T. S. Martin Department Store
In 1901, an annex in the rear of the store building (409-411 Nebraska Street) was added to the main store. The annex was designed by Henry Fischer in the Beaux Arts style. Three years later 521 Fourth Street was also added. A new, unified storefront designed by William L. Steele was put in place in 1911. The business remained at that location until 1919, when a new, and final, store opened on the northeast corner of Fourth and Nebraska Streets. The new store's six stories and 135,000 square feet allowed the T. S. Martin Company to vastly expand their variety of products and services. Flowers, candies, home appliances, cookware, cosmetics, and stationery were all sold within the store. The store also boasted a bakery, hair salon, published its own fashion magazine ("Butterick Fashion News"), and even offered a few "educational" services such as cosmetic and fashion presentations, cooking classes, and art shows. In time, the store became a staple of Sioux City business, where locals and tourists alike could gather for retail and social purposes. The May Department Store Co. of St. Louis purchased the T. S. Martin Company in 1948, following a trend toward larger, regional department stores. Finally, in 1957, the Younker brothers of Des Moines bought the store and operated it as Younker-Martin. The store closed its doors for good on August 18, 1969 and the building was razed in 1970 as part of an urban renewal project.
The T. S. Martin Company proved to be a prosperous department store. In 1880, its sales totaled around $35,000; by 1902, they totaled over one million dollars. Though ads touted the fantastic prices, finest quality of goods, and courteousness of employees, there are several other reasons for why the store prospered for nearly seventy years. One service the store offered from its early days was a mail order service. The company would send out free cloth samples to potential customers and paid for express shipping on orders of five dollars or more. This service helped to spread the name of Martin's across the Midwest. The variety of products and services, especially in its later history, also helped Martin's to prosper, making it a one-stop destination. A final reason for the store's success was the competition with two other department stores in Sioux City: Davidson Brothers' and Pelletier's. To stay on top, Martin's had to attract more customers than its competitors, and it accomplished this by moving to better and bigger locations, selling a wide array of products, and offering a variety of services to its customers.
Golden Jubilee—1930:
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