Filed under: architecture, Chicago, Vincent Johnson Images | Tags: A&P supermarkets, Chicago Merchandise Mart, Chicago public art, Edward Filene, F.W. Woolworth, General Robert Wood, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), Huntington Hartford, John Wanamaker, Julius Rosewald, Marshall Field, Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame, Montgomery Ward, public art, Sears & Roebuck
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of Robert Wood
Former US Brigadier General Robert Wood was President and Chairman of the Board of Sears, Roebuck after Julius Rosenwald.
Chicago Merchandizing Mart: Bust of Edward Filene
Edward Filene was based in Boston in the 19th century. He is responsible for Americans having credit unions. He had traveled abroad and noticed this scheme and desired to bring it to America to give everyday citizens the opportunity to save money and borrow it without usury or dealing with loan sharks.
From Wikipedia:
“To immortalize outstanding American merchants”, Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame.
- retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward
- Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame
- advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford.
Behind the Merchandise Mart
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of Huntington Hartford
Huntington Hartford inherited the A&P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea) supermarket chain fortune, which once was the largest chain in the world with 16,000 store.
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker was born in Philadephia. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern advertizing and marketing. His department store was famous in both his native Philadelphia as well as in New York City.
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of Julius Rosenwald
Julius Rosenwald developed the Sear, Roebuck & Co. mail order business when most Americans still lived in rural territories and small villages.
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of Marshall Field
From Wikipedia:
“Field took an early 19th century consumer landscape that was centered around the principle of caveat emptor, or “buyer beware”, and transformed it into a plush shopping experience fit for the gilded age. Unconditional refunds, consistent pricing and international imports are among the Field innovations that became standards in quality retailing. The quotes “Give the lady what she wants” and “The customer is always right” are attributed to Field, though the latter may also be an invention of Harry Gordon Selfridge while employed by Field.“
Marshall Field is responsible for the existence of the Field Museum of Natural History. He had to be convinced to fund the institution – and him being made aware of a living legacy did the trick. Marshall Field and John D. Rockefeller founded the University of Chicago.
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward founded the world’s first mail order business. The stores named after him were once the largest chain in the United States.
Chicago Merchandise Mart: Bust of F.W. Woolworth
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[...] the place needs little light other than bright gray Chicago sky. Against these windows, a series of busts look over the researchers. A sign on the wall says that the maximum capacity for this room is 44. [...]
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