" Lapidus was one of the first to create storefronts with wide glass facades through which customers could view the actual store."
this article doesnt quite make my point but it alludes to it.
Eluding the point is not the same as alluding, though maybe more to the point… Anyway, I don’t know much about the subject, but Lapidus’ work seems to be a bit later than were’re talking about, as regards the storefront. I’m sure the availability of (relatively) inexpensive plate glass changed a lot of things, but this article refers to designs that drew customers into the store where they could handle goods. The old storefronts like aKa had deep-set entrances that created more window space up front which didn’t reveal the store, but allowed all of the stock to be displayed from the street, so that the customer literally “window shopped” and then simply went in an asked the clerk for what they wanted based on what they’d seen from outside. Sucking the customer in so that the clerks can sell them things they didn’t know they wanted is a later technique. Everything up front goes back to the ancient form of the store, where the goods were displayed in front of the merchants living quarters, and taken in at night when a protective barrier was closed across the storefront, something that goes on in NY to this day.
Im at a slight disadvantage having loaned out my copy of "too much is never enough" the ML autobiography which gave ample space to his storefront years. The two points to be resolved are 1) what is the approximate date of the aka facade and 2) when was ML doing his influential storefront work. my initial impression is 30's or 40's (but it could even be post war 50's) for the store front and according to this he worked exclusively on store fronts from 1927 - 1945. So it is at least possible that the aka facade was influenced by his work. heres a little bit more on the SF
i saw pictures of the aka storefront from 1934 and it was already in its present configuration but i couldnt say how long it had been that way.
i thought i remembered you doing that work. nyc historical society ? jersey city was also documented building by building via wpa. it sounds like lapidus mearly advanced an extant genre.
municipal archives
Speaking of storefronts, Bill, have you seen our old studio lately? Seme's tryin' to comply with the city, as slowly and lamely as ever.
yeah, with the front ripped off it shows just what a cracker box it was. not that im calling you a cracker.
This business of the city trying to make individual property owners into involuntary historical restoration agents finds no better counterargument than Seme. Want to make a crappy-looking storefront crappier, and take about 4 years doing it? Here's your guy! I think that Yuppie Woman with the city who was rolling her eyes about the nail salon should be compelled to live in one of his buildings while it undergoes amateur restoration.
The first two decades of his career were spent creating revolutionary store designs. Curved exteriors with innovative art deco motifs drew shoppers inside. Lapidus was one of the first to create storefronts with wide glass facades through which customers could view the actual store. His designs eliminated the system where clerks stood behind counters guarding the merchandise, instead allowing customers to wander and handle the goods.
It sounds like Lapidus was involved in developing what might be called the late-capitalist shopping style. The aKa storefront strikes me as a not very extreme example of a shop that holds onto the old style, though it may also relate to the cramped urban situation. Sometimes this style has the door set even deeper, so that there is actually more window space than selling floor. All the browsing is from outside, and you can’t touch the merchandise. In the new style the customer is encouraged to come in, wander around, and even fondle the goods. I guess you might say that the deep-set entrance funnels the customer into the store, but I think the main point in these designs is to maximize display window space, at the expense of interior space. These were exactly the sorts of stores where you had to ask a clerk to pull the merchandise out of a drawer or from a stockroom. It sounds to me like Lapidus was working on another track, and took more of an interest in the interior ambience. It was certainly an era of merchandising change: Piggly Wiggly, the first supermarket, started in 1926 and employed the same idea of letting the customer roam through the inventory and then bring their selections to a checkout, instead of taking a list to a counter where a clerk would fetch the items from storage.
Most of us grew up with the liberal browsing style of shopping. I always found those old-style stores intimidating, and today’s merchants keep looking for ways to make the shopping experience “friendly” or “entertaining.” By now it’s gotten positively post-modern, with stores offering all sorts of amenities like restaurants. It creeps me out that Barnes & Noble lets people read the books while eating and lounging around. We’ve reached a complete inversion of the old system where the merchant combined business place with residence; now it’s the customer who is invited to virtually live in the store. That’s taking brand loyalty a bit too far if you ask me.
a late one. Holly Stores Front Facade, Levittown, April 17, 1951.
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- bill 7-09-2004 7:11 am
this article doesnt quite make my point but it alludes to it.
- bill 7-09-2004 7:15 am [add a comment]
Eluding the point is not the same as alluding, though maybe more to the point… Anyway, I don’t know much about the subject, but Lapidus’ work seems to be a bit later than were’re talking about, as regards the storefront. I’m sure the availability of (relatively) inexpensive plate glass changed a lot of things, but this article refers to designs that drew customers into the store where they could handle goods. The old storefronts like aKa had deep-set entrances that created more window space up front which didn’t reveal the store, but allowed all of the stock to be displayed from the street, so that the customer literally “window shopped” and then simply went in an asked the clerk for what they wanted based on what they’d seen from outside. Sucking the customer in so that the clerks can sell them things they didn’t know they wanted is a later technique. Everything up front goes back to the ancient form of the store, where the goods were displayed in front of the merchants living quarters, and taken in at night when a protective barrier was closed across the storefront, something that goes on in NY to this day.
- alex 7-09-2004 7:47 am [add a comment]
Im at a slight disadvantage having loaned out my copy of "too much is never enough" the ML autobiography which gave ample space to his storefront years. The two points to be resolved are 1) what is the approximate date of the aka facade and 2) when was ML doing his influential storefront work. my initial impression is 30's or 40's (but it could even be post war 50's) for the store front and according to this he worked exclusively on store fronts from 1927 - 1945. So it is at least possible that the aka facade was influenced by his work. heres a little bit more on the SF
- bill 7-09-2004 5:11 pm [add a comment]
i saw pictures of the aka storefront from 1934 and it was already in its present configuration but i couldnt say how long it had been that way.
- dave 7-09-2004 6:15 pm [add a comment]
i thought i remembered you doing that work. nyc historical society ? jersey city was also documented building by building via wpa. it sounds like lapidus mearly advanced an extant genre.
- bill 7-09-2004 7:00 pm [add a comment]
municipal archives
- dave 7-09-2004 7:27 pm [add a comment]
Speaking of storefronts, Bill, have you seen our old studio lately? Seme's tryin' to comply with the city, as slowly and lamely as ever.
- tom moody 7-09-2004 8:17 pm [add a comment]
yeah, with the front ripped off it shows just what a cracker box it was. not that im calling you a cracker.
- bill 7-10-2004 1:02 am [add a comment]
This business of the city trying to make individual property owners into involuntary historical restoration agents finds no better counterargument than Seme. Want to make a crappy-looking storefront crappier, and take about 4 years doing it? Here's your guy! I think that Yuppie Woman with the city who was rolling her eyes about the nail salon should be compelled to live in one of his buildings while it undergoes amateur restoration.
- tom moody 7-10-2004 1:49 am [add a comment]
It sounds like Lapidus was involved in developing what might be called the late-capitalist shopping style. The aKa storefront strikes me as a not very extreme example of a shop that holds onto the old style, though it may also relate to the cramped urban situation. Sometimes this style has the door set even deeper, so that there is actually more window space than selling floor. All the browsing is from outside, and you can’t touch the merchandise. In the new style the customer is encouraged to come in, wander around, and even fondle the goods. I guess you might say that the deep-set entrance funnels the customer into the store, but I think the main point in these designs is to maximize display window space, at the expense of interior space. These were exactly the sorts of stores where you had to ask a clerk to pull the merchandise out of a drawer or from a stockroom. It sounds to me like Lapidus was working on another track, and took more of an interest in the interior ambience. It was certainly an era of merchandising change: Piggly Wiggly, the first supermarket, started in 1926 and employed the same idea of letting the customer roam through the inventory and then bring their selections to a checkout, instead of taking a list to a counter where a clerk would fetch the items from storage.
Most of us grew up with the liberal browsing style of shopping. I always found those old-style stores intimidating, and today’s merchants keep looking for ways to make the shopping experience “friendly” or “entertaining.” By now it’s gotten positively post-modern, with stores offering all sorts of amenities like restaurants. It creeps me out that Barnes & Noble lets people read the books while eating and lounging around. We’ve reached a complete inversion of the old system where the merchant combined business place with residence; now it’s the customer who is invited to virtually live in the store. That’s taking brand loyalty a bit too far if you ask me.
- alex 7-09-2004 9:06 pm [add a comment]
a late one. Holly Stores Front Facade, Levittown, April 17, 1951.
- bill 7-09-2004 9:55 pm [add a comment]