RochesterSubway.com : Window Shopping at McCurdy & Co.

Window Shopping at McCurdy & Co.

December 4th, 2012

Do you remember window shopping at the big downtown department stores? Freezing cold holiday shoppers all pressed up against the plate glass like moths to a porch light. Dreams of sugar plums and reindeer and presents under the tree were fueled by these sparkling menageries of the latest and greatest stuff. The displays themselves were an art form; and drawing people in off the street was the ultimate goal. In all but our largest metros, scenes like these have been lost as retailers gradually moved to suburban malls. Yesterday we went window shopping at the old Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Co. department store. Today let’s browse a series of pictures (also from the Rochester Public Library) documenting some of the windows at McCurdy & Co. department store in downtown Rochester more than 70 years ago…

A tree and fireplace scene with children looking up the chimney. A banner proclaims “Christmas: Keep it Shining For All the World.” c.1940

This scene shows Santa Claus in a sleigh carrying a Tappan range. “Six reasons why Santa delivers more Tappans.” c.1940.

A beautiful evening gown for a night on the town – with a reindeer. c.1940.

“The return of the hat of consequence!” This scene shows a display of hats, including a woman seated in front of a mirror. c.1940.

Fashionable women’s clothing. c.1940. Not sure what the creepy painting is behind the lovely ladies.

A group of women fashionably dressed and seated at a table. c.1940.

This scene was set up for Valentine’s Day, and shows a Victorian era couple in a heart shape. A jewelry display is below them. c.1940.

Dressed up for a concert. c.1940.

“The Romantic 1889 Viennese Fashions of ‘Mayerling'” Evening gowns. c.1940.

“Gifts she’ll love to wear!” A fashionable dress and various accessories. c.1940.

“Salute to a citizen… The college into career girl. You’ll study more today to make your place in the world of tomorrow.” This scene features a young woman in career-wear for college graduates. c.1940.

Ooh la la… Women’s lingerie. c.1940.

“See your home of the future that you are dreaming about now.” A family looking into the sky at a dream home. c.1940.

“See yourself on Metropolitan Opera Night another star… in red and white. $69.75” c.1940.

A display of vitamins for sale. “What vitamins are doing for us!” c.1940.

Women fashionably dressed, in front of a mirror. c.1940.

A display of men’s Arrow shirts and neckwear. c.1940.

Several skiers amid a wintry scene. c.1940.

“Christmas, Keep it Shining for all the World.” A child praying before a Christmas star. c.1940.

About McCurdy & Co.
Department Store…

McCurdy & Norwell was a department store founded in 1901 by John Cooke McCurdy. It was located on the corner of Main and Elm. In 1913, it became McCurdy and Robinson, and then McCurdy & Co., Inc. in 1918. A leading department store in the Rochester area, McCurdy’s later expanded to include a number of branch stores. It was sold to May Department Stores in 1994.

Happy Holidays and Shop Local!

Tags: Christmas, downtown Rochester, Elm Street, Empire Theater, holiday windows, holidays, John Cooke McCurdy, Main Street, May Department Stores, McCurdy & Co., McCurdy & Co. Department Store, McCurdy and Robinson, old photos, old photos of Rochester, old photos of Rochester NY, Rochester history, Rochester NY, window shopping

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 at 8:03 am and is filed under Rochester History, Rochester Images. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

3 Responses to “Window Shopping at McCurdy & Co.”

Jan Gargan says:

January 5, 2015 at 12:26 pm

Worked in the display dept. for about 10yrs back in the late 60′- 70’s. I was a hard goods trimmer (anything that wasn’t clothing) Loved seeing pictures of the old windows. Christmas time downtown was magical. We would start the Xmas on the upper floors right after Halloween (but no trims were lit) and work right up to the day before Thanksgiving.6am day after Thanksgiving we would come in and light up all the trims throughout the store, when we opened at 10am it was a spectacular effect. Thanks for the beautiful photos of days past. I’m over 60 mow and miss so of the past traditions
Jan Gargan
Craig Campbell says:

February 1, 2015 at 2:07 pm

Great pictures of the 1940 display windows!

I started out in McCurdy’s display department and well remember working with Jan on not only putting up Christmas trims in the stores, but opening the Eastview store with her and working with her refurbishing the “Old Fashioned Christmas” mechanical windows that were in the Main Street windows at Christmas time for several years.

Thanks to some great mentors in McCurdy’s management, I went on to become Store Planning Director from the later 70’s until I left in 1984. I am forever grateful for Gil McCurdy’s interest in all aspects of the business, beyond just merchandising, which created an environment where I could have learning experiences I wouldn’t have gotten in most retail companies.

Rochesterians rightly have great memories of McCurdy’s and the traditions it was known for and I have great memories of the time I spent working there and the foundation it gave me to go forward and enjoy a rich career.
Meriel says:

October 7, 2020 at 6:41 pm

I am 77 years old and my Dad always took me to see these magical windows, I guess that is the reason I love Christmas and all of the glitz, that was so wonderful