The Halle Brothers Company (1891-1982), a department store known for high quality merchandise and superior service, began on February 7, 1891 as a small hat and fur shop operated by brothers Samuel H. (1868-1954) and Salmon P. Halle (1866-1949). It was located at 221 Superior Street near Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio. They purchased the business from Captain T. S. Paddock. In 1893 the business was moved to Euclid Avenue and East 4th Street due to a need for more space. It was also around this time that women's ready to wear clothing began to be carried by the store.
In 1902 the company was incorporated, changing its name from Halle Brothers to The Halle Bros. Co. The store continued to grow, adding both space and departments. A new building was constructed at Euclid and East 12th Street where the company moved in 1910. An addition was opened in 1914 allowing for the addition of new departments including furniture, toys, and sporting goods.
In 1921 Salmon P. Halle resigned as president to devote himself to philanthropic work and other private interests. Samuel Halle then became president. By 1927 a new building, the Huron-Prospect store was opened in the Playhouse Square district. Branch stores were opened in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1929 and Canton, Ohio, in 1930. Although losses did occur during the Great Depression, business bounced back after World War II allowing Halle Bros. Co. to open suburban branches, beginning with a Shaker Square store in 1948. Walter Halle, son of Samuel, became president in 1946 and Samuel moved to the position of chairman of the board. There was also expansion to their main downtown Euclid Avenue store which was completed in 1949.
Problems began to arise in the 1960s stemming from the over-expanded downtown store and sales competition from stores such as the Higbee Co. and May Co. In 1970 Halle Bros. Co. was merged with Marshall Field and Company of Chicago, Illinois. Operations continued to decline and Chisholm Halle, son of Walter who had become president in 1966, resigned in 1974. Medium-priced goods were introduced but failed help the stores and in 1981 they were sold to Associated Investors Corporation which closed or sold all stores in 1982.
The Halle Bros. Co. Records, 1891-1982 and undated, consist of advertisements, annual reports, articles of incorporation, a book draft, brochures, bylaws, cash books, certificates, charts, constitutions, correspondence, diaries, forms, guest books, handbooks, journals, leases, ledgers, lists, magazine articles, manuals, memoranda/notices, minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, notes, a play script, press releases, reports, sales data, scrapbooks, and tax records.
This collection is of value to researchers studying the growth and decline of department stores during the twentieth century in the United States generally and in Cleveland, Ohio, more specifically. Anyone interested in the Halle Brothers Company history and Marshall Field and Company history will find this collection useful. There is much information regarding retail business practices, employee relations and associations, and sales data. Those interested in the decline of the Playhouse Square area of Cleveland in the 1960s and the shift of downtown shopping trends will also find this collection of value. The collection also documents the lives of working women at Halle Bros., including office workers and workroom assistants.
The collection is arranged in four series.
All photographs have been removed to PG 574 Halle Bros. Co. Photographs.
Processed by Hannah Kemp-Severence in 2012.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5112 Halle Bros. Co. Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gifts of Cynthia Halle in 1984 and 1988; Ann Halle Little in 1991; Mrs. Robert Shankland in 1991; and Howard and Beverly King in 2007.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.