Industry | Department store |
---|---|
Founded | 1881 |
Defunct | 2001 |
Fate | Locations re-branded as Marshall Field's in 2001 |
Successor | Marshall Field's (2001–2006) Macy's (2006–present) |
Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan (1881–1969) Minneapolis, Minnesota (1969–2001) United States |
Key people | Joseph L. Hudson |
Parent | Dayton–Hudson Corporation |
The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998),[1] was the tallest department store in the world in 1961,[2] and, at one time, claimed to be the second-largest department store, after Macy's, in the United States, by square footage.[3]
Founded in 1881 by Joseph Lowthian Hudson, the store thrived during the record growth of Detroit and the auto industry in the first half of the 20th century.[citation needed] In 1909, J.L. Hudson invested in a start-up automobile manufacturer which was named the Hudson Motor Car Company in his honor.[citation needed] The Hudson Motor Car Company eventually became part of the American Motors Corporation and later Chrysler. Hudson operated the store until his death in 1912, when his four nephews (James, Joseph, Oscar, and Richard Webber) assumed control. The third generation of the family assumed control in 1961, when Joseph L. Hudson, Jr., became president of the company.[4]
Over time, the store grew from its beginnings in the Detroit Opera House to a 25-story building with 2,124,316 sq ft (197,355.4 m2) and occupying an entire city block.