My RDA of Nostalgia
Posted in General on July 18th, 2009 by Eugene Finerman – 2 CommentsSo the Sears Tower is now to be called the Willis Tower. I am not saddened or angered that the Chicago landmark has been renamed for a British investment firm that is renting three floors of the skyscraper. (But I am surprised how comparatively cheap is the price of fame.) No, my personal sense of Chicago history was already shattered when Macys annexed and renamed Marshall Field.
Marshall Field was more than just a department store. It was an institution almost as old as Chicago itself. The Great Chicago Fire put on a crimp on sales, but the store obviously recovered. In the subsequent reconstruction, the building would become a landmark of the city, as much a palace as a store. It encompassed a city block in the center of the loop, imposing and beautiful. The interior was just as majestic. The store was neoclassical– if only the Romans had elevators. It was built around an atrium, and its ceiling was crowned with dazzling mosaics–a firmament of gold and blue. If Marshall Field didn’t quite overshadow the Columbian Exposition, the store was still on the itinerary of any visitor.
But Chicago’s feeling for Marshall Field was not an austere reverence but a warm affection. During the holidays, the store’s display windows were one of the delightful traditions. Some fable or fairy tale would be charmingly portrayed. Every Chicagoan has a personal memory of the old store. I can tell you how much the young Eugene loved the toy department. It had an unequalled display of toy soldiers.
Marshall Field was also the standard for service and quality. It wasn’t enough for the YUPPIE Eugene that he wore Hickey-Freeman suits. Those were Hickey-Freeman suits from Marshall Field, a double hallmark of distinction. (Of course, I would buy them on sale.)
You can tell how much I still love that old store; but it has not been that store in years. Marshall Field changed owners and character; only the name and memory remained. And now the name is gone. And yet I–and most Chicagoans of a certain age–will always know that store by its traditional identity. We may shop at this new Macys and call it that name as a grudging courtesy to the sales clerk, but we really will be thinking Marshall Field.
p.s. And let’s not forget the historic significance of this day: https://finermanworks.com/your_rda_of_irony/2008/07/18/where-there-is-smoke/