .
bonwit, paul j. (29 sept. 1862 - 11 dec. 1939), retail merchant, was born paul joseph (or josef) bonwit near hanover, germany, the son of bernard bonwit .
wikipedia - en: special: filepath / old _ bonwit _ logo. png
the backstory: the new york city bonwit' s was founded in 1895 by paul bonwit. the first store was located on 18th and sixth as part of the fashionable
ladies' mile
streets of shops. two years later edmund teller became a partner. bonwit teller specialized in high - end women' s apparel and was known for providing its workers with good salaries. bonwit' s moved uptown over the years, and by 1930 was at 56th and fifth avenue. that location (next door to tiffany' s) remained the flagship until bonwit' s finally closed .
things are looking up at bonwit teller. upscale, that is. bonwit' s, closed for a year here, is back in town with a sleek, more expensive new store and a new management that is aiming for a more affluent clientele .
the former bonwit teller building on fifth avenue nicely complimented the adjoining tiffany building before tiffany' s chairman, walter hoving, made an uninspired four - story addition to it .
from left, the stewart & company store in 1929, soon to become bonwit teller; the front door, also 1929; and the trademark limestone reliefs coming down in 1980 .
great to find a photo of the main bonwit teller store. such a pic is almost impossible to find on the internet! must have made a perfect pair with the tiffany building
twenty years ago, bonwit teller and saks fifth avenue, two of the nation' s most celebrated fashion retailers catering to affluent customers, were roughly equivalent in size and approach .
the cleveland, ohio bonwit teller was part of the original bonwit teller stores. i still have my original bonwit teller credit card from them which lists the cleveland location on the back in addition to the original new york city location. the card is very very old as it carries my full address at that time and has a city and zone number rather than a zip code - - ie cleveland 11, ohio as opposed to cleveland, ohio 44111 which would be pre 1963 when then zip code system came in place in july, 1963 .
she does so because the story of how trump dealt with a couple of historically and artistically significant sculptures on the bonwit teller building he razed to build trump tower is a fascinating one .
donald trump promised to save some important architectural features on the old bonwit teller department store before it was torn down to make way for trump tower. he reneged. the associated press .
i am the daughter of a woman who worked in the original nyc and white plains stores for more than 30 years. it broke my heart to see the stores so mismanaged by companies like genesco and federated that didn' t really give a damn about saving the stores, they simply milked the cash cow for everything it was worth and brought it to ruin. i still have an original bonwit teller tin, a bonwit teller bear and my mother' s bonwit teller badge. i have wonderful memories of the splendor and elegance of the original stores .
the site of that epitome of elegance and style - - bonwit teller - is now trump tower. how sad. i wish my daughter could have known the store as i did .
i have a ton of bonwit teller hats from my grandmother in their original box. i was looking to sell them anyone interested or know where the best place to sell them is ?
i frequently shopped at the bonwit teller in troy, michigan. what a wonderful store. i have a reversible rain slicker that is lilac on one side and violets on the other side, a beautiful scarf with a large spray of violets, and a tote bag that is white canvas with a large spray of violets. of course, they all have the bonwit teller labels .
chic 1970s bonwit teller boho cotton boho maxi skirt! features soft quilted cotton with a vibrant green background. colorful paisley and floral prints in orange, burnt orange, blue, ...
a modern couture original retailed by bonwit teller in the 1960' s this sparkling gold and cream woven lame dress has a jeweled tulle bodice with a plunging neckline and slightly rais ...
bonwit teller: the name doesn' t mean as much to new yorkers today as it did back in 1910, and trump tower might have something to do with it. when bonwit teller & company closed the doors to its 56th street location in 1979, a 34 - year - old donald trump acquired the property, deeming it the perfect space to build his iconic tower .
there was no bonwit' s in garden city... wish there had been !
rival retailers express sympathy but are often caustic about the reasons for bonwit' s downfall .
bonwit teller & co. was a department store in new york city founded by paul bonwit in 1895 at sixth avenue and 18th street. in 1897 edmund d. teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd street, east of sixth avenue. bonwit specialized in high - end women' s apparel at a time when many of its competitors were diversifying their product lines, and bonwit teller became noted within the trade for the quality of its merchandise as well as the above - average salaries paid to both buyers and executives. the partnership was incorporated in 1907 and the store made another move, this time to the corner of fifth avenue and 38th street .
the jewish floridian, january 30, 1942 .
... rebecca woolf bonwit, mother of walter b. bonwit; ...
( university of florida digital collections )
1895 at sixth avenue and 18t... ... rk city founded by paul bonwit
bonwit teller in columbia sc (in richland mall) was open for 2 years and was a' real' bt. i worked there and shopped there. it was only open for 2 years though .
nothing said
good taste
in cleveland as much as bonwit' s. the local department and specialty stores could try and had their fans, but bonwit teller also said
new york city
. at 550 miles away (most of it endless stretches on the pennsylvania turnpike), we didn' t get to new york often. in bonwit' s i could pretend i was there .
recalling that bonwit in the late 1960' s had an enviable 10 percent operating profit margin, mr. levy, the new york consultant who had also worked for bonwit, attributed the gains to the introduction of designer clothes at the chain by mildred custin, then bonwit' s chairman .
beginning in the 1960s, a series of corporate takeovers changed the face of retailing. bonwit’s was sold several times, and it lost the luster that bergdorf, in particular, was able to retain. although some ancillary stores survived until 2000, bonwit teller closed its store at fifth and 56th in 1979 .
wikipedia - en: special: filepath / old _ bonwit _ logo. png? width = 300
regarding ex - buyer' s store list, i grew up in san francisco and there was never a bonwit teller in palo alto (or anywhere in northern california for that matter). wish there had been .
lichterman revamped the bagatelle site last fall but has only recently, in the past few months, begun to actively promote the blog. “i’m not sure if the popularity of the bonwit teller bag has something to do with
bonwit teller tangerine hand - beaded evening bag is done with micro - sized glass seed beads styled in waves of swirls of semi - circles. hand - beaded in beligum, the gold hardware frame is a ...
item: gorgeous pauline trigere for bonwit teller vintage 1960' s linen midi dress brand: pauline trigere color: blue size: us 0 - 2? see measurements. condition: in excellent condition; no s ...
wynnewood center was a premier destination when it opened in 1954, in wynnewood, pa. , on philadelphia' s upscale main line. the original center had 11 stores including a supermarket, a john wanamaker and a bonwit teller .
'' one of the first things robert campeau told me in 1986 was that bonwit had to be sold,'' said william ruben, who was chairman and chief executive of bonwit from 1983 through march 1989 .
bonwit teller hat box vintage purple violets. some water stains and damage on top. the top is detached from the sides of the top in some places. has some marks on box. original tissue paper inside. th ...
the history of bonwit teller is fraught with economic downturns and subsequent saves. alas the bell tolled its last in 1990 when a greatly diminished bonwit' s shut its doors for good. by that time it had been relegated to a small presence on the 57th street side. the main building had been bought and demolished by a brash young developer making his name in new york city real estate. today trump tower stands where bonwit' s used to hold court .
the company’s flagship store was sold separately to donald trump. the flagship manhattan location was demolished in 1980 to build the original trump tower and bonwit’s opened a new location at fifth avenue and 56th street. ultimately, bonwit’s only lasted a short time in its new location, before being closed in 1990. bonwit’s would be replaced by galeries lafayette .
brand: unbranded logo' s & tags: none condition: very beautiful 1950' s - 1960' s vintage bonwit teller
jana
doctor carpet bag in great vintage used condition. the exterior bold multi - colored floral ca ...
who demolished the bonwit teller department store to make way for trump tower. a federal judge ruled that trump conspired to cheat the workers, who never did collect all of their $ 4 - an - hour wages despite an 18 - year struggle .
in 1939 bonwit’s retained salvador dalí to design its windows, for which he supplied a bathtub lined with persian lamb. but in 1942 life magazine reported that “lacings, according to miss frances heller, corsetière at new york’s bonwit teller, are a fine thing. they enable a woman to bind herself firmly where bulges are biggest, and shape remains as laced. ”
during this period, bonwit grew at a much slower pace and with a lower degree of coordination than its peer, saks fifth avenue, which was roughly the same size as bonwit in the 1950s. during this period, bonwit did retain a role on the development of fashion and design, most notably helping to launch the career of calvin klein .
both bonwit and saks were put up for sale several months ago, but for very different reasons. bonwit drew no bidders, while the more alluring saks attracted eight, leading to strong expectations that it will soon have new owners .
mr. leblang added,'' consumers didn' t quite know what bonwit' s had anymore.''
if you like, there is an excellent photo of the lincoln road, miami beach location of bonwit teller from 1937 at urltoken i believe the lo - res version may be used without rights - hope this adds to the history of this wonderful store .
'' i don' t mean to be unkind,'' said marvin j. rothenberg, head of the retail marketing consulting firm bearing his name,'' but bonwit teller was dead for years, only no one buried it.''
two stone bas - relief sculptures high on the façade of the bonwit teller building under demolition on fifth avenue – pieces that had been sought with enthusiasm by the metropolitan museum of art – were smashed by jackhammers yesterday on the orders of a real estate developer .
once upon a time that shopping bag was new and contained a treasure. it doesn' t matter what it held— a scarf, a handkerchief, a pair of gloves or stockings— it was a treasure because it meant you had been shopping at bonwit teller .
the company was started by paul j. bonwit in the 1880' s when he opened a small shop at sixth avenue and 18th street selling fine women' s apparel and exclusive designs. in 1898, he formed a partnership with edmund d. teller .
my husband helped frame bonwit teller at the carousel in syracuse. amazing soffits and beautiful paintings. natural lighting down to the 1st floor. sad to learn that the store has been closed - wished our son would have gotten a chance to see this ingenious design .
bonwit teller, founded in the 1880' s in new york, was sold in may 1987 by allied stores for $ 101 million to hooker, one of australia' s largest real - estate developers. the sale was one of several divestitures by the campeau corporation, the canadian developer that purchased allied in 1986. many more bonwit' s stores are now planned nationally, mr. dworkin said .
in 1979, trump acquired a building at 56th street and fifth avenue that previously housed the women' s retailer bonwit teller. the art deco structure was built in 1929 by whitney warren and charles wetmore, the same architects who designed the beaux - arts grand central terminal .
the old bonwit teller building at 721 fifth ave. on the corner of 56th street in new york city, as it looked in 1956. the metropolitan museum of art asked donald trump to save the two stone bas - relief sculptures high on the façade. the associated press
by 1986, between 15% and 20% of the tower' s original stores had closed down or moved to another location. the commercial rents were the highest of any building along fifth avenue at the time, with retail space in the atrium costing $ 450 per square foot ($ 4, 800 / m 2) per year. [ 37 ] the flagship bonwit teller store remained as one of trump tower' s retail offerings until 1990, when bonwit teller' s parent company declared bankruptcy and closed the trump tower location. [ 4 ]
between 2005 and 2008, we began negotiations to acquire and relaunch the bonwit teller department store brand. it would serve to be the retail showcase for all grand metropolitan consumer luxury goods. with the new economy, bonwit’s will be rechristened with offerings found in qatar holdings’ harrods, russia’s gum, and orcofi’s (luxadvor) hediards. we have been approached by many luxury brand partners from lalique to lamborghini. •
i have a neighbor that asked to borrow a clutch purse for her son' s wedding and i went in my closet to see what clutch purses that i had put away, and i forgot that i had a bonwit teller clutch purse. i' ve had that purse since the 70' s and i had it so wrapped up and it still looks like i just bought it yesterday, so those that own any bonwit teller, don' t get rid of it. they are wonderful, elegant purses. sad the store no longer exist. vr
bonwit teller began opening small branches in 1934, with a
seasonal
shop in palm beach. eventually there were 19 branch locations, usually located in exclusive shopping centers of wealthy cities. how cleveland got one i' ll never know, but i' m eternally grateful .
by the 1910s bonwit teller & company was one of the most prominent women’s retailers in the city. but it was still on fifth avenue and 38th street in 1929, when stewart, another women’s store, built an emporium at fifth avenue and 56th street in the new luxury retailing district .
in addition to criticizing the president' s blaming
both sides
for the violence and screaming at (and devouring) an american flag sheet cake, she tells viewers to
google' trump bonwit teller.'
( it begins around 5: 55 in the clip below. )
bonwit was born near hanover, germany, the son of bernard bonwit. [ 1 ] at the age of 16, he moved to paris, where he found work with a local export house as a clerk and continued his studies at night. in 1883, at age 21, he emigrated to the united states, locating at first in lincoln, nebraska, where he worked in a department store. he moved to new york city for a job with rothschild & company, which was renamed bonwit, rothschild & company when he later became a partner. he eventually settled in new york city. he married rebecca woolf bonwit [ 2 ] (1869 - 1934) in 1893 and they had two sons, harold woolf bonwit (1896 - 1950) and walter b. bonwit (1901 - 1984) .
'' i started with bonwit and it was a great company many years ago,'' said ira neimark, chairman and chief executive of bergdorf goodman.'' but the lack of consistent management is one of the biggest reasons why bonwit lost its way.''
mr. congel said pyramid would not restrict bonwit stores to just company - owned malls, of which 17 new ones are in development. he said plans called for new bonwit stores in'' appropriate, upscale locations in such cities as philadelphia and new york.'' he added,'' we want to open at least one new bonwit a year but we want to have total control.''
my grandmother, ethel johnson rienzi, was a buyer of suits at the original ny bonwit teller and also a friend of paul bonwit. i' ve often heard the story about how he wanted her at his side when he passed away, but i never understood the history of the store. thanks so much for putting this all in one place, i am enjoying it and will be back as you continue to build it .
from assistant to doorman at bonwit teller to ceo of bergdorf goodman; transformed iconic fifth avenue department store: 1) reintroduced paris couture in united states, 2) showcased great italian, french designers, 3) developed best new american designers, 4) elaborate promotional launch events featured haute couture .
bonwit teller in manhasset had one of the most beautiful store on the miricle mile in manhasset, unfortunately the service was usually rude. nonetheless it went out of business the same at b altman for all the wrong reasons. . greed being the major reason. so now its a whole foods store .
the hooker corporation, the australian developer that bought both bonwit and b. altman, went into chapter 11 bankruptcy in august and put bonwit on the block to raise cash. last week a federal bankruptcy judge approved hooker' s plan to liquidate most of the bonwit stores. as a result, there was a sharp cutback in the number of stores, to 4 from 16, effectively putting the other 12 out of business .
“donald j. trump said last night that he had ordered the destruction of two art deco bas - relief sculptures on the bonwit teller building last week because their removal could have cost more than $ 500, 000 in taxes, demolition delays and other expenses, and might have endangered passing pedestrians on fifth avenue .
in 1979, he had purchased the bonwit teller building on fifth avenue with the intention of constructing a luxury condominium project. he immediately made himself into a villain of preservationists by demolishing the art deco department store and its famous limestone reliefs, which he had initially promised to give to the metropolitan museum of art .
when stanley whitman decided in the 1950' s to build a mall on the site of a former army barracks on collins avenue, within a block of both the atlantic ocean and biscayne bay, miami beach was deteriorating badly and upscale department stores like bonwit teller had fled the main shopping street, lincoln road .
in 1930 bonwit chose a new address farther north on fifth avenue – the former a. t. stewart & company building at fifty - sixth street. in 1931, the company drew the attention of noted financier floyd odlum who made a significant investment into the company. bonwit agreed to let odlum' s wife hortense serve as a consultant to the company in 1932. two years later, dogged by poor health and saddened by the death of his wife, bonwit sold the firm to odlum' s atlas corporation. odlum promptly named his wife as the new president (she was the first woman to hold such a position in new york), with bonwit' s son walter bonwit staying on as vice president and general manager .
the bonwit teller store is another lost landmark of the time when the 57th street area was the home of suave and sophisticated shops instead of the brash hyperscraper. designed in 1929 as the stewart & company store, it had an entranceway that was a stupendously luxurious mix of limestone, bronze, platinum and hammered aluminum .
in the summer of 1989, however, hooker found itself with little money even after selling bonwit' s accounts receivables to the ge capital corporation .
for example, not far from bonwit' s is heritage on the green, a new office - apartment - retail complex that includes boutiques like escada, hermes and saint laurent rive gauche. bonwit' s sells escada clothing. newbury street and its many specialty stops are also a few blocks away .
back in the mid 70' s i once ran into the old time actress lillian gish in bonwit teller on 56th. i mean literally ran into her... well a small mass of mink coat. i was told: you just bumped into lillian gish (i had never heard of her). actually she walked into me, but i was a mere no one... very much like today! at least i had my brush with greatness. wait, i am sure i have never seen a movie with her in it... who is she? i know one thing, she was clearly a bonwit teller customer !
hello - i have a handled limoges dish, hand painted w / fruit and stamped on the back
made for bonwit teller
. i have had no luck in locating this on the net. any information anyone may have will be tremendously appreciated! you can send to my email address: egerson623 @ urltoken thanks in advance
intimate portraits of the young artist by friends also provide a fascinating and alternative look at a man who would become simultaneously plagued and enamoured with his own image. on another wall, large scale shopfront window displays for clients like dior at the bonwit teller fifth avenue department store have been recreated from sketches and photographs of the original windows .
the pyramid companies of syracuse, which bought the bonwit name and the leases on two bonwit stores, said it would heed the lessons of the retailer' s decline. pyramid plans to encourage a new top management team to focus sharply on profits, partly by giving the executives a 50 percent stake in the business .
bonwit teller, in conjunction with the opening of the “fantastic art, dada, surrealism” exhibit at the museum of modern art, had commissioned a series of windows by surrealist artists. who better to contribute than salvador dali, exemplar of the movement, creator of the ubiquitous melting clocks, and the man who said, “i myself am surrealism” ?
at the very top of the facade were limestone relief panels of two nearly naked women brandishing large scarves, as if dancing. the architects were whitney warren and charles wetmore, super - traditional beaux - arts designers of mansions and clubs — a puzzling choice for a such an outré building. in time the reliefs would become a bonwit teller signature .
'' but as bonwit' s began to flounder,'' mr. levy said,'' it lost the sharp elbows that saks fifth avenue had. without that or a more critical mass, it meant that bonwit couldn' t get its deliveries on time nor enough exclusives to make it stand out.''
'' we feel that our customer is very sophisticated and very demanding,'' said david l. dworkin, president and chief executive officer of bonwit' s .
industry analysts said that bonwit' s problems were magnified by the operational and marketing changes brought about as at least 10 management teams altered the company with their own agendas. by comparison, saks had three top - management shuffles in the same period, and they kept the chain' s policy consistent. they also drove saks' s sales to six times that of bonwit' s - more than $ 1 billion, compared with $ 168 million - and kept the stores profitable while bonwit suffered intermittent losses .
paul j. bonwit died in manhattan in 1939 after a brief illness and is interred in a private mausoleum in kensico cemetery in valhalla, new york. [ 7 ]
walter k. levy, a retail - marketing consultant, said,'' genesco bought bonwit for prestige, allied bought it to go upscale and hooker bought it for anchors for its medium - income malls.'' but bonwit was a high - priced retailer that did not fit into some of the new hooker malls, he said .
there are very handsome outd oor terraces at the top level of the atrium that overlook the great atrium of the former ibm building on the eastern half of the block and adjoining the nike store that replaced the former galleries lafayette store that replaced the former bonwit teller store that had relocated to that location after its fifth avenue building had been demolished by replaced by trump tower .
with its signature logo of clusters of violets on boxes and bags, bonwit teller was instantly recognizable. the posh store, headquartered in new york city, opened in the 1890s. “bonwit’s” opened a detroit - area store in the late ’60s at somerset mall (now somerset collection). the location was adorned with marble, a plant - filled atrium, and a mural by richard lowell neas. but the grande dame underwent bankruptcy proceedings, and locations closed by 1990. the somerset store was razed to make way for neiman marcus in 1992 .
bonwit was acquired by the allied stores corporation in 1979 from genesco inc. , and allied seemed to give it the expansion and confidence that competing retail executives say it deserved .
the company would undergo another ownership change just ten years later with the acquisition of bonwit by genesco in 1956. at the time, genesco was a large conglomerate operating more than 64 apparel and retail companies. while genesco' s portfolio included other upscale brands, including henri bendel, the company was largely known as a shoe retailer. bonwit teller, which had developed a cutting edge reputation promoting a young christian dior and other prominent american designers, began to lose both its fashion and sales momentum in the mid - 1950s following the acquisition by genesco .
to build his skyscraper, trump first had to knock down the bonwit teller building, a luxurious limestone building erected in 1929. the face of the building featured two huge art deco friezes that the metropolitan museum of art wanted to preserve. the museum asked trump to save the sculptures and donate them, and the mogul agreed —as long as the cost of doing so wasn’t too high .
to build his skyscraper, trump demolished the bonwit teller building, which was erected in 1929 and included a historically significant art deco relief. the metropolitan museum of art was reportedly interested in preserving the artwork around the time of the building’s demolition, and, according to a 1980 report from the nyt, trump originally agreed to donate them to the museum as long as the price wasn’t too high .
the bonwit teller in palm desert was a very modern, clean lines, elegant store, and it felt very new york city inside, but there was a coldness to it, and snooty sales associates. i still have my bonwit teller card all employees received in order to use their employee discount, i ended up at the new bullock' s with more than the 20 hrs a week they had at bt for me. bullocks wilshire took over after bt closed and it brought new warmth to the store, and in the end it became i. magnin which fit in very nicely. the building became macy' s mens and home, and last i heard it was to be torn down for a new larger nordstrom store that was put on hold in 2008 when the economy went belly up .
after the bonwit teller reliefs were destroyed, the press, architects, metropolitan museum of art and the public were incredibly unhappy with his decision. john barron, identified as the vice president of the trump organization, was quoted in a new york times cover story defending trump' s decision. it was later reported by the washington post that barron may have actually been trump himself pretending to be a publicist .
i have been fortunate to acquire (on ebay) several pieces by the great modernist artisan georges briard, one of the artists' en residence' over many years supplying bonwit - teller with gorgeous and varied pieces of housewares and accessories. the story of the demise of the stores is as much a tragedy as it' s esoteric tradition of commitment to cultivating original and meticulously crafted artisan works under their auspices .
in 1961, the company added a store in short hills and, in 1965, merged with the three - store bonwit teller philadelphia chain (philadelphia, wynnewood, and jenkintown). later branches were located in oak brook, troy, palm desert, beverly hills, bal harbour (replacing the lincoln road resort shop in miami beach), kansas city, buffalo, syracuse, and columbia, south carolina .
the unhappy story of bonwit' s demise, analysts said, is a case of a retailer that first lost its edge in marketing and then became a repeated takeover target, with each new owner shifting strategies. customers, understandably confused, fled to other stores. and so bonwit' s once - profitable marketing formula of catering mainly to affluent, fashion - conscious women was squandered .
there are expanded - and more expensive - designer collections, a new men' s shop, special boutiques and a bonwit' s shoe salon (which was leased in the past).'' the new store is very new york,'' said sharyn fireman, a longtime bonwit' s shopper.'' there is not a lot of selection, but what they have is wonderful.''
although a poor church mouse of a working girl - to - be, i bought the dress i wore on all my first - job interviews at bonwit' s. with even less money as a working girl in new york, i wouldn' t dare go into the fancy stores like saks and bergdorf' s for fear they would sniff me out, but somehow still felt welcome in bonwit' s .
i' m helping with a documentary on chef edna lewis who briefly worked at bonwit teller as a window dresser. we' re looking for an exterior photo of bt and i wondered if someone here might have a personal photo you would be willing to contribute in exchange for credit and a copy of the finished dvd. you can learn more about edna lewis at wikipedia. org. you can reach me by clicking the 1200flasher link above .
as for the violets, they had been around for a while in a fusty, old fashioned way. bonwit' s premier illustrator in the 1950s was jay hyde crawford. fashion illustration was then an important element in advertising and editorial (alas no longer). in 25 minutes he
updated
bonwit' s violets in a free - form, modern way, and they became synonymous with the store. bonwit' s violets appeared not only on bags and hat boxes but bloomed on everything from playing cards to umbrellas. i' m hard pressed to think of any other store with a mascot like those violets .
great post! i remember the boston store well, even though the only thing i shopped for there was makeup. my mother used a toiletry bag from bonwit' s with the trademark violets on it, and i thought it was the prettiest thing ever. when i moved to chicago, they had a branch on michigan avenue in the base of the john hancock tower, and i vividly remember the summer i stalked every clinique gwp through every department store in the city - - carson pirie scott, i. magnin, marshall field, lord & taylor, saks, neiman marcus and of course, bonwit teller. talk about the good old days !
it is now up to pyramid, whose store leases are in boston and buffalo, to give bonwit a second life of sorts. pyramid says it will also seek to replace the flagship store being closed in trump tower in manhattan with another one on fifth avenue. two other bonwit stores, in hooker shopping malls in cincinnati and columbia, s. c. , will continue to operate under a license from pyramid .
the company enjoyed success under the direction of the odlums. [ 4 ] in may 1979, the developer donald trump acquired and later, in 1990, demolished the fifth avenue store in order to make room for the trump tower. bonwit teller would change ownership several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s. [ 5 ] in 1989, its parent company at the time filed for bankruptcy protection, liquidating most of the company in 1990. [ 6 ]
apparently, the first leg of the project was too important to entrust to american workers. in a lawsuit filed in manhattan federal court, members of house wreckers local 95 alleged that, to avoid paying union employees their pension and welfare benefits, trump (and the contractor he used for the job, kaszycki & sons) brought in some 200 undocumented polish workers to demolish the bonwit teller building that then occupied the site of the future trump tower .
the plan for a gleaming tower in place of the 12 - storey bonwit teller store, a stately structure built as stewart & co. in 1929, was hatched in 1978. at the time, donald trump was renovating the old hotel commodore, which became the grand hyatt, near grand central terminal. the work on trump tower began in 1980, and its namesake developer was soon revealed to be someone who did not mind playing the villain .
the plan for a gleaming tower in place of the 12 - story bonwit teller store, a stately structure built as stewart & company in 1929, was hatched in 1978. at the time, mr. trump was renovating the old hotel commodore, which became the grand hyatt, near grand central terminal. the work on trump tower began in 1980, and its namesake developer was soon revealed to be someone who did not mind playing the villain .
as the shot pans, you can see that joan’s shopping spree didn’t start at bonwit’s. the distinctive brown and white striped henri bendel packaging is also visible; this is at least the second store she’s visited .
“we had to renovate because wynnewood center no longer met the needs of today' s tenants, ” says john tschiderer, federal realty vice president of redevelopment. “buildings had individual internal vertical circulation but were not connected to each other. two antiquated stores had to be made more marketable. we integrated existing buildings with below - grade services at the old bonwit teller building, through a loading dock and tunnel serving two three - story buildings and three primary tenants. ”
i met my friend barbara almost 60 years ago when she was working in bonwit' s
deb shop
and i was snooping around. we discovered we were both about to start the same art school that fall .
after years of begging for one, i finally got a lanz dress (blue cotton dimity print) and from the bonwit' s in boston— a spectacular location in a former mansion. i have never forgotten either one .
real estate specialists say that the mall' s private ownership enables the whitmans to act in ways that would be unheard - of for public companies, which are under constant pressure from stockholders. for example, one tenant, bonwit teller, went out of business more than a decade ago, but some of its 60, 000 square feet was unoccupied until recently because the younger mr. whitman hoped - - vainly, as it turned out - - to lure barneys new york to bal harbour .
i also remember bonwit' s like an old lover! i remember my favorite shoes and beautiful dress with jacket. that was in the 60' s and it' s still my favorite outfit. what a store it was .
allied moved the flagship store to trump tower and it seemed that after years of static ownership bonwit might finally thrive. but in 1986, allied was acquired in a hostile takeover by the campeau corporation, the canadian real estate developer .
trump' s demolition of the modest, but very attractive art deco box of the former bonwit teller building on fifth avenue designed by warren & wetmore in 1929 and remodeled the next year by ely jacques kahn was done before a protest could be effectively waged to preserve from trump' s jackhammers some very good - looking 15 - foot - high, art deco bas - reliefs on the facade that had been promised to the metropolitan museum of art along with decorative ironwork above the store' s entrance .
we may rightly lament the passing of bonwit teller and the other great bastions of retail elegance such as depinna and best & company that have disappeared from fifth avenue. once the great savoy plaza hotel was demolished to make way for the general motors building and once sheldon solow built his sloping skyscraper at 9 west 57th street, the low - rise, turn - of - the - century and jazz age - ambiance of this part of town was transformed into a melange of the old and the new .
the demolition crew included undocumented polish laborers, which kept costs down but subjected mr. trump to litigation. the contractor for the job of razing the bonwit teller building, william kaszycki, of kaszycki and sons contractors, ultimately served time in a new jersey prison for employing illegal immigrants on another project. after a legal battle lasting many years, a federal judge found that mr. trump, a group of his associates and a union official had conspired to avoid making payments to the housewreckers’ local 95 union .
during his business career, bonwit sat on the boards of both harriman national bank and a. sulka & company, while he also maintained an interest in philanthropies and the arts. he maintained an active interest in philanthropies and the arts .
bonwit’s joined an elite group of retailers on and near fifth avenue in the 50s: saks, bendels and bergdorf, but also names that are as vanished today as a notions counter: milgrim, peck & peck, jay thorpe and others .
born in germany, bonwit moved to the us in 1883, working in new york and nebraska. could work as a long shirt or a short dress. white and yellow flowers with green stems against blue. would pair great ...
hey ex - buyer, come clean w / your name! read the book :
trump tower
by sy rubin and jonathan mandell published by lyle stuart. it chronicles the rise of the tower and the destruction of bonwit' s flagship. even has some pics of it, which i find quite disturbing. you know some company bought the rights to the bonwit' s name and was due to start opening stores including a flagship in nyc when the recession in 2008 derailed it .
bonwit teller in new york 5th ave was my first real full time high school job as a computer data processor on the second floor behind the shoe dept. mildred custin was the president of the company and mr. o' neil was the store manager. i quit because the people were stuck up that worked there. most of them, not all of them, but most of them. too expensive ever with my store employee discount. only lasted a few months there and went to mays dept store in woodmere. liked the employees better. franklazza @ urltoken
ritts was raised in philadelphia, the daughter of schoolteachers, and was trained in art at the pennsylvania academy of fine arts. she became a fashion illustrator for bonwit teller and john wanamaker, and also was a good enough pianist and organ player to make occasional radio appearances. during world war ii, she volunteered at the local uso as a graphologist. one of her clients was paul ritts, then an armed forces radio announcer stationed in texas. family lore has it that her analysis of his handwriting showed a deep well of creativity. the two soon married.
bonwit teller & co. was a luxury department store in new york city founded by paul bonwit in 1895 at sixth avenue and 18th street , and later a chain of department stores . in 1897 edmund d. teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd street , east of sixth avenue . bonwit specialized in high-end women 's apparel at a time when many of its competitors were diversifying their product lines , and bonwit teller became noted within the trade for the quality of its merchandise as well as the above-average salaries paid to both buyers and executives . the partnership was incorporated in 1907 and the store made another move , this time to the corner of fifth avenue and 38th street . throughout much of the twentieth century , bonwit teller was one of a group of upscale department stores on fifth avenue that catered to the " carriage trade " . among its most notable peers were peck & peck , saks fifth avenue and b. altman and company . bonwit changed ownership frequently , particularly after 1979 . bonwit teller 's parent company declared bankruptcy in 1989 , resulting in the closure of the bulk of the company 's stores . despite efforts over the years to restore it , the bonwit teller brand is now defunct . 
bonwit teller & co. was a luxury department store in new york city founded by paul bonwit in 1895 at sixth avenue and 18th street, and later a chain of department stores. in 1897 edmund d. teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd street, east of sixth avenue. bonwit specialized in high-end women's apparel at a time when many of its competitors were diversifying their product lines, and bonwit teller became noted within the trade for the quality of its merchandise as well as the above-average salaries paid to both buyers and executives. the partnership was incorporated in 1907 and the store made another move, this time to the corner of fifth avenue and 38th street. throughout much of the twentieth century, bonwit teller was one of a group of upscale department stores on fifth avenue that catered to the " carriage trade ". among its most notable peers were peck & peck, saks fifth avenue and b. altman and company. bonwit changed ownership frequently, particularly after 1979. bonwit teller's parent company declared bankruptcy in 1989, resulting in the closure of the bulk of the company's stores. despite efforts over the years to restore it, the bonwit teller brand is now defunct.
bonwit teller & co. was a luxury department store in new york city founded by paul bonwit in 1895 at sixth avenue and 18th street, and later a chain of department stores. in 1897 edmund d. teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd street, east of sixth avenue. bonwit specialized in high-end women's apparel at a time when many of its competitors were diversifying their product lines, and bonwit teller became noted within the trade for the quality of its merchandise as well as the above-average salaries paid to both buyers and executives. the partnership was incorporated in 1907 and the store made another move, this time to the corner of fifth avenue and 38th street. throughout much of the twentieth century, bonwit teller was one of a group of upscale department stores on fifth avenue that catered to the " carriage trade ". among its most notable peers were peck & peck, saks fifth avenue and b. altman and company. bonwit changed ownership frequently, particularly after 1979. bonwit teller's parent company declared bankruptcy in 1989, resulting in the closure of the bulk of the company's stores. despite efforts over the years to restore it, the bonwit teller brand is now defunct.