The old department store in the downtown area of many of America's cities and towns has gone the way of the horse-drawn carriage. Take, for example, the century-old Filene's department store in Boston. It was acquired by Vornado Realty Trust from Federated Department Stores Inc. for about $100 million Monday, July 10, and most likely will be converted into retail and office space. The deal is part of Federated's promise to divest some locations as part of its acquisition of May Department Stores. Overall, Federated said it has found buyers for 57 of its 80 locations. In New York City, the old Gimbel's department store, which was also the site of the 1947 film "Miracle on 34th Street", was located in Herald Square but closed in the 1980s and is now the location of the Manhattan Mall. B. Altman & Co. was another department store that was located in an older loftlike building built in 1905 and shuttered its doors in 1986. The building is now the location for a New York City business library on 34th Street and Madison Ave. So now, it looks like our urban downtown areas will have more office workers but they won't have as many big-box department stores close by in which to spend their pay checks ... —Gerald Magpily
See CNNMoney.com article
Continue reading below
