The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-04-05
THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
A short History 81 L, :. Plaut & CO.,
Remarkable Growth.

| A short History OF L, :. Plaut & Co. IS
Remarkable Growth.
The fortieth anniversary of the es-
Enlistment Of L. S. Plaut s. Co. 10
Newark, this week is one Of those oc-
casions which imrel old settlers to be-
come retrospective, for the growth of
the "Bee Hive" has much in common
with the growth of the city. The
business was sta ted ON portion of
the present loca ion.
In 1870 Leopold Fox and L. Simon
Plaut came from Hartford, Conn, to
open a store in Newark. The little
store at No. 72l Broad street did not
long fill the requirements of the hust-
ling firm of Fox s. Plaut. In the
Cohen building at No. 6S3 Broad street
they found a store that they believed
would afford them expanding facilities,
In about five years they again had to
look for larger quarters, They now
had forty employees instead of one.
They gradually advanced and the
business grew and in a few more years
they leased No. IT'S, III and 7l9 Broad
street, The business grew very rapid
ly, and in a few more years it was
found that even this additional store
space did not afford them ample room
for the then expanding progressive
business. Mr.. Fox retired in the year
1882 and spent much of his time in
travel until his death in 1890. L.
Simon Plaut died in the year 1885,
leaving the business to Mrs. Plaut,
his wife Louis and Moses Plaut and
Oscar Michael, the latter three identi-
| fed with the business from boyhood
up.
Meanwhile the business had been
progressing without interruption.
More room was still the quest and in
1886 the whole three stories were
! leased L. S. Plaut e. Co. now con-
trolled the entire building and made
extensive improvements within and
| without. The volume of patronage
! increased and in 1890 the old need for
| additional room again. asserted itself.
| The balance of the floors of No Ill
and 7l3 and parts of No 707 and 100
were then rented. Then also, the
whole of the Parker building next to
| the canal was leased.
| With the land acquired from time
to time the firm now own the entire
square bordering Broad, Halsey and
Cedar streets and the Morris canal,
which interceptS Broad street at this
point, with the exception of two small
parcels area of such proportions
that when building operations are
| gone into, their establishment will
probably be as large as any retail en-
porium in the United States.
Year after year the business of the
| tirm expanded until to-day it is recog-
nized as one of the most progressive
stores in the United States. And the
fortieth anniversary of IL. S. Plaut &
Co. finds the firm as young in energy
and alert to the needs of the day, and
as full of ambition and foreSighted-
ness as it's originatorS In 1870.
The store is beautifully decor
ated both inside and out in honor of
the occasion and most extraordinary
bargains will be put forth from each
department every day throughout the
anniversary celebration which will last
the entire week, beginning Monday,
April 4th. All in all it will stand out
as the greatest mercantile anniversary
celebration that has ever occurred in
New Jersey.