Himelhoch's

[Claire]

I worked at Himelhoch's Stores during the summer between my freshman and sophmore years at Michigan State University.

I was a home economics major and one of my professors had a sister bthat was the personnel director. This goes back many years, 1972 and 1973.

Does anyone remember the store?

[dtowncitylover]

Is there anything that you can tell us about working there? Management, clientele, stories, etc.

[Meddle]

I worked downtown for a while one summer in the early 70's. Receiving, unpacking and pricing. The pricing part was simple -- if the invoice showed the piece cost at $50, the pricetag said $100.

I seem to remember someone named Rosemary who was the wife of some city muckety-muck that ran part of the store.

Used to go sit along Grand Circus Park during lunch and people watch.

[lalynch]

I'd stop in at Himelhoch's if I was downtown in the 1980's during summer's off from college. The usual day was Smart bus from Livonia to Jefferson. Woodward bus to J.L. Hudson's. Visit Himelhoch's afterwards. Take Woodward bus up to the Detroit Public Library and Detroit Institute of Arts. Woodward bus back downtown and walk over to my dad's office at the McNamera Federal Building for a ride home.

[EMG]

My mother would sometimes take me shopping in the Grosse Pointe Village when I was very young, and among other places would shop there sometimes. That was the only Himelhoch's I ever knew. I was JUST learning to read at about that time and I used to drive my mom batty by insisting on pronouncing it "HEM-EL-HOH-CHES!"

[eastland]

My grandmother was a seamstress there until 1968.

[Neilr]

From the Boston-Edison web site:

Wolf Himelhoch
Wolf Himelhoch was born in 1845. In 1907, Wolf Himelhoch opened a clothing store, Himelhoch's, on Washington Boulevard. The store was successful, and eventually opened multiple branches in Detroit and its suburbs, and had offices in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Wolf Himelhoch lived at 929 West Boston from the 1910s until his death in 1922.


http://www.historicbostonedison.org/index.shtml

[Blueidone]

My mother was a secretary at General Motors beginning about 1956. First at the GM Building and then at the GM Tech Center in Warren. Back then, the ladies [[mostly secretaries) who worked for GM had to be "properly dressed". My mother not only had dresses, but "outfits". Her closet was full of shoes, hats, purses, gloves and coats that all matched the dresses hanging there. The boxes were all marked as to what color they were. Clothes got changed out for the seasons.

I say all that to say that Himelhoch's was one of her favorite stores...and Winkelman's, and Hudson's..and Crowley's. She was a very classy dresser. She and my aunt, who was also a secretary for General Motors [[to Bob Lutz, actually, when he was VP for Chevrolet), would spend hours and hours shopping, with my brother and I in tow. They would search and search to find just the right hats to go with a dress...then shoes and a purse...and jewelry, of course. I remember the time when ladies always wore gloves. I can still see the glass cabinet at the stores where gloves were available in every shade and several different lengths.

[usa1]

I shopped at Himelhoch's many years ago and it was a wonderful store with lovely clothes, real sales people and they had alterations. The clothes were quality made, nice materials and fit so nicely. I purchased many beautiful work and after-hours dresses at Hemelhoch's.

[Hermod]

I say all that to say that Himelhoch's was one of her favorite stores...and Winkelman's, and Hudson's..and Crowley's..

Don't forget Kern's downtown. When I was little, I thought it was one name, Kern's & Crowley's, because my mother would always say, "If I can't find it at Hudson's, we will go over to Kern's and Crowley's." The official title of Crowley's was Crowley-Milner and I think that Kern's was J.B. Kern.

When my mother didn't have the car, we would take the Six-Mile bus over to Gratiot and take the Gratiot streetcar downtown. When she did have the car, there was a parking lot that she favored downtown near the old Broadway Market. We would walk from there to Hudson's [[often the first and only stop). On the way home, we would stop in the Broadway Market [[sort of a flea market of food sellers) and get breakfast pastries for Sunday breakfast.

Was it 1961 that the Broadway burned down or was it earlier?? I loved going in there.

[DetroitPlanner]

I'd stop in at Himelhoch's if I was downtown in the 1980's during summer's off from college. The usual day was Smart bus from Livonia to Jefferson. Woodward bus to J.L. Hudson's. Visit Himelhoch's afterwards. Take Woodward bus up to the Detroit Public Library and Detroit Institute of Arts. Woodward bus back downtown and walk over to my dad's office at the McNamera Federal Building for a ride home.

Huh? Didn't Himelhoch's close sometime in the 1970's? Did you go there for lunch? Also, there was no SMART in the 1980's. SMART came as a devolution of SEMTA and came online in probably 1990.

[EMG]

Huh? Didn't Himelhoch's close sometime in the 1970's? Did you go there for lunch? Also, there was no SMART in the 1980's. SMART came as a devolution of SEMTA and came online in probably 1990.

I initially thought SMART must have started much earlier than that so I went to check it out, but lo and behold I found you were almost exactly on the mark. SMART started in 1989 according to this link:

http://www.smartbus.org/Smart/News+a...o/SMART+Facts/

[Claire]

I worked in the credit department. I remember folding charge statements and putting them in envelopes for mailing. It wasn't a lot that I did, but I went to wor everyday. Caught the Russell bus downtown and then the woodward bus north to the store. I was so proud of my job. Working downtown.


I remember Rosemary. I think her husband was Chief of Police or Deputy at that time.

[lalynch]

Huh? Didn't Himelhoch's close sometime in the 1970's? Did you go there for lunch? Also, there was no SMART in the 1980's. SMART came as a devolution of SEMTA and came online in probably 1990.

No, Himelhoch's was still around in the 1980's on Woodward. No, I didn't go there for lunch. Did they have a lunch room? Maybe it was SEMTA. Regardless, it was the bus that would go from Five Mile and Levan in Livonia to downtown, Jefferson, unload in front of Ren Cen. It was probably about 1983 when I had been to Himelhoch's.

[Bobl]

An acquaintance worked there, around 1966/1967. She [[J. M.) went to Osborn High School. I stopped in to visit once and was impressed by the apparent quality and style of clothing, but really didn't know....I was just a would be hippie from the suburbs.

[Gistok]

The Himelhoch's Building had a public entrance on Woodward Ave. and on Washington Blvd.

[psubliminal]

I remember the name, and recall also seeing one in the suburbs somewhere, perhaps in a mall [[I grew up in Westland). I don't know [[and can't tell from the comments) whether or not they just sold women's clothes or if men shopped there, too.

[lalynch]

I remember the name, and recall also seeing one in the suburbs somewhere, perhaps in a mall [[I grew up in Westland). I don't know [[and can't tell from the comments) whether or not they just sold women's clothes or if men shopped there, too.

I think some of the malls had Himelhoch's too.

[catch22]

I remember the name, and recall also seeing one in the suburbs somewhere, perhaps in a mall [[I grew up in Westland). I don't know [[and can't tell from the comments) whether or not they just sold women's clothes or if men shopped there, too.

There was a Himelhoch's in Westland Mall. It occupied the space on the north side of the east court, where Payless Shoes, Olga's and the consumer research company are today.

[Onthe405]

Many, many years ago, I believe the the original downtown Himelhoch's was a department store---a competitor of JLH/Kern's/Crowley's. However, by the time Northland & Eastland came along in the 1950s, they scaled down to only women's wear. They definitely had stores in both landmark shopping centers early on---perhaps even from opening day.

[jonathanlivingstonseagull]

I believe Himelhoch's was an original tenant when Twelve Oaks Mall opened in 1977.

[EastsideAl]

Himelhoch's was a little too tony for our family to actually shop in. And, anyway, my grandmother worked at Hudson's, so we always went there because she could get stuff at a discount. But I was in that store several times, since it provided a pass-through between Woodward and Washington Blvd. [[my aunt worked at the Stouffer's there, and later at the restaurant in the Statler/Hilton) that was particularly convenient in the winter weather. It was a beautiful store, with very nice merchandise and really lovely, Fisher Bldg.-like, ceilings in the entrances. I believe they went bankrupt and closed sometime around 1978.

[jonathanlivingstonseagull]

I saw this online:

Himelhoch's

Wolf Himelhoch established Himelhoch’s retail clothing store located on Washington Boulevard in Detroit in 1907. In 1957, as the store celebrated its 50th anniversary, it employed 600 people and had offices in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. The store opened multiple branches throughout Detroit suburbs in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s.

In 1976, Charles Himelhoch, Wolf Himelhoch’s grandson, renewed the lease on the Woodward building where the main store was located. Only fifteen months later Himelhoch’s filed bankruptcy, and eventually the stores closed, one by one. The final store closed in December 1978. The Woodward store, once known for its elegance, has since received historic designation, and the building now houses 72 spacious vintage apartment homes and over 4,000 square feet of commercial shops.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/d/dhhcc/re...himelhoch.html

[detroitbred]

Those days provided quite a different shopping experience than today's stores huh? My husband and I both worked at Hudson's Northland in the early 70's [[met there and been married for 38 years .....jeez that sounds like a million !). We enjoyed working there, It was a really nice place. Try and find good customer service at probably 99% of the stores out there today.....not too likely.

[kenp]

James Bannon was Chief of Police I recall. His wife's name was Rosemary.