page_title: Department store
section_title: Detroit
hierarchical_section_title: Department store / U.S. and Canada / United States / Detroit
caption_attribution_description: English: Postcard of the J.L. Hudson Building. Formerly located on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Dated to be before 1951 from the postmark on the reverse side. Flagship store for the J. L. Hudson's chain, it stood 1923 to 1998 (demolished). No copyright notice, nor author credited.
context_page_description: A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in each of London, in Paris and in New York.
  Today, departments often include the following: clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, houseware, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near the front of the store in discount department stores, while higher-end traditional department stores include sales counters within each department. Some stores are one of many within a larger retail chain, while others are independent retailers.
context_section_description: In 1881, Joseph Lowthian Hudson opened a small men's clothing store in Detroit. After 10 years he had eight stores in the midwest and was the most profitable clothing retailer in the country.  In 1893, he began construction of J. L. Hudson Department Store at Gratiot and Farmer Streets in Detroit. The store grew over the years and a 25-story tower was added in 1928.  The final section was a 12-story addition in 1946, giving the entire complex 49 acres (20 ha) of floor space.
  After World War II Hudson's realized that the limited parking space at its downtown skyscraper would increasingly be a problem for its customers.  The solution in 1954 was to open the Northland Center in nearby Southfield, just beyond the city limits.  It was the largest suburban shopping center in the world, and quickly became the main shopping destination for northern and western Detroit, and for much of the suburbs.  By 1961 the downtown skyscraper accounted for only half of Hudson's sales; it closed in 1983. The Northland Center Hudson's, rebranded Macy's in 2006 following acquisition by Federated Department Stores, was closed along with the remaining stores in the center in March 2015 due to the center's high storefront vacancy, decaying infrastructure, and financial mismanagement.
  In 1969 Hudson's merged with the Dayton's to create Dayton-Hudson Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis.
caption: Hudson department store in Detroit in 1951; it opened in 1911, closed in 1986 and was torn down in 1998
exif: {}