Million Dollar Corner facts for kids
The Million Dollar Corner is a famous small piece of land in New York City. It is right next to Macy's Herald Square, a very large department store. You can find it at 1313 Broadway, at the corner of 34th Street, in an area called Herald Square in Manhattan. This spot became famous because a five-story building on it sold for a record $1 million on December 6, 1911. That was a huge amount of money back then! It would be like $31.4 million today.
A Clever Plan to Stop Macy's
The building on the Million Dollar Corner was bought by Robert H. Smith in 1900. He paid $375,000 for it, which is about $13.2 million in today's money. His goal was to stop Macy's from building what they hoped would be the world's largest store. Macy's had announced plans to start building on that block in 1901.
Many people believe that Smith was working for another store called Siegel-Cooper. Siegel-Cooper had built what they thought was the world's largest store in 1896. They probably didn't want Macy's to take their title.
The Billboard Deal
Macy's didn't let this small building stop them. They simply built their huge store around the Million Dollar Corner building. It was a clever move!
Later, Macy's made a deal with the owner of the building. As part of this agreement, the building started to display a very large Macy's billboard. This sign often showed a "shopping bag" and proudly announced Macy's as the "world's largest store." This billboard became a well-known sight in Herald Square.
Recent Billboard Dispute
In September 2021, there was a disagreement about the billboard. Macy's said that the billboard's owner, Kaufman Realty, was trying to rent the space to an online store. This was happening just before Macy's own lease for the billboard ended in August.
Macy's believed the new renter was almost certainly Amazon. Macy's went to court to try and stop Kaufman Realty from renting the space to a competitor. Macy's claimed that an agreement from 1963 said that such a lease was not allowed "forever." They also pointed out that an Amazon billboard would be very visible during the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kaufman Realty said they had not talked to Amazon. However, they did not deny that they were trying to rent the space to a company that competes with Macy's.
