Loveman's
Loveman's was a Birmingham-based chain of department stores with locations across Alabama. (There was also a Loveman's chain based in Tennessee started by a different branch of the Loveman family. The local chain was known as Loveman's of Alabama to distinguish the two.)
History
The store was originally founded as Loveman & Joseph in 1887 by A. B. Loveman and M. V. Joseph. In 1889, the company became Loveman, Joseph, & Loeb with the addition of Emil Loeb.
Loveman's primary location was built in 1890 at 200 19th Street on the corner of 3rd Avenue North. The store was expanded in 1899. By 1911, Loveman's was known as the largest, most magnificant department store south of the Ohio River. In 1917, an add-on known as the Loveman's annex was built between the main building and the Alabama Theatre.
The department store was destroyed in a massive fire in 1934, although the exterior of the annex survived. The store reopened within a few weeks at a temporary location while a new Loveman's building was built on the site of the fire. The new Loveman's building, completed in 1935, now houses the McWane Science Center. There was a clock on corner of the new building, facing the 19th Street/3rd Avenue intersection, which was a popular local landmark.
The downtown Loveman's building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1983.
Loveman's eventually opened additional locations across Birmingham and the state. Loveman's had anchor stores in both Western Hills Mall and Century Plaza when they opened. There were also stores in Huntsville and Montgomery.
Loveman's eventually became the property of City Stores Corporation. The chain went out of business with the closing of the original, downtown store in April 1980.
References
- Loveman's. (October 1, 2006). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:54, October 31, 2006, from [1].
- Loveman, Joseph and Loeb Department Store (Birmingham, Ala.). (1936). In Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections. Retrieved October 31, 2006 from [2].
- White, Marjorie Longenecker, ed. (1980) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide, second edition. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.