Lets just say that MACY'S ruined a good thing. They said that they could not keep up with the MF&Co branding, yet they did it for other stores they acquired (like Bloomingdales). This store, as MF&Co, at Water Tower Place was simply spectacular. The tour buses that used to drop people off in the 1970's and 1980's used to block the street. And it will forever be remembered on the Bob Newhart Show opening (1975) as he walks past the marble façade of the building (Water Tower Place with the Marshall Fields logo on the corner) under construction. MACY'S made something that was wonderful into something that is just...ordinary. Thanx for posting. I have not been in Chicago since before the 2011 do-over.
And Cook County pushed back when Target tried to replace Macy's saying it wasn't high end enough for the Magnificent Mile. Give me a break. In this age of dying retail you should take whatever you can get.
Loved seeing this. Unique store for a unique mall. I remember when Lord & Taylor anchored the opposite end. The 8th floor of Marshall Field’s was added (in the late 90’s or early 00’s). I always remember feeling a little claustrophobic inside Water Tower Place because as you pointed out and captured on video, the floor plan was quite small.
man it is such a depressing site. i live in chicago early from 2003 to 2009. water tower was one of the cool places to go. the time i was there, i remember virgin megastore changed to forever 21. borders i think eventually became uniqlo. seems from the videos i see on here on youtube, even those stores are gone too.
I used to shop there in the 90s a lot when I lived around the corner, I still have my Marshall Field’s charge card, saw it again in 2008 as Macy’s and was shocked it had become Macy’s, haven’t been back to Chicago since, miss those days, I love Chicago
I was just at Water Tower Place for the first time in ages this past Good Friday (had the day off). It still had a nice amount of people in it. Got a ginger ale at Wow Bao. Some things never change :) This mall's layout is odd, of course Macy's included. Some of us older Chicagoland peeps indeed do have mixed feelings about Macy's replacing Marshall Fields. Heck, we always did back to school shopping at Montgomery Wards when I was a kid! Thanks for another awesome video. Edit: since I just turned 40, I guess I'm an older Chicagoan. Feels odd saying it lol.
When they decided that the cheaper Macy's name was held in higher esteem than the venerable Marshall Fields, I stopped shopping at their stores. They think their competition is Saks or L&T, etc. but they are far below those stores. Marshall Fields was competition. Macy's is solely responsible for their downfall here.
Speaking of Macy's and Bloomingdales where I live we have a shopping center that has both of them in the same shopping center. Adding to this that Bloomingdales is the only one in the whole state that I live in. This same shopping center also has a Saks Off 5th (same building as Target and Planet Fitness) and Nordstrom.
Great video again! It dose look very nice! Also look like Macy's I'm new york city! But yours in part of mall and mime is free standing store! If they left it Marshall field's that could of been only store left in U.S.! Then closed for good in 2020 from pandemic. You never know that!
When Godiva closed there I haven’t been there since. First it was Hershey’s across the street, then Ghiradelli Chocolates across from Hershey’s, and finally Godiva; it was a great chocolate shopping area.
@@mitchellkelly3955 The thing about River Oaks is that they are far away from any other Macy's store or even a Kohl's. I think it's going to stick around for a while.
There were droves of "just transient youth" roaming all floors of that place with backpacks in 2010 (a DECADE prior) but there was nothing the employees could do as PC ruled at the time. See what happens?
Also, when there are 10 entrance doors to the place and 9 of them are locked so the "just transient youth" have a more difficult time fleeing with the loot, you knew there were serious problems back in.......2010. As a former Macy's weekend employee, it was like a riddle trying to figure out which of the 10 doors was unlocked to......get to WORK. They also hired mainly welfare recipients. There was a welfare form in the "onboarding" paperwork. I told the HR person "I don't need this form so I left it blank". "Just fill it out anyway" was her reply. There was gang graffiti on the walls in the men's fitting room on the 8th floor where Miriam was known to be having sex with Macy's male "shoppers". True story.
Hi! I love the way you express your opinions on each store that I can relate too! I’ve watched you since you opened this channel. When you did your “Collapse Of Carson’s” Series. I’m the same person that owns the Elevators International account, but this is more of my variety channel. It’s also, where I educate and spread awareness on disability and soon, Service Dogs! I’m Visually impaired and I’ll be getting my first Guide Dog!
I can see Dillard’s, Von Maur, or maybe the first ever Hudson’s Bay of Canada if they’re interested in expanding into the US market like we are doing in theirs. It’d be something different to Macy’s.
i wont shop mag mile again after my experience being frightened by homeless people sitting and sleeping all along the watertower area. One guy tried to grab my leg as I walked by.I was carrying food and almost fell. Then there is the many thieves and car jackers. I spent alot of money there in the 90's. ALOT! But it is scary now
@@LostDepartments I feel like if State Street closes Macy’s is done. Probably the second most iconic location in the chain behind the OG Macy’s in NYC.
@@andysorensen1737 if they close Macy’s were the old marshal field used to be. Macy’s will go through the same thing lord and Taylor did unfortunately.
It's kinda weird when a shopping center or mall has both stores, it's like "what the heck, aren't they sister stores and the other is just taking the store that was there first's traffic?"
@@PinkAgaricus oddly enough prior to macys owning marshal fields target owned them , dayton hudson corp which was big deprtment store company had a small dicount chain named target then they sold off all there department store connection , to forcus just on target how times chanege one company buying another so sad
I feel like this is the problem with all the current existing department stores they buy out others just for "Oh, expansion in other markets," instead of just expanding themselves. Now there's only 2 to 4 department store brands (not nameplates, the actual brands themselves that bought out those stores that kept their nameplates, like the ones that ended up under The Bon-Ton) left. I feel like the department store market would be more interesting if the bigger brands didn't buy out small ones. The same goes for leveraged buyouts.
What was kind of neat about that was that it gave you a kind of boutique feeling, especially in the higher end shops as a Marshall Fields. For the 1970's, the design was very extra-ordinary.
Lets just say that MACY'S ruined a good thing. They said that they could not keep up with the MF&Co branding, yet they did it for other stores they acquired (like Bloomingdales). This store, as MF&Co, at Water Tower Place was simply spectacular. The tour buses that used to drop people off in the 1970's and 1980's used to block the street. And it will forever be remembered on the Bob Newhart Show opening (1975) as he walks past the marble façade of the building (Water Tower Place with the Marshall Fields logo on the corner) under construction. MACY'S made something that was wonderful into something that is just...ordinary. Thanx for posting. I have not been in Chicago since before the 2011 do-over.
And Cook County pushed back when Target tried to replace Macy's saying it wasn't high end enough for the Magnificent Mile. Give me a break. In this age of dying retail you should take whatever you can get.
Loved seeing this. Unique store for a unique mall. I remember when Lord & Taylor anchored the opposite end. The 8th floor of Marshall Field’s was added (in the late 90’s or early 00’s). I always remember feeling a little claustrophobic inside Water Tower Place because as you pointed out and captured on video, the floor plan was quite small.
man it is such a depressing site. i live in chicago early from 2003 to 2009. water tower was one of the cool places to go. the time i was there, i remember virgin megastore changed to forever 21. borders i think eventually became uniqlo. seems from the videos i see on here on youtube, even those stores are gone too.
I used to shop there in the 90s a lot when I lived around the corner, I still have my Marshall Field’s charge card, saw it again in 2008 as Macy’s and was shocked it had become Macy’s, haven’t been back to Chicago since, miss those days, I love Chicago
I was just at Water Tower Place for the first time in ages this past Good Friday (had the day off). It still had a nice amount of people in it. Got a ginger ale at Wow Bao. Some things never change :)
This mall's layout is odd, of course Macy's included. Some of us older Chicagoland peeps indeed do have mixed feelings about Macy's replacing Marshall Fields. Heck, we always did back to school shopping at Montgomery Wards when I was a kid! Thanks for another awesome video.
Edit: since I just turned 40, I guess I'm an older Chicagoan. Feels odd saying it lol.
Thank You! It good to hear that there's still people going there.
Thanks for filming this
No problem!
It’s been fun watching your videos over the years and I hope you stuck around and keep filming stores
Thank You!!!!
@@LostDepartments yeah no problem it seems the quality of you videos go up and up after every video
Thanks for filming this. I used to work right down the street when this was Marshall Field's. Spent a lot of time here on my lunch hours.
Was familiar with Famous Barr in St. Louis which turned into Macy's as well. First actual Macy's trip for me was 2010.
I had no idea that Macy's closed. I was there last fall 2020. Great photography!💜
Great video, we're losing quite a few in my state, but losing a store that's practically a flagship store definitely sucks
It does!
When they decided that the cheaper Macy's name was held in higher esteem than the venerable Marshall Fields, I stopped shopping at their stores. They think their competition is Saks or L&T, etc. but they are far below those stores. Marshall Fields was competition. Macy's is solely responsible for their downfall here.
Such a shame. It was a beautiful store. Haven't been there for a long time. Unusual layout.
R.I.P MACY'S WATER TOWER PLACE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
R.I.P MACY'S WATER TOWER PLACE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Dude, you don't need to reply the same thing you already commented
It is so so sad.
Do a walk through of the State Street Macy’s and its history as Marshall Fields
Speaking of Macy's and Bloomingdales where I live we have a shopping center that has both of them in the same shopping center. Adding to this that Bloomingdales is the only one in the whole state that I live in.
This same shopping center also has a Saks Off 5th (same building as Target and Planet Fitness) and Nordstrom.
Great video again! It dose look very nice! Also look like Macy's I'm new york city! But yours in part of mall and mime is free standing store! If they left it Marshall field's that could of been only store left in U.S.! Then closed for good in 2020 from pandemic. You never know that!
When Godiva closed there I haven’t been there since. First it was Hershey’s across the street, then Ghiradelli Chocolates across from Hershey’s, and finally Godiva; it was a great chocolate shopping area.
I was here for one last time last Saturday. I am very sad to see it gone :(
This is definitely a sad one to see close.
@@LostDepartments When I saw the store closings list that this store was on, I was surprised to see that the Macy's in Calumet City wasn't closing
@@mitchellkelly3955 The thing about River Oaks is that they are far away from any other Macy's store or even a Kohl's. I think it's going to stick around for a while.
@@LostDepartments Now that makes sense. I thought it would close cuz River Oaks is not doing well.
@@LostDepartments It did make sense that Spring Hill closed tho
Nice video. I miss going to Water Tower Place. Chicago is just not the same with all the Covid-19 stuff going on.
Did You Hear About The Lootings And Protests In May 2020, And Was This Store Damaged
There were droves of "just transient youth" roaming all floors of that place with backpacks in 2010 (a DECADE prior) but there was nothing the employees could do as PC ruled at the time. See what happens?
Also, when there are 10 entrance doors to the place and 9 of them are locked so the "just transient youth" have a more difficult time fleeing with the loot, you knew there were serious problems back in.......2010. As a former Macy's weekend employee, it was like a riddle trying to figure out which of the 10 doors was unlocked to......get to WORK.
They also hired mainly welfare recipients. There was a welfare form in the "onboarding" paperwork. I told the HR person "I don't need this form so I left it blank". "Just fill it out anyway" was her reply. There was gang graffiti on the walls in the men's fitting room on the 8th floor where Miriam was known to be having sex with Macy's male "shoppers". True story.
Thank You for this video. I was there in 2012,and in 2015.
Zsuzsa from Budapest, Hungary :)
Thank You!
When is Macy closing down and is the water tower mall closing too?
Such a shame that Macy's is closing more stores
I also wonder what is going to happen to the mall after this.
Hi! I love the way you express your opinions on each store that I can relate too! I’ve watched you since you opened this channel. When you did your “Collapse Of Carson’s” Series. I’m the same person that owns the Elevators International account, but this is more of my variety channel. It’s also, where I educate and spread awareness on disability and soon, Service Dogs! I’m Visually impaired and I’ll be getting my first Guide Dog!
Thank You!!!! Ill check out your channel!
Sad, I love this location and wish it was staying open.
I just don't see another anchor moving in here....:(
Possibly target.
I can see Dillard’s, Von Maur, or maybe the first ever Hudson’s Bay of Canada if they’re interested in expanding into the US market like we are doing in theirs. It’d be something different to Macy’s.
@@vinnylazar1468 They are now actually talking about Target moving in
It was a cool place to go but alot of retailers after the riots from 2020 are packing up shop as well
i wont shop mag mile again after my experience being frightened by homeless people sitting and sleeping all along the watertower area. One guy tried to grab my leg as I walked by.I was carrying food and almost fell. Then there is the many thieves and car jackers. I spent alot of money there in the 90's. ALOT!
But it is scary now
Man. I feel bad for that large store closing. Rip
Do you have any Marshall Fields videos?
At least we still have the one at the old Marshal fields.
I really hope that they don't close that one.
@@LostDepartments I feel like if State Street closes Macy’s is done. Probably the second most iconic location in the chain behind the OG Macy’s in NYC.
@@andysorensen1737 if they close Macy’s were the old marshal field used to be. Macy’s will go through the same thing lord and Taylor did unfortunately.
I highly doubt they will close state street. There is three Macy’s in downtown Chicago...
Too much for such a small area.
I knew this was coming for years. Chicago area has a ton of Macy’s nearby. Downtown has three alone. This one was becoming irrelevant unfortunately.
👍👍👍
My girlfriend is StephanieBri
I remember that I have bought my piano Alicia Keys Reebok shoes there I love it.
its too bad if Macy's owns the rights to the name Marshall Fields, I bet they could have rebooted the name and people would flock
The real tragedy was losing Marshall Field's, not Macy's. 😢
bloomingdales is owned by macy's as is marshalfields
It's kinda weird when a shopping center or mall has both stores, it's like "what the heck, aren't they sister stores and the other is just taking the store that was there first's traffic?"
@@PinkAgaricus oddly enough prior to macys owning marshal fields target owned them , dayton hudson corp which was big deprtment store company had a small dicount chain named target then they sold off all there department store connection , to forcus just on target how times chanege one company buying another so sad
I feel like this is the problem with all the current existing department stores they buy out others just for "Oh, expansion in other markets," instead of just expanding themselves. Now there's only 2 to 4 department store brands (not nameplates, the actual brands themselves that bought out those stores that kept their nameplates, like the ones that ended up under The Bon-Ton) left.
I feel like the department store market would be more interesting if the bigger brands didn't buy out small ones. The same goes for leveraged buyouts.
Visited this one before, I hate it. Every floor is a single department so if you want to do multiple things you have to walk a lot....
There are elevators. Minimal walking vs. a similar store that has all departments on one level.. just sayin'.......
What was kind of neat about that was that it gave you a kind of boutique feeling, especially in the higher end shops as a Marshall Fields. For the 1970's, the design was very extra-ordinary.