The Store with a Star
By Laurie Lewis
At the end of this month, on Thanksgiving, all eyes will turn to the Macy’s at Herald Square, where the annual televised parade ends with the arrival of Santa Claus. Few parade-watchers know the backstory of Macy’s. After reading this, you will be among the informed.
The man behind the store was Rowland Hussey Macy. He sailed on a whaling ship as a teenager before deciding the sea life was not for him. Wanderlust must have been in his veins, however, because he moved around--to California, Wisconsin, and back to his home state of Massachusetts--trying unsuccessfully to establish a dry goods business. Then he relocated to New York City, where he tried again. He opened a small store bearing his name on Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in 1858, ringing up all of $11.06 on the first day. Business quickly picked up, and his first-year sales totaled about $85,000. By the time Macy died in 1877, the shop had expanded into a full-fledged department store taking up eleven adjacent buildings.
At the end of this month, on Thanksgiving, all eyes will turn to the Macy’s at Herald Square, where the annual televised parade ends with the arrival of Santa Claus. Few parade-watchers know the backstory of Macy’s. After reading this, you will be among the informed.
The man behind the store was Rowland Hussey Macy. He sailed on a whaling ship as a teenager before deciding the sea life was not for him. Wanderlust must have been in his veins, however, because he moved around--to California, Wisconsin, and back to his home state of Massachusetts--trying unsuccessfully to establish a dry goods business. Then he relocated to New York City, where he tried again. He opened a small store bearing his name on Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in 1858, ringing up all of $11.06 on the first day. Business quickly picked up, and his first-year sales totaled about $85,000. By the time Macy died in 1877, the shop had expanded into a full-fledged department store taking up eleven adjacent buildings.
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