{{Infobox company | name = Lansburgh's | logo = Lansburgh's Department Store Logo.png | logo_size = 200px | image = Lansburgh flagship.jpg | image_caption = Former Downtown Washington, D.C. flagship store addition (built 1916–24) | fate = Liquidation | founded = 1860 | defunct = 1973 | hq_location = Washington, D.C. | industry = Retail | key_people = | products = General Merchandise | num_employees = | parent = City Stores, Inc. | subsidiaries = }} '''Lansburgh's''' was a chain of department stores located in the Washington, D.C. area. The clientele were middle-income consumers.
==History== thumb|left|150px|James Lansburgh in 1905 The first store, at 7th and E Streets, NW, in Washington, D.C.'s downtown shopping district, opened on October 30, 1860. The founders were James and Gustav Lansburgh. The company was known initially for supplying the black crepe used for the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln.<ref name=Baker1973-4-29>{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Donald|title=As D.C.'s Oldest Department Store Prepares to Close...|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=29 April 1973|id={{ProQuest|148433830}}}} </ref> Lansburgh's installed the first elevator (wooden) in a commercial building in the District of Columbia. The company remained family owned until its acquisition by City Stores, Inc. in 1951. At the time of its final liquidation in June 1973, the chain ranked eighth in the Washington D.C. retail market, with sales of $28.5 million.<ref name=Baker1973-4-29 />
==Flagship store== thumb|left|Construction of the flagship store, 1924 The initial Seventh Street flagship downtown store was located on and constructed in 1882, and was a work of architect Adolf Cluss.<ref>[http://www.adolf-cluss.org/index.php?sub=3.5.09&lang=en&content=w&topSub=washington Adolph Cluss: An International Project (accessed Aug 29, 2008).]</ref> The store was greatly expanded in 1916, 1924 and 1941 out to Eighth Street. During the 1970s and 1980s, the store building was used for offices and warehouse space. The former flagship store on 7th Street was at the forefront of the revitalized Penn Quarter section of downtown Washington, D.C.<ref>"Lansburgh's Renovation Contract Let," by John Mintz, ''The Washington Post'', Apr 2, 1987, p. A1.</ref>
==Branch stores== In 1955, Lansburgh's opened its first suburban branch at Langley Park, Maryland. It was followed, in 1959, by a $2.5 million, {{convert|150000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} branch at Shirlington Shopping Center in Arlington, Virginia.<ref>"Lansburgh's Will Open Store In Langley Park, Md., Monday," ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'', Oct 11, 1955, p. 30.</ref><ref>"Lansburgh's New Store Hailed as County Asset," by Frank C. Porter, ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'', Jul 2, 1958, p. D7.</ref> The chain was slow to open other suburban branches. The {{convert|160000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} store at Tysons Corner Center opened on October 19, 1969, after protracted battles regarding leases dating back to 1962. Because of that fight, the chain was slow to expand to other malls opening the Washington, D.C. suburbs.<ref>"Lansburgh's New Tyson's Store Marks End of Long Fight," ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'', Oct 19, 1969, p. 107.</ref> This was followed by the store at Rockville Mall on February 14, 1972, and a {{convert|160000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} store at Springfield Mall (later Korvettes, then SpringFest Food Court/AMC) in March 1973.<ref>"Springfield Mall Unit Key for Lansburgh's," by William H. Jones, ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'', Mar 2, 1973, p. D7.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://thelansburgh.com/ The Lansburgh Apartments official website]
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Category:Defunct department stores based in Washington, D.C. Category:Defunct companies based in Washington, D.C. Category:American companies established in 1860 Category:Retail companies established in 1860 Category:Retail companies disestablished in 1973 Category:1860 establishments in Washington, D.C. Category:1973 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.