Joseph Horne Company facts for kids

A view of the clock

The Joseph Horne Company, also known as Joseph Horne's or just Horne's, was a famous department store chain. It was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This store was one of the oldest in the United States, starting on February 22, 1849. Even though it was very old, it was mostly known in its local area. The store closed down in 1994. It joined with the Lazarus stores, which were part of Federated Department Stores.

Founders of Horne's

Joseph Horne (1826–1892) was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He moved to Pittsburgh and began working in retail. He first worked for Christian Yeager. Later, he moved to the F.H. Eaton store and became a partner.

In 1849, when Joseph was 23, he bought the business. He changed its name to The Joseph Horne Company. He teamed up with Christian B. Shea and A. P. Burchfield. Their families also joined the business. They made the store very elegant and well-known in Pittsburgh.

In 1881, the company built a new main building. It was designed by Charles Tattersall Ingham. In 1891, Joseph Horne sold the part of his company that sold goods to other businesses. He had many children. His son, Durbin Horne, also worked in the family business. Joseph Horne passed away in 1892.

Christian Bernard Shea (1835–1900) was Joseph Horne's brother-in-law. He was also a founding partner of The Joseph Horne Company. Shea was involved in both parts of the family business. This included the department store and the wholesale company.

History of the Store

Site of the Joseph Horne Company Department Store in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

After Joseph Horne bought the Eaton Co., the Joseph Horne Company quickly became a top department store in Pittsburgh. In 1879, a new main store was built in Downtown Pittsburgh. This seven-story building was the first department store in the city's downtown area. The building is still there today. You can still see some Horne's signs on it.

In 1972, a company called Associated Dry Goods (ADG) bought Horne's. ADG helped Horne's open more stores. These new stores were in suburban malls around Pittsburgh. They also opened stores in Erie, Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio.

In December 1986, a group of local investors bought Horne's. This happened after May Department Stores bought ADG. May already owned Kaufmann's, a rival store in Pittsburgh. So, May sold the Horne's chain.

Two years later, Dillard's and Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. planned to buy Horne's. They wanted to combine it with another store chain Dillard's had bought, called Higbee's. But the deal was stopped suddenly. This led to several years of legal arguments. In 1992, Dillard's agreed to buy five Horne's stores in Ohio as part of a legal agreement.

In 1994, Federated Department Stores bought the remaining ten Horne's stores. They combined them with their Lazarus division. All Horne's stores closed by August 29, 1994. Many Pittsburgh shoppers were upset because Horne's was the city's oldest store. It had been a Pittsburgh tradition for 145 years. After it closed, people often praised the company for lasting so long with only about 15 stores.

Some former Horne's locations that became Lazarus stores closed in 1998. The ones that stayed open later became "Lazarus-Macy's." In 2006, they joined with Kaufmann's in a big change to become part of Macy's nationwide.

The Flagship Store

The main Horne's Department Store in Pittsburgh was the city's first department store. It was the only one until Kaufmann's started in 1871. The building is shaped like an "L." It is actually three buildings built over time. The first part, facing Penn Avenue, has six stories and was built in 1892. A six-story addition was built in 1897. Then, a seven-story addition was added in 1922.

The store had four entrances. Two were on Stanwix Street and two on Penn Avenue. It had about 630,000 square feet of selling space. This made it the second-largest department store in the city. The store kept the Horne's name until August 29, 1994. Then, it became Lazarus. Lazarus only stayed in the building for one year. They then built a new store on Fifth Avenue.

Oxford Development Co bought the building. They hoped to have shops on the first floor and rent the upper floors to Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Old Navy opened a 20,000 square foot store on the first two floors in 1996. But it closed in 2003. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield then bought the building. They still use the office space today, with retail space on the ground level.

The Horne's Christmas Tree

Lighting the Horne's Christmas tree at the main store was a long-standing holiday tradition. This six-story electric tree was placed on the corner of the building. It was at Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street. Crowds would gather to watch a show and the tree lighting. The tree is still displayed every year. It is part of Pittsburgh's Light Up Night tradition at the old Horne's building. Crowds also looked forward to the Christmas window displays at Horne's. These displays were part of a big competition among downtown Pittsburgh stores. They all wanted to get the attention of Light Up Night visitors.

Left Over Horne's Signs

Even years after the last Horne's stores closed, some signs remain at the historic downtown flagship store building. Each sign still has the Horne's name. On the southwest corner of the building, there are two bronze plaques. They say "Joseph Horne Co Dry Goods Importers and Retailers".

Also, the decorative band above the two entrances on the first building has text. It reads "1849 – Joseph Horne Co. – 1879". This marks when the company started and when the building was built. The band on the 1922 addition shows that date. The sidewalk slabs near the entrances have the Horne's logo built into them.