Sibley's

Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York-based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, also housed its headquarters and featured an elegant executive dining room on the top floor.

For the defunct footwear company based in Michigan, see Sibley's Shoes.
Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company
former subsidiary of :
 Associated Dry Goods (1957)
 May Department Stores (1986)
IndustryDry goods retailing
Fatemerged into Kaufmann's
SuccessorKaufmann's (1990–2006)
Macy's (2006–present)
FoundedRochester, New York, United States (1868 (1868))
FounderRufus Sibley
Alexander Lindsay
John Curr
Defunct1990 (1990)
Key people
Rufus Sibley
Alexander Lindsay
John Curr

History

The Department Store Years

Rufus Sibley, Alexander Lindsay, and John Curr were employees at the Hogg, Brown & Taylor dry-goods store in Boston. Wishing to go into business for themselves, they investigated potential sites and settled on the growing city of Rochester. Their first storefront, often called "the Boston store" by locals, opened in 1868.[1] When the company opened a new 12-story, 23-acre (93,000 m2) flagship store in the Granite Building, it was among the five largest department stores in the country at the time.[2]

The Sibley Building

In 1905, after the disastrous 1904 "Sibley fire" gutted the Granite Building and much of Rochester's dry goods district,[3] Sibley's moved to its final location, the Sibley Building at the northeast corner of East Main Street and Clinton Avenue.[4] By 1939, Sibley's was the largest department store between New York City and Chicago.[4]

In 1962, competitors B. Forman Co. and McCurdy's collaborated to construct Midtown Plaza, right across Main Street from Sibley's. Sibley's was connected to the new mall by an enclosed third-floor walkway, part of the Rochester Skyway system.

The company was acquired by the Associated Dry Goods Corporation in 1957, which, in turn, was acquired by May Department Stores in 1986. The Sibley's name was merged into May Company's Kaufmann's name in 1990. Most of its suburban locations, after converting to Kaufmann's, became part of Macy's by 2006.

Monroe Community College - Damon City Campus calls Sibley Building Home

In 1991[5] the State University of New York's Monroe Community College, also known as MCC, opened its second campus at the Sibley Building.[5] The downtown campus continued to operate here until the completion of a new downtown campus in 2017,[6] which is now located at nearby Kodak Tower, the headquarters of the Kodak Company.

Today - Sibley Square

Now under a new name, Sibley Square,[7] the iconic Sibley Building is undergoing a major overhaul, transforming the historic site into a combination of retail, commercial (offices), and upscale residential units. The renovations seek to combine the historic treasure of this architectural space while also creating a sleek, modern atmosphere for today's standards.

Developer

The current Sibley Square project is being developed by WinnCompanies,[8] a Boston, Massachusetts-based award winning development firm.[8] WinnCompanies was founded in 1971 by Arthur Winn.[9]

Address Change

The current address of Sibley Square is:

250 East Main Street

Rochester, NY 14604[7]

References
  1. Marcotte, Bob (June 15, 2009). "Sibley's had humble beginnings". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  2. McCally, Karen. "Rochester Goes Shopping: Sibley's and the Rise of 'Consumer Culture'" (PDF). Rochester History. Rochester, New York: Rochester Historical Society. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  3. Marcotte, Bob (June 29, 2009). "Sibley Fire of 1904 unmatched in intensity". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  4. Marcotte, Bob (July 13, 2009). "Sibley's the great was one-of-a-kind store". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  5. "History | About MCC | Monroe Community College". www.monroecc.edu. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  6. "Downtown Campus | Monroe Community College | Rochester, NY". www.monroecc.edu. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  7. "Sibley Square". sibleysquareroc.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  8. "WinnCompanies". www.winncompanies.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  9. "History". www.winncompanies.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
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