Read's Department Stores was a Bridgeport, Connecticut-based retail chain founded in 1857 by D. M. Read. Known for its classy, upscale merchandise, the flagship store was once hailed as New England's largest department store. It expanded to several other locations in the 1950s and 1960s, but these closed progressively through the 1980s and 1990s.
The original Bridgeport store closed in 1981 when Read's moved to a new location, and was later extensively renovated and reopened as Artspace Read's, also known as the Sterling Market Lofts building.
Founding and growth
In 1857, David M. Read and W. B. Hall opened a dry goods and carpet store on Main Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with Read going solo in 1877. In 1885, the business expanded to two buildings on Main Street and Fairfield Avenue forming a "very popular and elegant place of business." Read's became known for its classy, upscale merchandise and shopping environment, becoming New England's largest department store.
Flagship store
In 1926, Read's moved to the corner of Broad and John Streets in downtown Bridgeport, where its flagship store ultimately had over of selling area on five floors. D.M. Read Company became a unit of Allied Stores in 1954.
The store had seven floors, five above ground and two below, and sold all sorts of items which according to the Bridgeport store directory were:
Downstairs
China • Glassware • Silver • Gifts • Lamps • Housewares
Street Floor
Jewelry • Watch Repair • Cosmetics • Gloves • Small Leather Goods • Belts • Handbags • Fashion Accessories • Neckwear • Hosiery • Casual Shoe Bar • Hat Bar • Umbrellas • Blouses • Street Floor Sportswear • Street Floor Lingerie • Fashion Shoes • Corner I • Notions • Stationery • Cameras • Luggage • Confections • Snack Shop John Street Men's Furnishings • Men's Sportswear • Men's Clothing • Men's Shoes • Men's Hats East Building Appliance Center Post Office Arcade Casual Shop
Second Floor
Domestics • Curtains • Draperies • Slipcovers • Portrait Studio
Young World Shops Infants' Shop • 2-to-6 Shop • Boys' Shop • Girls' Shop • Subteen Shop • Teen Shop • Young World Shoes • Children's Furniture
Third Floor
Sportswear • Dresses • Daytime Dresses • Coats • Suits • Town and Country Shop • Fairfield Room • Millinery • Fur Salon • Bride's Shop • Uniforms • Maternity Shop • Lingerie • Foundations • At Ease Shop Jr. News Jr. Dresses • Jr. Coats • Jr. Sportswear
Fourth Floor
Bedding • Furniture • Rugs • Broadloom • Photo Studio • Trim-a-Home Shop • Beauty Salon
Fifth Floor
Toyland • Bicycles • Outdoor Equipment • Books • Venetian Tea Room • Offices
Branch stores
The second store was built as one of the two anchors in the new Trumbull Shopping Park (the state's first mall), 6.7 miles from downtown Bridgeport. The store had three floors, (), and was located in the south section of the mall where Target stands today.
Allied expanded the store into a chain in the 1950s and 1960s. By then they were up to six stores in Fairfield and New Haven Counties in Connecticut.
Transition
In 1981, Allied closed Read's landmark downtown store, leaving behind a boarded-up building as a reminder of Bridgeport's brighter past. It moved the store into space recently vacated by Gimbel's at the nearby Lafayette Plaza Mall in downtown Bridgeport.
In 1983, Read's opened a New York location in the Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights. Around 1985 its television and radio commercials featured the jingle, "Reads, Your Something Special Store". Read's operated in its hometown of Bridgeport until 1987 when Campeau Corp. of Canada, which had bought Allied Stores, merged it into Allied's sister division, Jordan Marsh of Boston, Massachusetts, and the stores subsequently took on the Jordan Marsh name.
In 1988, Campeau acquired Federated Department Stores of Cincinnati, Ohio and operated it in conjunction with Allied, subsequently declaring bankruptcy in 1990. As a result of the overall decline of Bridgeport's downtown shopping area, the Lafayette Plaza store closed in 1989, and all but the Trumbull and Jefferson Valley stores were closed by 1992 under the Federated/Allied Stores bankruptcy filing.