# May Company California

May Company California was an American chain of department stores operating in Southern California and Nevada, with headquarters at its flagship Downtown Los Angeles store until 1983 when it moved them to North Hollywood. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California subsidiary, J. W. Robinson's, in 1993 to form Robinsons-May.
May Company California was established in 1923 when May acquired A. Hamburger & Sons Inc.. (founded in 1881 by Asher Hamburger). The company operated exclusively in Southern California until 1989 when May Department Stores had dissolved Goldwater's, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and transferred its Las Vegas, Nevada store to May Company California.
Two well-known stores were the flagship Downtown store on 8th Street between Broadway and Hill streets, and the May Company Wilshire at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The 1926 garage building at 9th and Hill Streets was one of the nation's first parking structures (Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1001). The Wilshire location has been featured in several vintage films, including Behave Yourself!

## History
### A. Hamburger & Sons "The People's Store"
#### Main Street store

May Company California can trace its roots to the store that Asher Hamburger and his sons Moses, David and Solomon had established in Los Angeles after their recent move from Sacramento. This store first opened on October 29, 1881, in a 20-by-75-foot room on Main Street near Requena Street and was original known as The People's Store featuring clearly printed "One Price" tags.

#### Spring Street store

In 1882, only one year later, Hamburger's moved to the Ponet-Bumiller Block at 45 North Spring Street (post-1890 numbering: 145 North Spring), southwest corner of Temple, in a space of 46 by 100 feet. Later, it expanded into the north half of the ground floor of the newly built Phillips Block, northwest corner of Spring and Franklin, then in 1887 into the south half. In April 1899 it added the Ponet store 20 feet to the north of the Bumiller Block.

#### Phillips Block — largest store in the West

In 1899, Hamburger's renovated and took over the entire Phillips Block, all four floors plus the cellar. The space officially opened June 1, 1899, and the store claimed at that time to have 3.5 acres (150,000 sq ft; 14,000 m$^2$) of floor space and to be the largest retail store in the Western United States. Later Hamburger's added an additional 2,500 square feet (230 m$^2$) onto its back side on New High Street

### 1908: An even larger “largest store in the West”

By the start of the 20th century, A. Hamburger & Sons had outgrown its Spring Street location, which had 520 employees working on five floors. The Hamburger family decided to build a much larger store at the southeast corner of Broadway and Eighth, a location that was outside of then current retail district. Construction started in 1905, with a grand opening held in 1908. This location, which was also known as the Great White Store, was the largest department store building west of Chicago at the time and would eventually become the flagship location for the May Company California. At the time that the Great White Store was opened, the store could boast of having one of the first escalators on the West Coast, several restaurants, a drug store, grocery store, bakery, fruit store, meat market, U.S. post office, telegraph office, barber shop, a dentist, a chiropractor, a medical doctor, an auditorium, an electricity and steam power plant in the basement that was large enough to support a city of 50,000 inhabitants, a private volunteer 120 men fire brigade, 13 acres of retail space (482,475 sq.ft., larger than all the department, clothing and dry goods stores in the city), and 1200 employees. The Los Angeles Public Library was also located on the third floor from 1908 until it was forced to move to a larger location when it outgrew the Hamburger space by 1913. For a short time, Woodbury Business College briefly was also located on the fifth floor. Circa 1912, there was a temporary free public menagerie on the fourth floor of 50 animals including a cassowary, a sun bear, an orangutan, a 28 ft (8.5 m)-long python, monkeys and iridescent birds.

#### Expansion to over one million square feet

The store continued to expand until it took up the entire block bounded by Broadway, Hill, 8th and 9th. In 1923, a nine-story addition was built on Hill Street. With the addition of a new nine-story, 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m$^2$) building in 1930 it then measured over 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m$^2$) of floor space. In the mid-1920s May Company also built a warehouse at Grand and Jefferson and in 1927 a nine-story parking garage at 9th and Hill streets.

### 1923: Sale to May

On March 31, 1923, the Hamburgers sold their store to the May family of St. Louis for $8.5 million (~$118 million in 2023). Thomas and Wilbur May, sons of the founder of the May Company, were sent to manage the former Hamburger store. One of the first things that they did was to expand the store again by building adjacent additions on the other parts of the city block. After several more years, the May Company store eventually occupied almost the entire block between Broadway and Hill and between 8th and 9th Streets. The old Hamburger store was officially renamed the May Company in 1925.

### 1939: first branch, Wilshire Boulevard

To keep pace with the extreme growth in population within Southern California during the Great Depression, May Company opened the first branch store in 1939 on Wilshire at Fairfax at a cost of $2 million (~$34.4 million in 2023).

### 1947: Crenshaw branch

After World War II, a second branch store was opened on October 10, 1947 along Crenshaw Boulevard at the northeast corner of Santa Barbara St. (now M. L. King Jr. Blvd.). The store would later be integrated into the Broadway-anchored Crenshaw Plaza directly across the street to the south.
A proposed store in Hollywood that was planned at the same time was never built.

### 1952–1992: suburban expansion

From 1952 to 1992 May opened stores across suburban Los Angeles and Southern California (see table below). May Company-Lakewood opened at Lakewood Center on February 18, 1952, the four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m$^2$) May Company-Lakewood was the largest suburban department store in the world.
The North Hollywood store, opened in 1955 and originally marketed as part of the Valley Plaza shopping district, was a very large at 452,000 square feet (42,000 m$^2$), and claimed to be the second-largest suburban branch department store in the country, outsized only by a branch of Hudson's in suburban Detroit.

### 1992: Merger into Robinsons-May

On October 17, 1992, May Company California's parent, May Department Stores, announced the merger of May Company California with its sister company J.W. Robinson's to form Robinsons-May, thus ending the May Company California existence. It was also announced that the Wilshire store along with the stores in West Covina, Buena Park, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino were scheduled to close by the end of January 1993.

### Disposal of older stores

During the early part of this division existence, May Company was also the developer of some other early shopping centers and malls which grew around the initially stand-alone stores, with the Crenshaw location being the first example.
The first May Company store, the original Hamburger's, at Broadway and 8th in downtown Los Angeles was closed when it was replaced by the just opened 7th Market Place store in 1986. This building is designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 459. After its sale, the building was primary used by small clothing manufacturing companies. In 2013, the then current owners were trying to sell the building since the surrounding area is being actively redeveloped. It was announced in April 2014 that Waterbridge Capital agreed to purchase the property, but had not given out too many details on how they might go about to develop it, except to state it would be mixed-use.
During the 1980s, the parent corporation tried to replace the iconic Wilshire store for several years by getting involved with mall development at Farmers Market. However the development that eventually became The Grove at Farmers Market was delayed for nearly two decades. The St. Louis-based parent company eventually withdrew from the project and the Wilshire store was never replaced when May Company California was later merged with Robinson in 1993. After closing, the Streamline Moderne style building was sold to Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1994 and is currently slated to house The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

## Store list

| City | Suburban region | Mall or address | Opened | Closed | Notes |
| opened as Hamburger's |||||
| Victorian Downtown Los Angeles | Victorian Downtown Los Angeles | Main Street near Requena | Oct 29, 1881 | 1882 | 20-by-75-foot room, 1,500 square feet (140 m$^2$). Known as The People's Store. |
| Victorian Downtown Los Angeles | Victorian Downtown Los Angeles | Bumiller Block, Temple and Spring, northwest corner of Spring Street and Franklin Avenue | 1882 | 1908 | Originally a space of 46 by 100 ft. (4,600 square feet (430 m$^2$)) in the Bumiller Block, northwest corner of North Spring Street and Franklin Avenue. July 1888, expanded into the north half of the ground floor of the new Philips Block, adding 60x120 ft. (7200 sq. ft.) of selling space plus basement stockroom. April 1899 added the Ponet store 20 ft to the north of the Bumiller Block Renovated and on June 1, 1899, officially opened the entire 4-story Philips Block, 3.5 acres of floor space Later added 2,500 sq. ft. onto back (New High St.) side |
| Broadway, Downtown L.A. | Broadway, Downtown L.A. | City block bounded by Broadway, Hill, Eighth and Ninth Streets | August 10, 1908 | 1986 | 482,475 sq. ft. at opening. Originally built as Hamburger's, who sold it to May Co. on March 31, 1923. Extensively expanded, with over 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m$^2$) of floor area by 1930. Now the Broadway Trade Center (mixed use). See May Company Building (Broadway, Los Angeles) |
| opened as May Company |||||
| Miracle Mile | Miracle Mile | Northeast corner Wilshire Boulevard & Fairfax Avenue | September 7, 1939 | January 1993 | 200,000 square feet (19,000 m$^2$). Now houses the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. See May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles) |
| Crenshaw District, Los Angeles | Crenshaw District, Los Angeles | Northwest corner Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevards (the latter was formerly Santa Barbara Avenue). | October 1947 | | 200,000 square feet (19,000 m$^2$). Opened as a freestanding store across the street from Crenshaw Center. Integrated into Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall in the 1970s. |
| Lakewood | South Bay/Long Beach | Lakewood Center | Feb 18, 1952 | | Upon opening, the four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m$^2$) May Company-Lakewood was the largest suburban department store in the world. Drew business from Long Beach and competed with Downtown Long Beach shopping district anchored by Buffums. |
| North Hollywood | San Fernando Valley | Laurel Plaza | Sep 9, 1955 | | Originally planned a store in Hollywood, then Valley Plaza, in the end this free-standing store was built; featured men's, women's and children's apparel and accessories, Boy and Girl Scout uniforms, notions, jewelry, small and major appliances, silverware, toys, books, sporting goods and stationery departments. Services included a beauty salon, tearoom, snackbar, auditorium, and parking for 3,000 cars. A mall was added later on. At 452,500 square feet (42,040 m$^2$), largest suburban branch department store in the West. Turned into mixed retail use after Macy's closed in 2016. Architect Albert C. Martin Sr. & Assoc. Store manager at launch Norman Caldwell. |
| West Covina | San Gabriel Valley | Eastland Center | 1957 | January 1993 | Now demolished for Target and Burlington Coat Factory since 1996 |
| Redondo Beach | South Bay LA Co. | South Bay Galleria | 1959 | | |
| Mission Valley | San Diego | Mission Valley Center | February 20, 1961 | | The May Company Building at Westfield Mission Valley is empty now but considered an architectural landmark |
| Buena Park | North Orange Co. | Buena Park Mall | August 19, 1963 | January 1993 | First became Fedco in 1993, now demolished for Walmart since 2003 |
| Canoga Park | San Fernando Valley | Topanga Plaza Shopping Mall | February 1964 | | |
| Rancho Park | Westside LA Co. | Pico and Westwood Boulevards (later part of Westside Pavilion) | August 2, 1964 | | |
| Whittier | Southeast LA Co. | The Quad at Whittier | 1964 | March 31, 1987 | Closed just six months before the Whittier Narrows earthquake which took place at 7:42 a.m. October 1, 1987. The store's three-level parking structure fell almost flat to the ground as a result of this quake, and the store itself suffered internal damage but remained intact until its controlled implosion (via dynamite) a few years later. |
| Costa Mesa | Orange Coast | Costa Mesa | February 21, 1966 | | |
| Arcadia | San Gabriel Valley | El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center | 1966 | | Victor Gruen & Assoc., architects; Welton Becket & Assoc., Spanish colonial interiors. 240,000 sq. ft. Was a Vons supermarket, currently empty. |
| San Bernardino | Inland Empire | Inland Center | 1966 | January 1993 | First became Gottschalks in 1995, now JCPenney since 2016, new Robinsons-May store built 5 years later in same mall (now Macy's) |
| Montclair | Inland Empire | Montclair Plaza | 1968 | | |
| Carlsbad | North Co. San Diego | Plaza Camino Real | February 10, 1969 | | 150,000 sq ft. Designed by Welton Becket & Associates. |
| Oxnard | Ventura Co. | Esplanade Mall | November 2, 1970 | | |
| El Cajon | East San Diego Co. | Parkway Plaza | 1972 | | |
| Riverside | Inland Empire | Tyler Mall | August 1973 | | |
| Eagle Rock | Northeastern Los Angeles | Eagle Rock Plaza | October 1, 1973 | Became Macy's in 2006, Macy's closed in September 2023. | |
| City of Orange | North Orange Co. | The City Shopping Center | 1974 | July 1991 | Closed two months after the one at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California opened |
| Westminster | Orange Coast | Westminster Mall | August 7, 1974 | | |
| Culver City | Westside LA Co. | Fox Hills Mall | 1975 | | |
| Brea | North Orange Co. | Brea Mall | 1977 | | |
| Thousand Oaks | Ventura Co. | The Oaks | 1978 | | |
| Mission Viejo | South Orange Co. | Mission Viejo Mall | 1979 | | |
| La Jolla | San Diego | La Jolla Village Square | October 4, 1979 | | |
| Sherman Oaks | San Fernando Valley | Sherman Oaks Galleria | 1980 | | |
| Pasadena | San Gabriel Valley | Plaza Pasadena | August 1980 | 1989 | |
| Bonita | South Bay, San Diego Co. | Plaza Bonita | 1981 | | |
| Palos Verdes | South Bay LA Co. | Promenade on the Peninsula | 1981 | | |
| Palm Desert | Coachella Valley | Westfield Palm Desert | October 6, 1982 | | |
| Montebello | Southeast L.A. Co. | Montebello Town Center | 1985 | | |
| Escondido | North San Diego Co. | Escondido | February 20, 1986 | | |
| Downtown Los Angeles | Downtown Los Angeles | Seventh Market Place | March 13, 1986 | | After a long period of declining sales, the original Downtown flagship store at 8th and Broadway was closed and replaced by this smaller store. The parent company had previously relocated the main corporate offices for the May Company California division from the former Hamburger Building to the North Hollywood store at Laurel Plaza in 1983. The store is now the site of Nordstrom Rack (level M1), Target (level M2), and H&M (level M3). |
| Bakersfield | Bakersfield | Valley Plaza Mall | 1988 | | |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | Las Vegas, Nevada | Fashion Show Mall | converted 1989 | | acquired from sister company Goldwater's in 1989 when parent company May Department Stores decided to cut costs by consolidating divisions. The Las Vegas store is one of two locations in which a pre-existing store was acquired from another organization instead of being built from scratch, the other being Orange, originally constructed as Walker-Scott Department Store. |
| Santa Maria | Santa Barbara County (North) | Santa Maria Town Center | 1990 | | |
| Downey | SE LA Co. | Stonewood Center | 1990 | | |
| Santa Ana | Central Orange Co. | MainPlace Mall | May 1991 | | |
| Santa Clarita | Santa Clarita Valley | Valencia Town Center | September 1992 | | |
| Moreno Valley | Inland Empire | Moreno Valley Mall | October 8, 1992 | | The last new store to open which was open for three months when the merger with J.W. Robinson's took place and became Robinsons-May. |

## Gallery

* Christmas advertisement, 1905
* Hamburger's People's Store Spring Street 1880s
* Hamburger's People's Store after construction of and expansion into the Philips Block, Spring Street ca. 1890s
* Terrazzo at the entrance of the Downtown Los Angeles flagship

## References in popular culture

* On the Jack Benny radio and television programs, Benny was said to have met his girlfriend Mary Livingstone (played by his real-life wife, Sadie Marks) at the May Company when she worked there in the hosiery department. This is one of the few instances in radio or television history where a real business was made part of the story. (Jack and Mary Benny actually met through friends and not at a department store.)
* In Andre de Toth's 1948 film noir Pitfall, Lizabeth Scott's character, Mona Stevens, is depicted working in the fine dresses department of the May Company's Wilshire Boulevard location.