In the December issue of Memphis magazine, I tell of the rise and fall of J.B. Hunter, an upscale department store when it first opened, but one that struggled for years to draw customers away from the competition, and finally closed.
The Special Collections Department at the University of Memphis Libraries has a handful of photos from the old Memphis Press-Scimitar, showing J.B. Hunter in its early days, and I'm happy to share them with you here.
Above is a dramatic shot of the May 6, 1968, ribbon-cutting that officially opened the J.B. Hunter at Raines Road and Highway 51 South — the first store in Memphis. From left to right, you have Mark King with the mayor's office, store manager Jack Freuwirth, And Seymour Ainbinder, president of the Allied Stores chain that owned J.B. Hunter.
I have to wonder if the scissors were dull, considering the determined look on the face of the man snipping the ribbon. One of my colleagues said, "They probably bought the cheap scissors at J.B. Hunter." How could they? The store hadn't opened yet. That's just mean.
The photos below show the rush of shoppers that burst through the doors as soon as they opened. Not a man in the bunch, it seems, except for the two store executives: That's G.P. Goldenberg (left) and Seymour Ainbinder.
The bottom photo shows how elaborate some of the departments were. This view of the "Men's Boutique" — which apparently offered models of old sailing ships along with clothing and accessories — shows (left to right): Joel Penney, the "soft lines" manager; James Cunningham, "home lines" manager; Milton Caskill, managing director; and Richard Williams, operations manager.
The newspaper story that accompanied this photo noted that the new one-level store had a $1.5 million inventory, and the building and equipment cost $2 million. The store on Poplar, which opened in 1970, was much larger, with two stories and that well-remembered "inclinator."
