It was one of our favorite stores.
Dunham's was synonymous with quality. Judy and I were regulars at that great store in Trenton during the city's peaceful golden years. We used Dunham's as the main source for our footwear and clothing. With the gradual deterioration of the city beginning in the late 1950's, many center city stores looked to the suburbs to branch out. Dunham's opened a branch in the Independence Shopping Center on South Broad Street which became the store we patronized. The rioting and looting in the 1960's changed the city of Trenton forever. Trenton and many other cities in New Jersey were dealt a near death blow which resulted in shoppers and merchants fleeing to the suburbs. Additionally, the narrow streets in downtown Trenton were a factor in the downturn of the city. Along came the malls, and the rest is history. I wrote the above column when Dunham's decided to pull out of center city. It was a very sad day, and a very sad blow to those brave city of Trenton town fathers tried valiantly to restore the once proud capital. The photo in the column above shows the store on the corner of State and Broad Streets in Trenton. The 1905 article traces back to the acquisition of the property in the photo.
It was one of our favorite stores. Dunham's was synonymous with quality. Judy and I were regulars at that great store in Trenton during the city's peaceful golden years. We used Dunham's as the main source for our footwear and clothing. With the gradual deterioration of the city beginning in the late 1950's, many center city stores looked to the suburbs to branch out. Dunham's opened a branch in the Independence Shopping Center on South Broad Street which became the store we patronized. The rioting and looting in the 1960's changed the city of Trenton forever. Trenton and many other cities in New Jersey were dealt a near death blow which resulted in shoppers and merchants fleeing to the suburbs. Additionally, the narrow streets in downtown Trenton were a factor in the downturn of the city. Along came the malls, and the rest is history. I wrote the above column when Dunham's decided to pull out of center city. It was a very sad day, and a very sad blow to those brave city of Trenton town fathers tried valiantly to restore the once proud capital. The photo in the column above shows the store on the corner of State and Broad Streets in Trenton. The 1905 article traces back to the acquisition of the property in the photo.
4 comments:
The malls were the "downtown" of my era for most folks..indeed we
never thought of the rest of Trenton unless we had to go there
for work or other reasons.
Why am I thinking there was also
a Dunhams in Lawrence? I could be
wrong about that.
I remember the Dunhams at Independence Mall had a little Hair Salon between 2 sections of it
and you could smell the hair products as you passed by that.
You're correct, Mack. There was a Dunham's in the Lawrence Shopping Center. We also patronized that store. Marion Case, a classmate of Judy and Me was a manager at the Independence Store. Like most of the competing department stores of that era, the byword was QUALITY, and the labels were proudly posted as MADE THE THE USA,
TOM GLOVER
Tom Glover, Marion Case was a manager of the handbag department. I was the manager at the hosiery, accessory department. I had just graduated from college and worked in the Independence Mall store until I was promoted to assistant buyer of children’s accessories and was moved to the downtown store. I loved working at Dunham’s.
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