Wineman's facts for kids
Wineman's was a chain of department stores in California. It started in Ventura in 1890. Later, it became a well-known local store in Oxnard and then in Huntington Park.
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How Wineman's Began (1890-1920)
Wineman's first store opened its doors in Ventura in 1890. Around 1900, the Wineman family went to nearby Oxnard. They managed a store called the Chicago Store for a while.
In 1902, the Winemans moved from Ventura to Oxnard. They built a new brick building there. On the ground floor, they opened a dry goods store. It was quite large, about 6,000 square feet. In 1903, Wineman's took over the Chicago Store. The store grew even bigger in 1919 or 1920. They doubled their shopping space.
Growing Across California (Early 1920s)
In the early 1920s, Wineman's started to buy other stores. This helped them expand across California. In July 1924, they moved their main office to Los Angeles. The company announced a big goal: they wanted to have 100 stores. These stores would be "up and down the coast."
By January 1925, they had branches in several areas:
- Central Coast: Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Santa Maria.
- Central Valley: Dinuba, Visalia.
- Los Angeles County:
- Inglewood: This store opened on August 15, 1924.
- Huntington Park: This store opened in November 1924. Later, around 1935, Wineman's moved to a new building. This building was 16,000 square feet. Today, it is a shoe store. Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park was a very busy shopping area. It was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Focusing on Key Stores (Late 1920s-1940)
The company's plans changed a lot in October 1925. Alvin Wineman, the president, stepped down. A new person, Buford Graves, took over. At this time, they decided to keep only two stores open. These were the Oxnard store, which was called "the mother store," and the Visalia store.
However, in the end, Wineman's decided to focus on Oxnard and Huntington Park. The Visalia store closed on January 12, 1926. The Fillmore store also closed then. The Oxnard store eventually closed its doors in 1940.
Huntington Park: The Main Store (1940–1968)
After 1940, the company only ran the Huntington Park store. Because of this, Wineman's became strongly linked to Huntington Park. The store even started celebrating its history from 1924. For example, in 1974, they celebrated their 50th Anniversary. This was even though the company had started much earlier, in 1890. The Huntington Park store grew bigger over the years. It expanded in 1940, 1957, and 1966. Its storefront grew from 25 feet wide in 1924 to 150 feet wide by 1966.
A New Time of Growth (1969-1984)
For many years, the Huntington Park store was the only Wineman's location. But in 1969, the company began to grow again. They added several new branch stores:
- Monrovia: This store was added in 1969. Wineman's bought a store called McBratney's Department Store.
- Placentia: This store opened on October 19, 1973. It was about 26,400 square feet.
- Mission Viejo: This store was similar to the Placentia one. It might have opened in 1974 or 1975.
- Garden Grove: This store opened on September 1, 1979, at the Garden Grove Mall.
- Corona: This store opened at the same time as the Garden Grove location.
Sold to Boston Stores (1984)
In 1984, another store chain called Boston Stores bought Wineman's. Boston Stores was also based in Southern California. After the purchase, the Corona, Mission Viejo, and Placentia stores became Boston Store branches. It seems the Huntington Park Wineman's store never operated as a Boston Store. The Garden Grove, Corona, and Monrovia stores had already closed before Boston Stores bought the company. Boston Stores itself went out of business in 1996.
