 
Mommydearest
Member
Username: Mommydearest
Post Number: 27
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 12:33 pm: |    |
Hudson's downtown was my first fulltime job in 1958. Worked in the day auditing department. I remember the supervisor's name, Hilda Galvez, since she was very strict. The department was huge and noisy with all the comptometers running. I remember getting paid in cash at the paymaster window. Also marched in the 1958 Thanksgiving Day parade as a snowflake. We all met in the warehouse in the wee hours of the morning to get ready and get bolstered against the cold weather with a shot of brandy. The store was magical during the holidays. I remember going there as a child in the 40's with my Mom on the streetcar. So sad that part of Detroit history is gone. |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 1099
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 1:22 pm: | |
"Marshall Fields i could handle, but i ain,t bought nothing from Macys"
I agree. Macy's is the biggest disappointment and comedown for Detroit! |
Aarne_frobom
Member
Username: Aarne_frobom
Post Number: 74
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 1:39 pm: | |
My Dad worked at Hudson's for over 30 years, for several years in charge of their "Merchandise Management Accounting" office, that pioneered the cost-of-selling approach that is now standard practice for the surviving large retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart. He got me summer jobs there as a stockboy in 1970 and `71. I got behind the scenes in many (if not all) parts of the big store. Remember that this was the world's biggest retail building (with a tad less public space than Macy's but with more space in one building owing to the offices and storage on the same floor plate). As a child, my dad showed me the big DC motors that powered the elevators, and the telephone switchboard that was second only to the Pentagon's. Never did see anything of the 26th-floor executive gym but a locked door, though. As a stockboy I once tried my hand at operating an elevator with its trolley-style controller, but couldn't get the hang of it, bobbing uncontrollably up and down before giving up. "Driving" these things must have been an art on the part of the operators.
I worked for a few weeks in the 20th-floor lamp warehouse, looking out the opening windows in idle moments at the green copper doodads on the roof of the Book Cadillac and watching rainstorms come down Woodward. Once I saw the hydroplanes being trucked down Woodward on their sides for the races.
The 15th and 15-1/2 floors (and parts of all other floors) were devoted to merchandise storage and sorting. There were hundreds of lockers where employees would keep their belongings and the grey smocks the lower classes of employees wore over our shirts and ties. By 1970 the amount of workers was greatly reduced, and somehow my dad hauled one of these lockers home for tool storage. It sits today in my garage. My boy practices his clarinet fingering in one of the mirrors from the cosmetic department. A photo in the Hudson's picture book published a couple years back shows these mirrors. In going through my dad's things I found 10, 15, and a 20-year service pin, the last one in silver with what looks like a diamond. Stashed away where I won't accidentally use them are a couple worn blue pencils with the legend, "Selling is the biggest job we do!"
Each floor had a medieval-looking central service hall that contained the incinerator chute and two big freight elevators. One of these would carry a single-unit delivery truck as high as the 12th floor from the loading dock on Farmer Street. This elevator cab had no walls or ceiling, and I could stand in it and look out through the windows on the Farmer Street facade as we rose through the city. This was the column of windows under the tallest part of the building.
I spent the summer of 1971 in the third basement, shifting boots, shoes, clothes and mattresses for the discount store in the basement. The first and second basements were selling space, but the 3rd and 4th were an unbelievable warren of steel shelves and half floors, and massive electrical and heating installations. One long hall held a desk at which terminated hundreds of pneumatic tubes, at which people would make change, but this system was long disused. The 4-level underground parking garage now on the site conforms to the layout of the Hudson's basement, although I have yet to park my car there.
My dad barely managed to survive the takeover by Dayton's that saw many other managers fired, and which marked the end of the firm's Detroit home-town focus. He retired just after the store was closed to the public. To answer a question above, I suppose employees could have circulated elsewhere in the building, but the way in and out of the remaining corporate offices after 1982 was marked by plywood temporary walls between one entrance and the one functioning bank of elevators. The rest of the building was dark, and the rest of the 76 elevators parked forever.
I wasn't all that enthused with folding pants and sorting shoes at the time, but now I feel quite privileged to have seen the biggest of the big vertical department stores. Since then, I've seen Macy's, Harrod's, Carson-Pirie-Scott, and (memory failing: can't think of the names of the big ones in Chicago and Helsinki) but, believe me, they don't measure up to Hudson's. |
Publicmsu
Member
Username: Publicmsu
Post Number: 764
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 1:57 pm: | |
My grandmother worked at the Hudsons downtown over 60 years ago. Not exactly sure what she did, but I think she was in the rugs department, maybe? |
Eastburn
Member
Username: Eastburn
Post Number: 475
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 2:22 pm: | |
When working nights downtown we used to have races with the elevators. We all got pretty good at running them because that's how we got around the store. |
Mortalman
Member
Username: Mortalman
Post Number: 339
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 3:05 pm: | |
We were paid by cash with an envelope with the notations and deductions on the outside of the envelope. After deductions my pay envelope had $34.50 in it a week. Back in those days we didn’t make enough to buy our lunch everyday or many days. So, we all brought our lunch and ate in the employee cafeteria where we would get something to drink and from time to time get a bowl of soup or for an extra treat we would get mashed potatoes, gravy and butter. But, the real special treat came on payday when we ducked out the Farmer St. entrance and ran over to the Broadway Market for a fresh squeezed fruit drink and about once a month got a corned beef or pastrami sandwich. Good memories of those Golden Days as a J.L. Hudson employee. |
Savorynotsweet
Member
Username: Savorynotsweet
Post Number: 2
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 3:12 pm: | |
My grandmother worked in the Menswear department of the downtown Hudson's for years....also did some work with the store's Bureau of Adjustment. She later moved to Northland, still working in Menswear, where she assisted Soupy Sales in his selections for onscreen and off. She particularly remembered helping him select cardigans. She had great taste and loved sharing her discount....as others have said, she often spent a good portion of her paycheck in the store, usually on layaway purchases.
I come from a Hudson's family. In addition to my grandmother, my great aunts, aunts, father, and mother have all worked for Hudson's at some point. We still have some of the old green Hudson shirt/clothing boxes that are recycled almost every Christmas and birthday. To this day, my family knows that whatever gift was deemed worthy of a Hudson's box is going to be GREAT. |
Huraporta
Member
Username: Huraporta
Post Number: 1
Registered: 09-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 3:25 pm: | |
I worked at the downtown store in 1965. My department was Glassware & China, the department was beautiful and huge as it covered half of the 10th floor. The other half was small appliance. It was my first job, and I was in sales, I thought it was glamorous as everything I sold was so pretty! |
Mortalman
Member
Username: Mortalman
Post Number: 340
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 4:20 pm: | |
When I worked at J.L. Hudson I left in Jan. of 1964 to go into the Marine Corps. They maintained my "Employee Status" as an employee but "Inactive for reason of U.S. Military Service" which meant that when I was discharged I could have my job back if I wanted it and also maintained some of my other benefits. I thought that was such a fine and patriotic thing to do. And, I knew they meant it because there were a number of men that served in the military and when they were discharged they came back to their jobs. At any rate after my 1st tour of duty in Vietnam I came home on leave for Christmas of 1965. I went back to the store to visit my boss and all the people I worked with and received such a warm welcome. I was also eligible for my employee discount which I think was 20 or 25% so I did my Christmas shopping as it was Christmas Eve the day I visited. And, they provided me with a Temporary Shopping Identification so I could receive my discount. Everything associated with the J.L. Hudson Department Store was so precious that I even kept my Temporary Shopping Identification from that day.
|
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 1478
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 4:20 pm: | |
I've really enjoyed reading all these responses! I've read a couple of articles that mentioned some underground parking at Hudson's while the store was in business. Can anybody provide more info on how big the parking area was, and which basement levels it was on?
Does anybody have any photos to post? Many older pictures of the store have been published and are online, but interior views from the '70s and '80s seem few and far between.
Any kind of floor plans (informally hand-drawn or official) would also be wonderful to see. |
Downtown_lady
Member
Username: Downtown_lady
Post Number: 283
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 4:21 pm: | |
Welcome Savorynotsweet and Huraporta!
Savorynotsweet, as in Good Girls crepes? |
Aarne_frobom
Member
Username: Aarne_frobom
Post Number: 75
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 5:15 pm: | |
No underground parking at Hudsons, although automobiles might have been displayed for special events in the 12th-floor auditorium on occasion. The store controlled the "Shoppers Parking" garage at Broadway and Grand River for a number of years. |
Mschievous
Member
Username: Mschievous
Post Number: 275
Registered: 04-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 5:34 pm: | |
Every December, I'd take my kids shopping at the downtown Hudson's Childrens' Only Shop (probably the original 'dollar' store'). Then we'd go over to the Christmas Carnival and I'd let them play until they were ready to drop. They spent the next day secretively wrapping and hiding all the presents they bought. |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 1479
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 5:51 pm: | |
Mortalman, thanks for posting that image of your card. I definitely would have carefully kept it as well.
I've often wondered about how much paperwork was abandoned in the building after Hudson's moved out. I recall reading about one lady who found a piece of 1940's stationery at the edge of the demolition rubble pile.
Unfortunately the original drawings and blueprints for Hudson's seem to be mostly lost. |
Mortalman
Member
Username: Mortalman
Post Number: 342
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 6:31 pm: | |
Unfortunately, Burnsie so much of this historical stuff has been lost in time. But, I think from here on out there will be more emphasize on maintaining historical records of all kinds i.e. photos, correspondence, blueprints, etc. with the advent of pc's, the internet and personal websites. Maybe that's overly optimistic but that quality seems to run rampant on this site so I'll pitch my 2 cents in, too. |
Neilr
Member
Username: Neilr
Post Number: 813
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 6:35 pm: | |
I lived next door to Mr. Doyle Vaughn while I was growing up. He was in charge of purchasing men's furnishings for Hudson's. He was the most sophisticated, elegant man I knew at that time. He always was impeccably dressed when going to work at the downtown Hudson's store. He would take the Woodward bus there and back daily.
Mr. Vaughn served in WWII and his name was listed on the large bronze plaque on the first floor of the downtown store (now at Northland) that honored Hudson's employees who served in the war. |
Sumas
Member
Username: Sumas
Post Number: 290
Registered: 01-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 8:09 pm: | |
Downtown Hudson had multiple basements. If memory serves??? trucks could deliver to the top tier basement. No underground parking was available for patrons or employees. I got stuck for several days processing TRIS (cancer causing) treated children's PJ returns to manufacturers in the third basement. I was more afraid of the basement then that I was handling toxic stuff. Come to think of it they never even issued me gloves or a face mask.
When I was an employee at Hudsons both downtown and Northland they had nurses and doctors on staff for employees.
One time at Northland I got sick. My husband had dropped me off for work and I couldn't locate him. Hudson's paid a cab to drive me home (I had a house on the east side of Detroit). Turned out I was pregnant with my oldest son. |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 1481
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 8:12 pm: | |
Definitely, Mortalman, blueprints and such are more carefully preserved today. I would have loved to been around to see the rooms in which Hudson's old records were kept.
Interestingly, there's at least one intact drawing of the structure. It's a cutaway view of the south elevation of the Farmer St. building from 1923, and was reproduced on a Detroit Historical Museum poster circa 1998.
Lack of surviving original floorplans resulted in a ton of additional work that the demolition company had to do in order to figure out where best to place the explosives. |
Sharms
Member
Username: Sharms
Post Number: 72
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 9:25 pm: | |
My dad has often talked about Richard and Oscar Weber who were the patriarchs of the J.L. Hudson Company. My dad started as an "Executive Trainee" in the early '50's. One of the Webers took my dad under his wing even teaching him the proper way to dress as a Hudson's exective...right down to always wearing a hat winter or summer.
He rose through the ranks...asst buyer, buyer, merchandise manager, store manager at Eastland.
I think my dad's final title at Hudson's was Senior VP Marketing. He did not survive the Dayton takeover.
My dad is 87 years old and had a great career after Hudsons, but even today, Hudsons is still his pride and joy. For his birthday last year, I found a book about the history of Hudsons. He absolutely loved it.
Hudsons was a unique place to work with a warm family atmosphere. |
Warrenite84
Member
Username: Warrenite84
Post Number: 397
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 9:42 pm: | |
Burnsie, reguarding post 1475: I worked with a couple of older guys at the Oakland store who were the last two stock workers for the Downtown store. One was named Art. They said they had free reign of the place. Their job was to empty out the floors of fixtures and registers and such after the store was shuddered. When they were finished, they were transferred to the Oakland Mall location. They were both really nice and would tell us pick-up guys about the Downtown store. |
Mortalman
Member
Username: Mortalman
Post Number: 347
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 9:45 pm: | |
In truth I would have to say that although Hudson's was my very 1st full time job out of high school and I went on to have a very successful career in the computer business associated with the oil & gas business I enjoyed my job at Hudson's more than any other career/job I've ever had. And, it all had to do with the authentic and true family atmosphere that the company promoted with tremendous PRIDE of just being associated with a quality company like the J.L. Hudson Company. This kind of employment doesn't exist anymore or if it does it's so rare as to make it an oddity. I've been all over Silicon Valley with all the dotcoms that tried to promote this kind of atmosphere with flex-hours, free pop and coffee, casual/Birkenstock dress codes and none of it ever worked because there was no pride based on a set of fair but defined rules that took into account the dignity each of us has as a human being. We try to legislate that kind dignity with all of this false political correctness that sounds hollow because it's forced with no genuine moral imperatives. Strike up the marching bands for this one but I think it's true for me, anyway! I wonder what people will write about the fondness of their jobs/work 40 years from now on DetroitYes? |
Dtowncitylover
Member
Username: Dtowncitylover
Post Number: 319
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 10:02 pm: | |
Your a true Detroiter if you refer going to the mall as "going to Hudson's", which sometimes I still say. (That and my whole family says "davenport" to refer to a sofa) I'm only 19, but I clearly remember the haunting building downtown and their location at Oakland Mall. |
Gingellgirl
Member
Username: Gingellgirl
Post Number: 225
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 10:48 pm: | |
My mom worked downtown as manager of the "Better Dresses" section in the late 40's and early 50's. She personally waited on the Ford ladies and Hollywood starlets who were in town.
I followed in her footsteps, sorta. I was Christmas help at Oakland Mall in high school. My favorite assignment was working in the books/picture frame section in the basement ("Rainbow Store"). Also worked there after I graduated MSU and searched for a full-time job. I miss the employees' cafe.
(Message edited by Gingellgirl on September 26, 2008) |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1739
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 11:11 pm: | |
Gingellgirl,
I loved the employees' cafe at Oakland too...it was a whole parallel world the public never saw... |
Reddog289
Member
Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 604
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 2:13 am: | |
If my Father were alive i,d ask ton of questions about the old building. All he ever talked about was the basement, boxes, and the trains at Christmas. My Mom is still the best gift wrapper i know of. Spent many a hour waiting for her at the Westland Hudsons. I knew Christmas was near when Mom would go back to Hudsons to wrap gifts, then my Dad would start with his stories and bring out the pictures. |
Sirrealone
Member
Username: Sirrealone
Post Number: 230
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 8:32 am: | |
My dad worked at Hudson's for a stretch during high school. He tells me that you could feel the building sway when it was windy. |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 1483
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 9:14 am: | |
Thanks for the recollections, Warrenite84. Another thing I've wondered about: after the store closed, which entrances were kept open for the office staff? A Free Press photo from Oct. '86 shows an employee moving her office memorabilia out of Entrance Seven (Grand River side).
The first time I drove around Hudson's was in May '97. I immediately noticed the "ENTRANCE FOUR," "ENTRANCE THREE," etc. brushed aluminum signs above the doors. Hopefully at least one of them was saved by the Detroit Historical Museum. |
Savorynotsweet
Member
Username: Savorynotsweet
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 10:00 am: | |
Thanks for the welcome, Downtown_lady.
My handle wasn't intended to be related to Good Girls -- just an off the cuff summing up of my attitude/tastes/outlook. Though when I'm at Good Girls, I guess it's obvious which side of the menu I prefer! |
Diane12163
Member
Username: Diane12163
Post Number: 374
Registered: 07-2008
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 12:17 pm: | |
I used to eat at the Hudson's Eastland restaurant a lot and loved their Maurice salad. I'd sit near the brass railing balcony that looked out on the open mall area. I once got a beautiful Marcel wave in my hair for a period wedding at the Hudson's Eastland salon. I loved going through the "aisles of beauty" getting perfume samples to take home. I had quite a collection and used hem all. I could never afford he 1 ounce bottles but, the samples lasted quite some time. I got my high school prom dress there and when they had clearance sales and with my employee discount, I could buy things I never could have afforded otherwise. Once got a $500 red raw silk skirt suit for $25. |
Jimb
Member
Username: Jimb
Post Number: 9
Registered: 09-2008
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 2:41 pm: | |
A girl I got to know in college worked at the Northland Hudsons, though I can't remember which dept. This was late 70s- early 80s. My personal Hudsons memories are of the downtown store. My dad worked downtown in what was then known as the Federal Building (he was a federal mediator). Every year when we were kids (mid to late 60s) he and mom would take us downtown just before Christmas. We'd take the Grand River bus (the bus stop was right down the street from our house on Prevost). First we'd go to his office so we could see where he worked and meet his co-workers, then over to Cobo Hall where they had all kinds of Christmas-related things for the kids - the giant Snowman slide is the thing I remember. Then for the grand finale we'd go to Hudsons, look at all the displays in the windows (which absolutely amazed me back then), go see Santa and tell him what we wanted for Christmas, then go to the toy department, where my parents would buy us each a small gift, an early Christmas present. I remember the old-fashioned elevators, if I remember right they had uniformed elevator operators. Great memories. |