, also known as '''Hecht Brothers''', '''Hecht Bros.''' and the '''Hecht Company''', was a large chain of
Department Stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic region of the
United States .
As of 2005, Hecht's had some 81 stores in 19 markets in
Maryland , the
District Of Columbia ,
Virginia ,
North Carolina ,
Tennessee ,
Delaware ,
New Jersey , and
Pennsylvania . Its locations in
New Jersey ,
Delaware and the majority of those in
Pennsylvania were operated under the name of
Strawbridge's . Hecht's headquarters was in
Arlington ,
Virginia .
Hecht's was founded and was long operated as a family firm. It was purchased in 1959 by
May Department Stores which in turn, was acquired by
Federated Department Stores on
August 30 ,
2005 . On February 1, 2006, Federated dissolved the former May Company divisions and the existing Hecht's stores were divided between
Macy's East and
Macy's South and the replacement Hecht's store in Chevy Chase, Maryland scheduled to open in 2007 will be assumed by
Bloomingdale's . By Fall 2006, the Hecht's name will be phased out in favor of the nationally known .
The Hecht Company was founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. The Hecht family was
Jewish and came from near
Heidelberg ,
Germany . Samuel's father was murdered in Germany. His widow and children, including Samuel, left Germany and immigrated to the
United States during the 1840s. Samuel himself arrived by ship in
Baltimore ,
Maryland in 1847 at the age of 17.
Samuel Hecht became an itinerant peddler selling his goods in and around Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore of the
Chesapeake Bay . After a decade of itinerant peddling, he settled down and started what would become the Hecht stores.
In 1857 Samuel Hecht opened a used furniture store on Aliceanna Street (near South Broadway) in
Baltimore .
By 1870 this venture had moved to a more auspicious location at 412 South Broadway where the name "HECHT" can still be seen, carved in foot-high letters into the granite lintel over the doorway. Clothing was added to the lineup in 1879 under the name of
Hecht's Reliable . Shortly thereafter, a carpet and matting establishment was opened in Baltimore at 310 West Lexington Street.
Over the front of the new store on Lexington Street was a sign reading "Samuel Hecht, Jr. & Sons," reflecting the development of the firm as a family enterprise. Four of Samuel's sons eventually joined him in business. They were, in order of age: Emanuel (Manny), Albert S., Alexander (Alex), and Moses S. Hecht.
Emanuel Hecht joined his father in business in 1880. In 1886 he and Albert were listed as partners with their father. Alex and Moses came into the firm later and contributed to its success. Samuel Hecht died in 1907. His sons and, later, his grandsons carried on the business.
The growth of the firm continued in Baltimore with the opening of the
Hecht Brothers store on Baltimore and Pine streets in 1885, the
Hub store in Baltimore in 1897; and
Hecht Brothers at Howard and Franklin streets in 1926. Hecht stores were also established in
New York City and
Easton , Maryland. There was also a branch in
Annapolis , Maryland. However, the most important move was into
Washington, D.C.
The Hechts opened a store in
Washington on March 20, 1896, which moved to a grand glass and marble store at the corner of 7th and F Streets
Northwest in November of 1925. Alexander Hecht directed the Washington part of the business for the family.
Hecht's was the first store in Washington to offer national brands. It also boasted the first
Parking Garage and first
Elevator . Its relatively open policies made it popular among
African-American s as well as the white populace.
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A tour of
Norman Rockwell 's
Four Freedoms paintings, intended to rally support for the Allied cause in
World War II and the purchase of war bonds, premiered at the store in 1943.
In July, 1951 a mixed race group began to picket outside the store, protesting racial segregation in the store's cafeteria. The offending policy was changed in January of the following year.
The vacated building, now across from the
Verizon Center , was extensively renovated and reopened in
2003 as Terrell Place, honoring Mary Church Terrell's role in desegregating that and other public accommodations in Washington.
Hecht's operated the last department store in downtown Washington, a structure at the corner of 12th and G Streets NW built in 1985 and renovated in 2003. The building has a direct entrance to the
Metro Center station of the
Washington Metro .
After
World War II , Hecht Company began to build new stores in the suburbs around
Washington and
Baltimore . In 1947 they opened a large three-story department store in a cornfield in
Silver Spring, Maryland , just north of Washington, D.C. The wisdom of this move was initially questioned; however, within a few years, more room was needed, and a fourth story was added to the building. Outside the center of Baltimore, Hecht's opened a store in Edmondson Village in 1955, followed by another in Northwood in 1956.
The Hecht chain was acquired by the
May Company in 1959. At this time, the historic
1924 Bernheim-Leader store on the corner of Howard and Lexington Streets in Baltimore was renamed Hecht's, becoming its flagship store in the Baltimore area. It closed in
1988 , one of the last department stores to remain in the downtown district. In 1998 it was declared a city landmark, and has since been renovated into
Condominium s.
Many other stores acquired later were also rebranded as Hecht's:
- Miller & Rhoads , based in Richmond, Virginia : cherry-picked best locations when this venerable chain dissolved in 1990
- , consolidated under Hecht's name 1992
- , two re-opened as Hecht's, the others being operated by corporate siblings Kaufmann's and Filene's
- in joint acquisition with JCPenney , fourteen consolidated the same year
- , management consolidated with Hecht's the same year but the Strawbridge name was retained, and expanded to all the Philadelphia locations
- Castner Knott , stores in Nashville area, purchased from Proffitt's in 2001, which had previously acquired them as a result of the Mercantile Stores/Dillard's merger in 1998
- Baltimore MSA / Annapolis - Westfield Annapolis ''(formerly Annapolis Mall)'' ''(opened 1979)''
- Baltimore MSA / Bel Air - Harford Mall ''(opened 1981)''
- Baltimore MSA / Columbia - The Mall In Columbia ''(opened 1975)''
- Baltimore MSA / Glen Burnie - Marley Station ''(opened 1987)''
- Baltimore MSA / Owings Mills - Owings Mills Mall ''(opened 1986)''
- Baltimore MSA / Towson - Towson Town Center ''(opened 1982)''
- Baltimore MSA / White Marsh - White Marsh Mall ''(opened 1991)''
- Baltimore MSA / Woodlawn - Security Square Mall ''(opened 1979)''
- Hagerstown - Valley Mall ''(opened 1999)''
- Salisbury - The Centre At Salisbury ''(opened 1991)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Bethesda - Westfield Montgomery ''(Montgomery Mall)'' (2 locations) ''(opened 1968, home store opened 2001)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Bowie - Bowie Town Center ''(opened 2001)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Chevy Chase - Wisconsin Avenue (freestanding) ''(opened 1995 in former W&L location)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Frederick - Francis Scott Key Mall ''(opened 1993)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Gaithersburg - Lakeforest Mall ''(opened 1978)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Hyattsville - The Mall At Prince George's ''(formerly Prince George's Plaza)'' ''(opened 1958)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Laurel - Laurel Mall ''(formerly Laurel Center Mall)'' ''(opened 1981)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Marlow Heights - Marlow Heights Shopping Center ''(opened 1960)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Waldorf - St. Charles Towne Center (2 locations) ''(opened 1990, home store opened 2004)''
- Washington, D.C. MSA / Wheaton - Westfield Wheaton ''(formerly Wheaton Plaza)'' ''(opened 1987)''
Competitors to The Hecht Company in Baltimore included:
- Longstreth, Richard W. "The mixed blessings of success: the Hecht Company and department store branch development after World War II," in Hudgins, Carter L. and Cromley, Elizabeth Collins eds., ''Shaping Communities: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, VI'': University Of Tennessee Press ( Knoxville ). Originally a 1995 monograph published by the Center for Washington Area Studies at George Washington University .
- Cultural Tourism D.C.: Terrell Place / Hecht Company Site
- Goethe-Institut : German-American Sites in Washington, D.C., The Hecht Company
- National Association of Colored Women's Clubs: " Washington D.C. Dedicates Terrell Place "
- ''Washington Business Journal'', " Bottom line bait ," October 24, 2003
