page_title: I. Magnin
section_title: Beginnings
hierarchical_section_title: I. Magnin / History / Beginnings
caption_attribution_description: English: I. Magnin Building at 2001 Broadway in Oakland, CA. Built in 1931.
context_page_description: I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. In the 1970s, under Federated Department Stores ownership, the chain entered the Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, DC, metropolitan areas. Mary Ann Magnin founded the company in 1876 and named the chain after her husband, Isaac.
context_section_description: In the early 1870s, Dutch-born Mary Ann Magnin and her husband Isaac Magnin left England and settled in San Francisco.  Mary Ann opened a shop in 1876 selling lotions and high-end clothing for infants.  Later, she expanded into bridal wear.  As her business grew, her exclusive clientele relied on her for the newest fashions from Paris.  I. Magnin imported clothing by major designers including Jeanne Lanvin, Hattie Carnegie, and Christian Dior.
  At the turn of the century, Mary Ann’s four sons entered the business.  While John Magnin, Grover Magnin, and Sam Magnin became associated with the I. Magnin store, the fourth son, Joseph Magnin, became known for his own store (Joseph Magnin Co.). 
  The 1906 earthquake and fire leveled the San Francisco store with the remainder of the downtown area.  The store reopened in new quarters at 50 Grant Avenue at Geary Boulevard in 1912. During the 1910s, the chain opened shops in six high-end hotels in California. The Los Angeles Wilshire Boulevard branch (opened in 1939) and the Union Square store (opened in 1948) were among the most elegant in America. When designer Christian Dior visited, he toured the Union Square store, and called it the "White Marble Palace".
caption: Former I. Magnin store in Oakland
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