Author: U.N. Owen

Just the other day sitting around with some of my friends, SOMEHOW.  The subject of Baseball came up. This brought to mind an episode of many years ago.  When as a mere lad, my parents and our neighbors decided to make the 50 mile trip to a new store.  They called it a “DISCOUNT DEPARTMENT STORE”.   Now we had big stores in the big town we called the County Seat.  We had a Montgomery Ward,  a J.C. Penny and a local store that was about the same size as the previous mentioned named.  But a “discount store”  what was that?  So one day we all set out on the 50 mile journey.  WOW! There we were a Huge building with only one store.  Inside I looked around with my parents and neighbors.  But wait.  I discovered the sporting good department,  much larger than the sporting good store we had in our county.  Being summer I was drawn to the baseball section.   THEN; there it was a big black baseball glove.  Not only was I attracted to it because it was black and the only gloves I had seen were brown.  It was larger than any I had seen before.  I kept coming back to it, wishing it were mine.  But at that time $10 was a lot of money.  My neighbor friend,  her name was Katie; saw me admiring it and asked if I wanted it.  Yes I said.  She offered to buy it for me if i would mow her yard until it was paid for.  I had to mow her yard for the remainder of the summer.  BUT I had the glove I wanted so much.  The other kept referring to it as a “peach basket”  because it was large, NOT any bigger than what you see outfielders wear now-a-days.   I was a Pee Wee leaguer and played center field, just like Mickey Mantle.  (Well maybe not exactly just like Mickey).  But I was proud of it, I caught more balls with it.   But I was also proud of it because unlike many of my friends, whose parents bought their gloves,  I EARNED IT AND PAID FOR IT MYSELF.  That store just happened to be JUBILEE CITY.  Jubilee City was an early discount department-store chain that tried to give American families a new kind of shopping experience: a large store where customers could purchase clothing, household goods, and other merchandise at competitive prices. The company emerged during a major transformation in American retailing. Suburban communities were growing, families increasingly depended on automobiles, and discount retailers were challenging traditional department stores. Jubilee City expanded beyond its original market, including into Tulsa, Oklahoma; Indianapolis, Indiana; Kansas City; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and the Houston area. But the business model that helped the company expand also created problems with management, merchandising, and distribution. Its operations gradually disappeared during the 1970s. The founding: Jubilee Shops in 1955 The history of Jubilee City begins in 1955, when Lawrence Altman founded Jubilee Shops Inc. in New York.  Altman came from the traditional clothing business. He recognized that consumers were becoming interested in discount shopping and that a large store could attract customers by offering a broad selection of goods at lower prices.  Rather than relying entirely on conventional department-store operations, Jubilee Shops developed an unusual arrangement: manufacturers and other operators could lease departments or sales-floor space inside the stores.  This approach allowed Jubilee to offer merchandise from different suppliers without having to operate every department itself. It also reduced some of the need for the company to buy and manage all its merchandise through the conventional retail system. The company experimented with stores in the New York and New Jersey region before pursuing wider expansion. The precise locations and chronology of every early store remain incompletely documented. What made Jubilee City different? Jubilee City’s concept was to provide a broad, one-stop shopping experience rather than operate as a small specialty shop.  Its stores could include departments selling:  Clothing and apparel, Household goods, General merchandise Products supplied by independent manufacturers and department operators.  Other consumer goods intended for everyday family shopping.  The exact merchandise selection varied by location; surviving online historical records do not provide a complete inventory for every store. The leased-department system was central to the concept. Instead of having the parent company directly control every product category, separate operators could run different sections of the same building.  This arrangement could broaden the selection available to customers. However, it also made the business more complicated to coordinate as the chain grew.  Expansion into new markets during the 1960s During the early 1960s, Jubilee City sought to establish itself in markets where discount shopping was expanding but where opportunities remained for new regional competitors. The company negotiated locations in several metropolitan areas, sometimes pursuing multiple sites in the same market.  Expansion required buildings, investment capital, suppliers, and local support.  The chain’s historical footprint included the following locations. These are documented examples, not a claim that the list covers every store ever planned or operated.  Where Jubilee City operated 6925 East Admiral Place, Tulsa  The store operated from approximately 1962 to 1970. It became part of Tulsa’s early discount-shopping landscape and was later associated with Belscot and other retail uses. The property was subsequently subdivided. Indianapolis, Indiana 5302 North Keystone Avenue A documented Jubilee City location that operated into 1975. The building survived, although the property was later divided for other uses. Houston, Texas 10400 Eastex Freeway This location operated from approximately 1961 to 1963 and later became a Globe store. The building was eventually demolished during freeway expansion. Two other proposed Houston-area sites did not become completed Jubilee City stores. Kansas City area Kansas City, Kansas; Raytown and Shawnee, Missouri/Kansas area Historical records identify stores at 4915 State Avenue, 8760 Blue Ridge Boulevard, and 11215 West 63rd Street. These locations closed as Jubilee City stores around 1966, and the properties were later used by other businesses. Chattanooga, Tennessee 5615 Lee Highway This location operated into approximately… Continue reading Jubilee City