The J.W. Knapp Company, more commonly known as "Knapp's", was a chain of department stores in mid-Michigan based in Lansing, Michigan.
 Logo for Knapp's department store used during the 1970s and 1980s. | |
| Knapp's | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Department store |
| Predecessor | Jewett & Knapp |
| Founded | 1893 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | October 17, 1980 |
| Fate | Closed by bankruptcy of parent company; Purchased by J.C. Penney |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 4 (3 Lansing area, 1 Jackson) |
Areas served | Lansing and Jackson |
| Owner |
|
History
editIn 1893, Joseph W. Knapp, a salesman originally from Hillsdale, Michigan opened a dry-goods, coat, and carpet store in Albion, Michigan in partnership with Frank W. Jewett, called Jewett & Knapp.[1] By 1897, the store had relocated to 123 N. Washington Avenue[2] in Lansing, occupying 6,000 sq ft (560 m2) of space[3] at the site of a former dry-goods store.[1]
In 1908, Jewett and Knapp sold the business to Frank Lackey, who renamed the store "J.W. Knapp Company".[1] Knapp remained in charge of company operations, with Lackey as a silent partner.[4] Knapp's billed itself in advertising of the day as "Lansing's Busy Reliable Store".[5]
The same year, the business moved to 220–226 South Washington St. By 1918, Knapp's had incorporated a specialty gift store into its business, the "Kenilworth Gift Shop" in partnership with Kenilworth Studios of Chicago, and involved an extensive advertising campaign.[6] In 1923, Knapp supplied the latest current fashions to costume participants in a musical revue at Michigan Agricultural College in nearby East Lansing.[7] In 1928 the store was expanded and renovated for $15,000 to help it compete with the rival F.W. Arbaugh Company.[3] The new South Washington store featured a pneumatic cash transportation tube system.[8]
In 1937, Knapp's commenced construction of a new building, completed in 1939, at 300 S. Washington, on the site of the Hotel Downey, which was demolished to make room for the new store,[3] and the still earlier Lansing House hotel and saloon.[9] The store expanded by the 1940s to cover a full city block.[1]
In the 1950s, the company was sold to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which owned a collection of department stores in mid-Michigan, including Smith-Bridgman in Flint; D.M. Christian Company in Owosso, and Robinson's in Battle Creek. Knapp's opened a smaller branch in East Lansing in the early 1960s; this store was later closed, and a newer Knapp's was built as one of the anchor stores of Meridian Mall in Okemos when it opened in 1969. Two additional mall-based locations, at Lansing Mall in Lansing, and Westwood Mall in Jackson, were acquired in 1972 from Grand Rapids-based Wurzburg's.
Extensive television advertising on WJIM Channel 6 made Knapp's known throughout mid-Michigan.[1]
In 1970 the L.S. Good Co. of Wheeling, West Virginia bought all of the Mott Foundation divisions; L.S. Good Co. declared bankruptcy in 1980, and all of the former Mott Foundation nameplates were shuttered.[10] The three mall-based locations were all sold to JCPenney, while the downtown Lansing location had been permanently closed by the parent company weeks prior.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "J.W. Knapp Company Was Located Here A Century Ago", Albion Evening Recorder August 11, 1997 p.4
- ^ ""Clothing the Family - Lansing 1897", Michigan State Historical Museum". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ a b c MacLean, James & Whitford, Craig, Lansing: City on the Grand 1836-1939 p 27
- ^ Arthur, Lansing Unimited American Book-Stratford Press, 1947 p.165
- ^ Advertisement, Moderator-Topics(Lansing, MI), (May 5, 1910) Vol XXX No. 34 p 681
- ^ "The Kenilworth sales plan", Grand Rapids Furniture Record (Grand Rapids, MI) (September, 1918) p 118
- ^ Widder, Keith Michigan Agricultural College: The Evolution of a Land Grant Philosophy MSU Press, 2005 ISBN 0-87013-734-4, ISBN 978-0-87013-734-1 p 315
- ^ ""Cash carriers - references E-L" Cash Carriers". Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
- ^ Garrett, Robert, "Saving their husbands, one saloon at a time", Lansing City Pulse (July 5, 2006)
- ^ "Christian's padlocked", Argus-Press (Owosso, MI) (October 17, 1980) p. 1