Gold Bond Sort of Struck Gold

Now that school is nearing to an end very soon and I can regain my normal life after some hopeful changes, I can get back into the swing of things and start writing again at my much normal pace. When we left Goldblatt's they were expanding into famous Chicago neighborhoods during the better part of the 1920s. By the 1930s, brother Nathan Goldblatt believed that the variety store model, ala Woolworth's, WT Grant, GC Murphy, Nesiner, McCrory's, JJ Newberry, etc, was the wave of the future. Sort of like the time back in the very early 2000s when I tried to get my friend to upgrade her outdated bulky late 90s model cell phone for one that actually sent and received text messages. I said something along the lines of "Text messaging, Veronica, they're the wave of the future." I imagine that this conversation between Nathan and his brothers played out the same way. Sort of, anyway.

Longstreth's great article, for which this photo appears courtesy of, briefly discusses the Ace Drug Store. Opening in 1935, this was sort of a prototype that ended up being abandoned along with the other ideas for the purchase of Goldblatt's store on State Street. However, by 1941, Nathan came back to the table with the Gold Bond Department Store idea. A sort of early JC Penney-esque prototype of dry goods only. Opening locations as far away as Buffalo, the Chicago based location pictured above was smack dab in the middle of one of Chicago's most well known retail hubs, the Belmont-Central business district. Longstreth describes this famous retail hub as having "...four apparel stores, a hat store, a shoe store, a loan company and an auto supply store. About a third of the property, which extended over the square block, was devoted to parking adjoined by a children;s playground. Rear elevations. facing the lot, supported their own entrances and display windows. The extent of this development, coupled with its motorist amenities, probably made it unique in the region at the time."

The Gold Bond operation sort of radically redefined retail stores at the time. Of course, today we know it as the self service, no one around to ask questions when you need them or push annoying products on you until you get to the checkout counter at the local Wal-mart approach. Back then, it was strictly along the lines of display the products with sales people at the checkout counters and not peddling the merchandise with the customers out front. About 95% of retail operations follow this model today. Was Gold Bond the pioneer? Probably not, but I am not sure whether this sort of prototype was a good idea or a bad idea, judging by today's standards when we either get the pushy sales people who won't leave you alone or the ones who just disappear for their cigarette break many times throughout the course of your visit. But as my good friend Jeffrey Morris would say, "The ideal environment one in which knowledgeable staff are available to help, but will then leave us alone. Or, in the words John (as he was known at the time Cougar) Mellencamp, "Someone who'll thrill me, and then go away." (Thank you in advance, Jeff, for letting me jack one of your quotes off of the fabulous Remembering Retail.)

I am not sure exactly what the address was for this store on Belmont, so if anyone knows, feel free to inform me. The Goldblatt's saga shall continue.....