What Is the Sears, Roebuck and Company Mail-Order Warehouse and Retail Store?
This former Sears, Roebuck and Company warehouse is now the Midtown Exchange apartment complex!
What Makes It Historical?
In 1886, Richard Warren Sears started a company for selling wrist watches in North Redwood, Minnesota, then teamed up with watch repair specialist, Alvah Curtis Roebuck, the following year in Chicago. Together, they returned to Minneapolis and formed the Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1893, starting with an 80-page mail order catalogue of watches and jewelry to sell to farmers, then expanding in a year to a 322-page catalogue featuring all kinds of things, from sewing machines to clothing to musical instruments! Their mail-order business was designed to cater to a brand new middle class, brought about by the Industrial Revolution!
By 1985, Chicago had once more become the company’s headquarters, under new leadership! Julius Rosenwald oversaw the construction of the huge headquarters in Chicago and took the company public in 1906, setting up mail-order plants all across the country! He hired General Robert E. Wood, who recognized that folks were driving more, and so he started locating Sears stores outside downtown areas so there would be room for parking. This revolutionized retail!
The Minneapolis location was no exception! A colossal tower, designed by the firm of George C. Nimmons and Company, went in among grocery stores, laundries, and other small shops. It was a radical move, but a perfect one for being close to the railroad, then street car tracks, then large roads into and out of downtown! The mega warehouse, a precursor to shopping malls, opened on March 1, 1928, expanding constantly to store and display more, with more services and more parking! It ran for over 60 years, but started to suffer as folks began moving out of the urban center into the suburbs. The catalogue distribution center closed in 1990, and the entire cataloge program ended in 1993. The building was closed the following year, but has since been reimagined as apartments and office space!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Minnesota Historical Society!
- Donate to the Minnesota Historical Society!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
2929 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
This is a multiuse complex, so best to stick to the outside when you visit!