Korvette chain of discount department stores, whose 1950s strategy of low prices, quick turnover and high volume helped shape todays retail landscape. Remembering korvettes eugene ferkauf pleasant family shopping. This is a lot of 8 vintage department store charge cards. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of. Im going to move out of sequence for a moment to speak about e. The site was just north of baileys crossroads in northern virginia, on the site of the old piper cub airport.
But the history of retail is littered with departmentstore chains that sunk long before that. Korvette was coined as a combination of the initials of its founders eugene and joe and a respelling of the naval term corvette, which was the name of a canadian marine subdestroyer during world war ii. By so doing, korvettes displaced the earlier five and dime stores and preceded discount stores and warehouse clubs. Korvettes was among the first big anchor stores for the new king of prussia plaza shopping mall. More than they bargained for the rise and fall of korvettes.
Aug 03, 20 perhaps most notably, korvettes prided itself in offering an extensive collection of records and tapes that rivaled the selection of places like sam goody, but at a fraction of the cost. Defunct discount and department stores lincolnwood and. Aug 08, 2016 15 responses to discount store korvettes lives on in the subway laura says. Korvettes was a membership store and it was quite easy to become a member. Korvettes department store new york city in the wit of an eye.
Buy boris pasternak autograph envelope signed 11959. Gerard bernard obituary south hadley, ma the republican. For many a long island 70s kid, korvettes was the goto place when you had a few bucks to spend on a new album or a couple of 45s. What year did e j korvettes store close in port chester n y. By that time, the company had 45 department stores and 60 supermarkets. Mar 16, 2015 im going to move out of sequence for a moment to speak about e. For many a long island 70s kid, korvettes was the goto place when you had a few bucks.
New york division branch lines lehigh valley railroad. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. In the early 60s across from korvettes was the blue moon diner and they built a hot dog eatery like mcdonalds next to it called franksville, that became special pizza city which is still there. This brevity does not do justice to the tremendous, arguably unparalleled influence the company and its visionary founder, eugene ferkauf, wielded during its halcyon years the midfifties through the early nineteensixties. I think it is a classic example of the wisdom of crowds, and seems the kind of knowledge that, unless you found the companys bankruptcy archives, no other source on the planet would ever have taken the time to document even to a 80% accuracy level. Well written history of the beginnings and end of this large east coast retailer. For a while the blues project, with their progressive blending of blues, rock, pop, and jazz, looked like they might be the next big thing, but it never panned out. It consisted of an acme supermarket and a 172,000 square feet, twostory e. Join facebook to connect with ej korvette and others you may know.
Discount store korvettes lives on in the subway ephemeral new york. Korvette chain take its name from a shortening of eight jewish. These two names were very familiar to me back in the 1950s when i made my daily commute to 1812 north olden avenue in ewing to what would ultimately be a dead end job at the old trenton bearings company where i worked for over 40 years and didnt even get a thank you timex watch. Meanwhile, the 34th location was soon encased with a brutal brutalist redesign and ej korvette moved in. More than they bargained for the rise and fall of korvettes book. Korvette department store, complete with airconditioning and escalator service. A penchant for trains, he worked in accounting for the new york central railroad, penn central rr, conrail, and metro north rr from 19431986. Korvettes went bust in 1980but this reaganera sign was never taken down, even. He spent 50 years in retail sales, first with ej korvette and then with sipersteins paint co. Korvette chain of discount department stores, whose 1950s strategy of low prices, quick turnover and high volume helped shape todays retail landscape, died on tuesday at his home in manhattan.
Korvettes guess where in the greater parkvilleoverlea area this photo was taken. Department stores that dont exist anymore business insider. Working at ej korvettes lasted for years into the days where i also had a full. Consumer grouch is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to. What year did e j korvettes store close in port chester n.
Born on december 15, 1921 in mcdonald, pa, she was the daughter of the late john and katherine sakera petak, and she was the widow of joseph a. It was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of antidiscounting statutes. Korvette would liquidate its assets in the fall of 1980 due to past business practices failing, while also not concentrating on the areas of sale which they were strongest appliances, while also trying to compete with other retailers in areas it did not have the expertise in. Boris pasternakdoctor zhivago1958pantheon5 12 x 8558 paeshardcover book with jacketsigned by author. One of the partners was an avid music fan and thats. Herbert ricklin obituary newark, nj the starledger. My family used to love korvettes, and we shopped at the scarsdale location near the yonkers border on central ave throughout the 60s and 70s. Mexican singeractress thalia and marc anthony, from spanish harlem, are featured in ads on the mccrorey. This brevity does not do justice to the tremendous, arguably unparalleled influence the company and its visionary founder, eugene ferkauf, wielded during its halcyon years. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores. Korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store. Vintage speakers can go well with a variety of home audio systems. Or at least, thats the way lore would have this story play out. Founded in 1948 in new york city, it was the first store to challenge the suggested retail pricing commonly in practice.
Jun 23, 2007 the malls website offers a bit of its history. The broadway mall is located only a few miles from roosevelt field mall, the largest mall in all of new york state and one of the largest on the entire eastern seaboard. They are in nearest mint condition and have been in storage for the past 35. I will try to scour up a copy of the korvettes history. The first section of the king of prussia plaza opened september 18, 1962. Sep 22, 20 when this theater was built it was an expansion of the e. She told me as others did back in those days that the eight letters of korvette were taken from one letter of each of the founding eight partners names. Jul 02, 2009 so in exploring the history of kv we go back into what had been the ordinary and find it layered in a crisscross of historical significance. Named in a 1962 time magazine story as one of the six greatest retailers in american history, ferkauf challenged the fair trade laws and. Korvette department stores 196070s orange common stock.
Carle place korvettes location and roosevelt field again for the epilogue to my book. Ej korvettes arrived at what was to become capitol plaza, after phil leavitt bought the tract from. Apr 09, 20 remembering korvettes eugene ferkauf last year saw the passing of one of the most influential figures in retailing history, one who deserves more recognition than he receives today, im afraid. Korvette chain of discount department stores, whose 1950s strategy of low prices, quick turnover and. The construction of the skyline towers began in the early 1970s. Korvette isnt short for eight jewish korean war veterans. Korvette chain of promotional department stores, passed away on june 5, 2012 in new york city at the. These loudspeakers can be small enough to fit on a bookshelf or large enough to sit on the ground, looking similar to furniture. Korvette the dawn of discounti pleasant family shopping. Im really glad this article put that theory to rest. They were also pioneers in importing european records and carrying btlgs. I think it is great that the locations of stores sections exists.
Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount. Korvette initially a retailer of leather goods was founded in 1948, two years before the korean war began, by a jewish world war ii veteran named eugene ferkauf. There is a great book on the rise and fall of the chain. The department store museum is an online homage to americas great, latelamented department stores. An absolutely great department store of the past fantastic toy. There is an extraordinary amount of information about many of these stores logos, floor directories, ads, etc. It is notable as one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of antidiscounting statutes. According to korvette s founder, eugene ferkauf, the name e. I know i remember going to a fair in that area in the early 1970s. Perhaps most notably, korvettes prided itself in offering an extensive collection of records and tapes that rivaled the selection of places like sam goody, but at a fraction of the cost. Henry was predeceased by his parents, henry lamont wheeler and anne c. I even have a book entitled the rise and fall of e. Ej korvette, childhood memories of shopping at the one on white plains rd in the bronx, ny. Gerard was a graduate of boston college and served in the us army during wwii and korea.
Looks like from the info below that the 1d has a 7. Henry was a member of the elks lodge 1583 in union, n. Other talk defunct retail stores you miss seeing the thread in the tech forum about technologiesweb sites people miss i started thinking of all of the old retails stores in my area that have come and gone out of business. As a result, it has an interesting feel and has an unusual store roster. All things must pass, the mustsee documentary on the rise and fall of the tower records chain, comes to dvd september th through mvd. Korvettes was not a persons name, but rather, stood for eight jewish korean war veterans. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american. Boris pasternak doctor zhivago 1958 book signed autograph. Korvette was coined as a combination of the initials of its founders eugene and joe and a respelling of the naval term corvette, a nimble sailing warship and later world war ii subdestroyer. Korvette was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city.
History deserves to be remembered recommended for you. Our firstever bowery boys book, adventures in old new york is now out in bookstores. The food and drug administration expects to publish its muchanticipated regulations for ecigarettes in june, as the products are surging in. Stations from employee timetables are in capitals lvrr locations from traffic track diagrams are in italic capitals a freight agent, n no agent, mfa metropolitan. Korvette stands for eight jewish korean war veterans. These have a great vintage look, they are not perfect but nice heavyduty cases, tweed fabric fronts. Discount store korvettes lives on in the subway ephemeral. Great story of retail giant ej korvettes the precursor to k mart and wal mart. Sure, a classy store is nice, but eugene ferkauf invented the discount experience. These magnificent escalators and stairs are being removed. Korvette cities measured a whopping 200,000plus square feet and consisted of a promotional department store with an adjoining korvette supermarket, furniturecarpet center, and tire store. A timetraveling journey into a past that lives simultaneously besides the. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city, by world war ii veteran eugene ferkauf and his friend, joe zwillenberg, e.
A transmutation of the lung block, redeemed as a bold social experiment tinged with ambitions as immodest as a revolution and as commonplace as sandwiches ordinary though it may be but still the most. Remembering korvettes eugene ferkauf last year saw the passing of one of the most influential figures in retailing history, one who deserves more recognition than he receives today, im afraid. Eventually, in the late 1980s and 1990s, discount department stores like mays along with ohrbachs, ej korvettes, alexanders and tss started closing. In 1979, korvettes was purchased by the french corporation agachewillot group. Henry wheeler obituary elizabeth, nj the starledger. All things must pass the tower records story coming to. Mccrorys fought the fiveanddime wars against frank woolworth, ej korvette and kresge now kmart all through the 20th century, and youd think they would have had a hub location. Korvette s store in morton grove, il had a great record department with knowledgable salespeople. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city.
One of the first to develop an electronics department, and its record dept yes they sold vinyl was the largest in the the usa. Mcgee, 96, of camp hill, passed away on thursday january 25, 2018 at manorcare health services in carlisle. I remember buying lots of odeon german imports of beatles albums there in the late 60s and early 70s. According to korvettes founder, eugene ferkauf, who died on june 5, 2012, the name e. So in exploring the history of kv we go back into what had been the ordinary and find it layered in a crisscross of historical significance. Theres a book published in 1981 titled more than they bargained for. Broadway commons, better known by its former name broadway mall, is a large shopping mall located in hicksville, new york, united states. Korvettes store in morton grove, il had a great record department with knowledgable salespeople. It had a more proper name, the washingtonvirginia airport. Korvette department stores, commonly referred to as korvettes, were the brainchild.
Nov 01, 2007 in the history of american retailing, the e. The korvette was named after the canadian wwii warship a corvette. If you have a nostalgic look to your home decor, these vintage components may fit in well with your home theater system. It was a monday afternoon, i am sure i played hooky from college, and i got there early and got in line with all my bette midler memorabilia which she gladly signed in those days, stars did that. This is a good book about the history behind a shortlived department store that served two generations.
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