# Hecht's

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**Hecht's** was an American [department store](/source/Department_store) chain founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. It was headquartered in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.), and operated in the [Mid-Atlantic](/source/Mid-Atlantic_(United_States)) and [Southern United States](/source/Southern_United_States). The family business was acquired by [The May Department Stores Company](/source/The_May_Department_Stores_Company) in 1959, which itself was [acquired](/source/Acquisition_of_The_May_Department_Stores_Company_by_Federated_Department_Stores) by [Federated Department Stores](/source/Macy's,_Inc.) in 2005. Hecht's was dissolved in favor of the Federated-owned [Bloomingdale's](/source/Bloomingdale's) and [Macy's](/source/Macy's) brands in 2006.

## History

The Hecht Company was founded in 1857 by Sam Hecht, Jr. The Hecht family was [Jewish](/source/Jewish) and came from the little village of Langenschwarz (now part of [Burghaun](/source/Burghaun)), Kreis Hünfeld, [Hesse](/source/Hesse), Germany where Sam was born on December 10, 1830. His father Meyer (a.k.a. Meier or Maier) Hecht was a cattle dealer or driver who was drowned in Langenschwarz on June 12, 1835. Meyer's parents were Anschel (a.k.a. Anshil or Asher) Hecht who was a fur dealer and Güta (a.k.a. Giet) née Goldschmidt who was born in Bellersheim, Kreis Hungen, [Hesse](/source/Hesse), Germany.

Sam's older brother Simeon arrived in America on the ship *Agnes* on September 2, 1844, listed as Sam Hecht, age 21. Meyer's widow Hannah or Hanne Miriam (née Bachrach) was probably born in [Hesse](/source/Hesse), Germany in 1789 or 1790. She left Germany with Sam and his brother Reuben and immigrated to the United States; they arrived in [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore), [Maryland](/source/Maryland), on December 15, 1847, on the ship *Schiller*.

Sam's brothers Jacob, Moses and Raphael (a.k.a. Vogel) and sister Adelheid (a.k.a. Ettel or Edel) had arrived in Baltimore on the ship *Albert* on July 31, 1845, which departed from Bremen, Germany. There may have been another brother Ansel (a.k.a. Asher Ralph) who immigrated to Baltimore but he has not been found on any passenger lists. Asher Ralph appears in Baltimore city directories between 1844–1858; Ansel appears in New York City directories from 1858.

Sam Hecht, Jr. became an itinerant peddler selling his goods in and around Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore of the [Chesapeake Bay](/source/Chesapeake_Bay). After a decade of itinerant peddling, he settled down and started what would become the Hecht stores. On Jan 5, 1854, Sam married Babette Wolfsheimer in Baltimore.

### Baltimore stores

In 1857 Sam Hecht, Jr. opened a used furniture store on [Aliceanna Street](/source/Aliceanna_Street) (near [South Broadway](/source/Broadway_(Baltimore))) in Baltimore, Maryland.

By 1870 this venture had moved to a more auspicious location at 519 South Broadway where the name 'HECHT'S RELIABLE STORES' could be seen carved in foot-high letters into the granite cornice above the third floor (now demolished). Clothing was added to the lineup in 1879 under the name of Hecht's Reliable.[1] Shortly thereafter a carpet and matting establishment was opened in Baltimore at 310 West [Lexington Street](/source/List_of_streets_in_Baltimore#Lexington_Street).

Over the front of the new store on Lexington Street was a sign reading 'Samuel Hecht, Jr. & Sons,' reflecting the development of the firm as a family enterprise. Four of Samuel's sons eventually joined him in business. They were, in order of age: Emanuel (Manny), Albert S., Alexander (Alex), and Moses (Mose) S. Hecht.

Emanuel Hecht joined his father in business in 1880. In 1886, he and his brother Albert were listed as partners with their father. Alex and Mose came into the firm later and contributed to its success. Samuel Hecht., Jr. died on February 7, 1907, in Baltimore. His sons, and later his grandsons, carried on the business.

The growth of the firm continued in Baltimore with the opening of the Hecht Brothers store on Baltimore and Pine streets in 1885, the Hub store in Baltimore in 1897, and Hecht Brothers at Howard and Franklin streets in 1926. Hecht stores were also established in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) and [Easton, Maryland](/source/Easton,_Maryland). There was also a branch in [Annapolis, Maryland](/source/Annapolis,_Maryland). However, the most important move was into [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.)

### Washington stores

The Hechts opened a store in Washington on March 20, 1896, which moved to a grand glass and marble store at the corner of 7th and F Streets [Northwest](/source/Washington,_D.C._(northwest)), in [Washington, D.C.'s downtown shopping district](/source/F_Street_shopping_district), in November 1925. Alexander Hecht directed the Washington part of the business for the family.[2]

Hecht's was the first store in Washington to offer national brands. It also boasted the first [parking garage](/source/Parking_garage) and first [elevator](/source/Elevator). Its relatively open policies made it popular among [African-Americans](/source/African-American) as well as the white populace.[3]

A tour of [Norman Rockwell](/source/Norman_Rockwell)'s [Four Freedoms](/source/Four_Freedoms) paintings, intended to rally support for the Allied cause in [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and the purchase of war bonds, premiered at the store in 1943.[4]

In July 1951, a mixed race group began to picket outside the store, protesting racial segregation in the store's cafeteria. The offending policy was changed in January of the following year.[5]

Hecht's moved its flagship store to a new building in downtown Washington in 1985.[6] The former Hecht Company main building, now across from the [Capital One Arena](/source/Capital_One_Arena), was extensively renovated and reopened in 2003 as Terrell Place, honoring [Mary Church Terrell](/source/Mary_Church_Terrell)'s role in desegregating that and other public accommodations in Washington.[3]

Hecht's operated the last local department store in downtown Washington, in a structure at the corner of 12th and G Streets NW built in 1985 and renovated in 2003. Converted to a Macy's location in September 2006, the building has a direct entrance to the [Metro Center](/source/Metro_Center_(Washington_Metro)) station of the [Washington Metro](/source/Washington_Metro).[6]

### Into the suburbs

After [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Hecht Company began to build new stores in the suburbs around [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore) and [Washington](/source/Washington,_D.C.). Outside the center of Baltimore, Hecht's opened a store in [Northwood](/source/Northwood,_Baltimore) in September 1954, followed by another in Edmondson Village in October 1956, and a third in the then-new Reisterstown Road Plaza in January 1962.

In 1947, they opened a large three-story department store in [Silver Spring, Maryland](/source/Silver_Spring,_Maryland), just north of Washington, D.C. The wisdom of this move was initially questioned; however, within a few years, more room was needed. A fourth and fifth story were added to the building in 1950 at the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Place. In 1955, The Fenton Street side of the building was expanded all the way down to Colesville RD. That store was closed in October of 1987 and was converted and expanded into [City Place Mall](/source/City_Place_Mall), which opened in 1992 and which is now known as Ellsworth Place. The second suburban store opened on November 2, 1951, at [Parkington](/source/Ballston,_Virginia) in [Arlington County, Virginia](/source/Arlington_County,_Virginia). It cost $6.5 million to construct the 300,000-square foot (28,000-square metre) store and it was the largest suburban department store on the east coast at that time.[7] On November 2, 1958, Maryland Gov. [Theodore R. McKeldin](/source/Theodore_R._McKeldin) ceremonially opened the third suburban D.C. Hecht Company store at [Prince George's Plaza](/source/Prince_George's_Plaza) in [Hyattsville](/source/Hyattsville,_Maryland).[8] Gov. [J. Millard Tawes](/source/J._Millard_Tawes) did the honors on August 29, 1960, when he opened the fourth suburban D.C. location, the 168,000-square foot (15,600-square metre) store at [Marlow Heights Shopping Center](/source/Marlow_Heights_Shopping_Center).[9]

### May Company

The Hecht chain was acquired by the [May Company](/source/The_May_Department_Stores_Company) in 1959. At this time, the historic 1924 Bernheim-Leader store on the corner of Howard and Lexington Streets in Baltimore was renamed Hecht's, becoming its flagship store in the Baltimore area. It closed in 1988, one of the last department stores to remain in the downtown district. In 1998, it was declared a city landmark, and has since been renovated into apartments owned by Southern Management.[10][11][12]

Many other stores acquired later were also rebranded as Hecht's. In 1990, Hecht's acquired four [Miller & Rhoads](/source/Miller_%26_Rhoads) stores in Virginia.[13] That same year, the May company acquired the [Thalhimers](/source/Thalhimers) chain from [Carter Hawley Hale](/source/Carter_Hawley_Hale) Stores.[13] In 1993, it was announced that the Thalhimers stores would be folded under the Hecht's name.[14] When May took over ten [Hess's](/source/Hess's) stores, based in [Allentown, Pennsylvania](/source/Allentown,_Pennsylvania), three of them re-opened as Hecht's and the others were operated by corporate siblings [Kaufmann's](/source/Kaufmann's) and [Filene's](/source/Filene's). Hecht's acquired [Wanamaker's](/source/Wanamaker's), based in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), and [Woodward & Lothrop](/source/Woodward_%26_Lothrop), based in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.), taking over 17 stores acquired in 1995 in joint acquisition with [JCPenney](/source/JCPenney). Fourteen stores were consolidated the same year. Thirteen of Strawbridge and Clothier's stores, based in the Philadelphia area, were acquired in 1996. Following the acquisition, S&C was renamed [Strawbridge's](/source/Strawbridge's). Their management consolidated with Hecht's the same year, but the Strawbridge name was retained and expanded to all the Philadelphia locations.

In the [Nashville](/source/Nashville,_Tennessee) area, Hecht's took over selected former [Castner Knott](/source/Castner_Knott) stores, which had been purchased from [East Tennessee](/source/East_Tennessee)–based [Proffitt's](/source/Proffitt's) in 2001. Proffitt's previously acquired them as a result of the [Mercantile Stores](/source/Mercantile_Stores)/[Dillard's](/source/Dillard's) merger in 1998, and briefly rebranded them as Proffitt's locations.

## See also

- [List of department stores converted to Macy's](/source/List_of_department_stores_converted_to_Macy's)
- [List of defunct department stores of the United States](/source/List_of_defunct_department_stores_of_the_United_States)

## References

1. [Kelly, Jacques. "Shopping in Fells Point at Hecht's Reliable store," *The Baltimore Sun*, Friday, August 27, 2010.](https://archive.today/20130117182957/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-kelly-stores-20100827,0,3648278.column)

1. "Romances of Washington Stores: The Hecht Company First Hecht Store Opened in Capital Only 29 Years Ago". *The Washington Post*. November 8, 1925. p. F11.

1. ["Terrell Place/ Hecht Company Site"](https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/terrell-place/-hecht-company-site-african-american-heritage-trail). *African American Heritage Trail*. Cultural Tourism DC. Retrieved 29 April 2019.

1. "Rockwell Show at Hecht Store Biggest War Bond Exhibition," *The Washington Post*, Apr 25, 1943, p. M5.

1. Mansky, Jackie (June 8, 2016). ["How One Woman Helped End Lunch Counter Segregation in the Nation’s Capital"](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-one-woman-helped-end-lunch-counter-segregation-nations-capital-180959345/). *Smithsonian Magazine*

1. Mui, Ylan Q. (September 9, 2006). ["Era Ends With New Beginning Transformation From Hecht's to Macy's Will Be Completed Today"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2006/09/09/era-ends-with-new-beginning-span-classbankheadtransformation-from-hechts-to-macys-will-be-completed-todayspan/da6eeecc-53e4-45ed-b97b-45ea7f1357ff/). *The Washington Post*

1. "Hecht's New Virginia Shop Opens Today," *The Washington Post*, Nov 2, 1951, p. B1.

1. "3000 See Opening of Hecht's Store at Prince Georges Shopping Center," by Hal Willard, *The Washington Post and Times-Herald*, Nov 4, 1958, p. A16.

1. "Hecht's to Open 5th Area Store," by Frank C. Porter, *The Washington Post and Times-Herald*, Aug 28, 1960, p. B6.

1. Anderson, Jessica & Gantz, Sarah (January 1, 2018). ["David Hillman, CEO of Southern Management Corp. and Baltimore-area Developer"](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-david-hillman-20180101-story.html). *[The Baltimore Sun](/source/The_Baltimore_Sun)*. Retrieved August 11, 2018.

1. Gunts, Edward (August 19, 1999). ["Bits of Hecht's History for Sale"](https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/08/19/bits-of-hechts-history-for-sale-auction-seven-floors-of-materials-from-the-companys-former-flagship-department-store-downtown-will-go-to-the-highest-bidders-today/). *[The Baltimore Sun](/source/The_Baltimore_Sun)*. Retrieved August 11, 2018.

1. ["The Atrium: 118 N. Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201"](https://www.southernmanagement.com/communities/the-atrium/). Southern Management. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180730015556/https://www.southernmanagement.com/communities/the-atrium/) July 30, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 11, 2018.

1. Writer, NEIL CORNISH Staff. ["MAY TO BUY THALHIMERS FOR $325 MILLION"](https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19901010-1990-10-10-9010110424-story.html). *dailypress.com*. Retrieved 2019-04-17.

1. Potts, Mark (13 November 1991). ["15 THALHIMERS TO BE TURNED INTO HECHT STORES"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/11/13/15-thalhimers-to-be-turned-into-hecht-stores/c4488657-5cce-4b6b-b1a8-11f700edbd16/). *The Washington Post*. [Archived](https://archive.today/20190417175702/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/11/13/15-thalhimers-to-be-turned-into-hecht-stores/c4488657-5cce-4b6b-b1a8-11f700edbd16/?noredirect=on) 17 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

## Further reading

- Longstreth, Richard W. "The mixed blessings of success: the Hecht Company and department store branch development after World War II," in Hudgins, Carter L. and Cromley, Elizabeth Collins eds., *Shaping Communities: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, VI*: [University of Tennessee](/source/University_of_Tennessee) Press ([Knoxville](/source/Knoxville,_Tennessee)). Originally a 1995 monograph published by the Center for Washington Area Studies at [George Washington University](/source/George_Washington_University).
- Cultural Tourism D.C.: [Terrell Place / Hecht Company Site](https://web.archive.org/web/20050319002426/http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/info-url3948/info-url_show.htm?doc_id=204888&attrib_id=7967)
- [Goethe-Institut](/source/Goethe-Institut): German-American Sites in Washington, D.C., [The Hecht Company](http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/pro/vtour/dc1/B2/23/en_index.htm)
- National Association of Colored Women's Clubs: "[Washington D.C. Dedicates Terrell Place](https://web.archive.org/web/20051023025149/http://www.nacwc.org/news/terrell.php)"
- *Washington Business Journal*, "[Bottom line bait](http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/10/27/editorial1.html)," October 24, 2003
- [*Baltimore's Bygone Department Stores: Many Happy Returns*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8I92CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT). The History Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60949-667-8.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hecht's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecht's) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecht's?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.