"Meet Me at the Fountain"

Last week I was walking back from brunch with my girlfriend Claire when we stumbled upon a majestic building in Chelsea at 620 Sixth Avenue (6th ave between 18th and 19th).  The building is now occupied by a Bed Bath and Beyond and T.J. Maxx but the building's ornate facade suggested a deeper history - no doubt it has an interesting one.

620 Sixth Avenue (between 18th and 19th st)

Siegel-Cooper store in 1896

In 1896, the Times reported the opening of a "shopping resort" at this site.  It was called the Siegel-Cooper store and it was the largest department store in the world at its opening with over 15 acres of retail space.  The Times reported that its opening on September 12, 1896 at 7:30 pm drew a crowd of 150,000 people and 8,000 employees.  You could purchase just about anything under the sun at Siegel Cooper - bicycles, furniture, jewelry, meats, vegetables, canned goods, and even, on the roof, exotic plants.  The Times also reported that the establishment contained a barbershop, a bank, a dentist office, animal shop, a manicure salon, and purportedly the largest grocery store in the world on the 4th floor.  There was an employees-only restaurant on the 6th floor where staff could take in their 45 minute lunchbreak.  There was also a doctor and trained nurses on staff for the employees that paid the required 15 cents per month fee.  The full Times article from 1896 is available here.

Fountain of the Siegel-Cooper store

One remarkable feature about the store
was its lobby fountain with a golden-lady statue entitled "The Republic."  The fountain became a popular meeting place and the phrase "meet me at the fountain" soon caught on.  The store adopted the phrase as its slogan.  Siegel-Cooper went bankrupt in 1915 and the store closed soon after in 1917.  The building was used as a hospital during World War I and later a warehouse.  It currently underwent renovation to house the stores Bed Bath and Beyond and T.J. Maxx.

Women entering the Siegel-Cooper store circa 1896