5 Christmas Department Stores That No Longer Exist (And What Killed Them)

#Nostalgia #GoneBrands #MarshallFields What happened to Gimbels, Jordan Marsh, Hudson's, Wanamaker's and Marshall Field's? Five Christmas department stores that no longer exist, and the owners who ended every one of those names. This Gone Brands documentary counts all five down. Gimbels started its Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia in 1920, four years before Macy's, and at the end of it Santa climbed a fire truck ladder into the Toyland window. A tobacco company owned Gimbels from 1973, put the whole chain up for sale in 1986, and by 1987 the last store was closed. Jordan Marsh gave Boston the Enchanted Village. After a buyout that ran on debt, all 18 stores opened as Macy's on March 25, 1996, and the village still runs today inside a furniture store in Avon. Hudson's sent Detroit's children up to Santaland on the twelfth floor. The downtown store closed in 1983 and came down in 1998, and in 2001 Target put all 21 Hudson's stores under the Marshall Field's name. Wanamaker's in Philadelphia had the bronze Eagle, a pipe organ with more than 28,000 pipes and a Christmas Light Show that began in 1956. May Department Stores turned it into Hecht's in 1995, and Macy's closed the store in March 2025. And Marshall Field's, home of Frango mints and the Great Tree in the Walnut Room, became a Macy's on September 9, 2006, the day more than 400 department stores opened under one new name. In 2006 there were roughly 800 Macy's stores. By January 2026 there were 432. Chapters: 0:00 Christmas downtown, and one new name 0:54 Number 5 - Gimbels 3:43 Number 4 - Jordan Marsh 6:03 Number 3 - Hudson's 8:28 Number 2 - Wanamaker's 10:49 Number 1 - Marshall Field's 13:10 Who ended all five names Which store was Christmas where you grew up, and who took you there to see Santa? Tell us in the comments. If your town's Christmas store isn't on this list, put its name down there too, and we'll look into it. More department stores that no longer exist - Ames, Zayre and Hills:    • 3 Department Stores That No Longer Exist (...   Montgomery Ward, Woolworth, Toys "R" Us, Kmart and Sears:    • 5 American Stores That No Longer Exist (An...   The whole series:    • American Stores That No Longer Exist (And ...   Gone Brands, 2026 - short documentaries on the American companies, products and stores this country grew up with, and then lost. For copyright complaints, corrections, or other information, contact us at gumcast@gmail.com #Nostalgia #GoneBrands #MarshallFields #Gimbels #JordanMarsh #Hudsons #Wanamakers #Macys #ChristmasNostalgia #DepartmentStores #70sNostalgia #80sNostalgia #RememberWhen #DefunctStores -------------------------------------------------------- 🎵 MUSIC Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Tracks used: "Sincerely", "Meditation Impromptu 01", "Sardana", "Deliberate Thought", "Bittersweet", "Fireflies and Stardust" -------------------------------------------------------- 🎞️ ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE AND PHOTOS Footage courtesy of Chicago Film Archives, The Museum of Classic Chicago Television (FuzzyMemories.TV), Detroit Historical Society, British Pathé, AP Archive, 6abc Philadelphia, CBS Philadelphia, Eyewitness News ABC7NY, FOX 5 New York, WCVB Channel 5 Boston, KDKA, WDIV, Channel 3000 / News 3 Now, The Loizeaux Group, Finally Found Film, Jordan's Furniture, and the YouTube archivists Brad Swanson, Jeff Lambert, Ken Butz, HistoricusJoe, Reel Life, Alex Rivera, The TV Madman, Ethan Parmet, Brovio, gamelovercommercials, RJD kid, John Jack Gallagher, The Philly Captain, hartfamily, Joe Zaldivar, TVARCHIVEZ, Sandra Turek-Shelton, grumkin, Ford Shankle, Larry Bridges, scatteredfrog, Chi-Town TV Fan, TheClassicSports, DanielleandJennifer, chevybrs, artistmac, ThatGuyInPhilly, Bionic Disco, KWBaughman, samrulez06, gbcvette04, robatsea2009, David Dalka, Dr. Audrey Guskey and James Cushing. Photos courtesy of Detroit Historical Society, HistoricDetroit.org, the Historical Marker Database, Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS News, FOX 2 Detroit, Boston.com, The New York Times, TIME, New York Daily News, Fireman's Hall Museum and Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Archival clips and photos belong to their owners and are used here for commentary and education.