Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-05-06
NEW BOWMAN STORE
To Be MOST MODERN
Service, Convenience and Safety
KeynOtes; to Have I'm
posing Front

Harrisburg is to have a most mod
ern department store. judging by the
plans for its new building that Bow
man & Co. has been formulating for
the past several months. Nothing
seems to have been left undone to
complete a store that will rank among
the best in the country so far as archi-
tectural beauty and modern appliances
are concerned.
The new building. six stories in
height. will occupy the old Grand Hotel
site. which was annexed to the Bow
man store in 1911. and while selling
space was increased considerably
through this purchase, it was soon
| learned that even with this addition
the floor space was by far inadequate
to accommodate the remarkable prog
ress this store was making. Since that
| time almost every season found each
department more handicapped as it
| strove TO outgrow its bounds.
With this latest addition the store
will have about one-third more selling
space. allowing a much larger assort-
ment of merchandise.
Work Goes 10 Local Firm
In a spirit of civic support Bow
| man & Co. have awarded all work. as
| far as possible. to local individuals
| and concerns. NJ. I. Kast, the WELL
front to conform with the present five
| stories, and it's to be believed few
| buildings will present a more impos-
| ing front. with the immense quantities
of glass used. Contract for building
operations has been awarded TO c. w.
Lady. who now has a large force of
men at work razing the old part, and
| in few days passers-by will see an
open space where once stood part of
large store-the Grand Hotel-the
Post Office-the quaint old Park House
and originally private dwellings
Steel work will be done by the Penn
! sylvania Steel Company.
New shelving. cases, etc. are now
under way, designed to give the in
terror an inviting appearance and at
the same time preserve the newness
and brightness of merchandise and
! afford attractive displays.
Convenience the Keynote
Convenience is the sole basis of the
| departmental arrangement plan, eX-
| perts having been employed to design
the new layout. Just off the street will
be fine, up-to-date mems haber-
| dashery section, connected by direct
tairway to the mems clothing and hat
sections, located on the second floor
| front
All large ready-to-wear departments
for women will be found on the third
floor. including coats. suits. millinery
undermuslins. waists and cOrsets. 4
beautiful new restroom has been built
in the rear of this floor to accommodate
MOAutI WHO desire TO enjoy q
period of rest while shopping. These
changes are only the most noticeable;
but also deserving of mention is the
| removal of the shoe department to
the main floor.
AS to service. much has been
planned. Their purpose is to embody
features that will avoid all delay. es-
pecially during rush times. Only last
fall two elevators. of the most ap-
proved type, were installed to transfer
passengers TO all floors and basement
in as little time as possible. Extending
from the sixth floor down will be a
spiral chute, through which duplicate
stock may reach any department in a
twiRkling. also whereby packages can
be sent to the delivery department.
This litter department will play an
important part in the way of lettering
service-to hasten packages to their
destination.
Fire Protection
For complete protection against fire
an automatic sprin kler system will be
installed. with miles of pipe reaching
to every nook and corner of the entire
structure. At points of q few yards
distance sprinkler heads are located,
and with the outburst of flames th0v
automatically open and throw deluge
Of water upon the fire. This is only
one of the numerous safety first" ap-
pliances that have been adopted.
Bowman & Co. have occupied their
present location since 1895. having
been compelled to seek larger quarters
than the small storeroom at 215 Mar.
ket street provided. This business was
founded in 1871 under the firm name
of c. L. Bowman & Co, having as
place of business a single room at 223
Market street. Despite many OBJ
stacles the business continued to grow.
until to-day. after forty-four years, it
is looked on as one of the most pro-
gressive and fast growing establish
ments to be found in Central Penn
sylvania.