Baton Rouge Department Stores, now defunct

Department Stores mentioned in this post are: Reymond's, Dalton's, Rosenfield's, Rubensteins, and Son.


Originally opened in 1915 as Reymond's Department Store but in 1929, it changed hands and became the Dalton Co. In 1955, it housed a branch of D.H. Holmes where it remained until they closed the 3rd Street location in February 1963. The building became the new home of I.H. Rubenstein's in 1965, the fourth department store firm to operate in the structure. in 1965, the fourth department store firm to operate in the structure. Source

RUBENSTEINS

The store, I.H. Rubenstein and Son, was a part of the musical chairs which affected Baton Rouge retailing throughout the last century. Mr. Rubenstein had been a manager of Rosenfield's, which dates back to 1853. Rosenfield's was the first store in Louisiana to be completely air conditioned, have elevators and eventually, moving stairs. In 1964, his son, I.H. Rubenstein Jr., left Rosenfield's to found the I.H. Rubenstein & Son store in the Broadmoor Shopping Center. Soon after, Rubenstein took over space on 3rd St. downtown that was first occupied by Reymond's, then Dalton's and finally a former downtown branch of New Orleans-based DH Holmes. Holmes had left downtown in 1963. I.H. Rubenstein was not a complete department store but carried medium-to-better clothing and accesories for the home. When I.H. Rubenstein, Jr. passed away in 1975, Rubenstein's locations included Broadmoor, Westmoreland, the Corporate Mall and a store in Hammond, LA. The downtown Rubenstein store closed in 1973. In April 1979, I.H. Rubenstein's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the Corporate Mall store on College Dr. was immediately closed. However, after changing its format to that of 'value-pricing', Rubenstein would announce the closure of its business in November 1979.


Source: Unknown, I came across this in a thread  on a message board.