This day in history: Hudson's Downtown Detroit store closes in 1983
(CBS DETROIT) - Forty years ago today, Hudson's Department Store in Downtown Detroit closed.
The store was located at Gratiot, and Woodward Avenue was 2,124,316 square feet, which makes it second in size to Macy's in New York, according to the Detroit Historical Society. Hudson's was also the tallest department store in the world at 410 feet.
Joseph Lowthian Hudson and his father ran a men's clothing store in Ionia until the economic depression struck in 1873. His father died, and three years after that, he went bankrupt.
According to the Detroit Historical Society, Hudson decided to start over in Detroit.
He opened a men's and boy's clothing store on the ground floor of the old Detroit Opera House.
In 1891, he moved the store to Gratiot Avenue and Farmer Street. The store eventually consisted of 25 floors, two half-floors, a mezzanine and four basements.
The store had 700 fitting rooms, 51 passenger elevators, 17 freight elevators, eight employee elevators and 48 escalators.
In addition to being one of the largest department stores, Hudson's was also known for owning the world's largest flag.
"At 3,700 square feet, it was first hung on Armistice Day in 1923 and later displayed at the World's Fair in 1939," the Detroit Historical Society said on its website. "The original flag, last displayed in 1949, was replaced a year later with a new seven-story flag. Hung for the final time on Flag Day in 1976, the flag was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, who, later, gave it to the American Flag Foundation in Houston."
Hudson's began to see a decrease in customers due to economic circumstances in the 1970s and the convenience of its suburban stores.
Dayton Co. purchased Hudson's in 1969, and as shoppers continued to shop at other stores, Hudson's closed on Jan. 17, 1983.
The Hudson's building was sold in December 1989, and on Oct. 24, 1998, the building was imploded.
