Goldblatt Bros. Department Store

Address: 1613-35 W. Chicago Ave. Year Built: 1921-22 and 1925-28 Architect: Alfred S. Alschuler Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: April 1, 1998

One of the nation's oldest large neighborhood department stores, this is the first in a regional chain of more than three dozen stores founded by brothers Maurice and Nathan Goldblatt. The company's "value-oriented services" and innovations helped revolutionize American retailing. The three-story brick structure was built first; the five-story terra-cotta addition was constructed in stages to accommodate the rapid expansion of "America's Fastest Growing Department Store." Both buildings were designed in the late-Chicago School commercial style by one of the city's most prolific architects, whose other designs from this period are the K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple and the London Guarantee Building.