Yeilding's

Yeilding's Inc. was founded in 1876 by William Hood, making it Birmingham's first department store. Hood and his brother-in-law Frank Yeilding worked together at the first store, named Hood-Yeilding and Company, located on 2nd Avenue North between 19th Street North and 20th Street North, which was then moved in 1890 to the corner of 3rd Avenue North and 20th Street.

Frank Yeilding and his brother, William Yeilding, bought the store from Hood in 1910 and changed the name to Yeilding Brothers Company and moved the company to a building built by architects Miller, Martin and Lewis, at 2129 2nd Avenue North, in 1911. The three story building had merchandise on the first, and third floor, and used the second floor as a boarding house.

The downtown store was completely remodeled in 1955 with fashion accessories, mens and boys' wear, shoes and fine foods on the "Street Floor"; gift, cards and luggage on the mezzanine; women's ready-to-wear, sportswear, lingerie, girls' clothes, infant and layette clothing, piece goods, notions, art needlework and restrooms on the "Fashion Floor"; furniture, housewares, curtains, draperies, bedding, linens, domestics and appliances on the "Home Floor"; and work clothing, uniforms and store offices on the lower level. The entire building was air-conditioned and served with new elevators.

Milton Yeilding was president of the chain when it opened a new location at the Vestavia Mall on March 1, 1965. The location, the third for the chain in Vestavia Hills, was designed by Lawrence Whitten and built by Daniel Construction.

References

• "Yeilding's building new Vestavia store" (October 1964) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
• Satterfield, Carolyn Green (1976) "Historic Sites of Jefferson County, Alabama" Jefferson County Historical Commission