Think You Got Macy’s Cornered? Think Again.
It may have been George Washington that declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, but it was Macy’s and their larger-than-life parade and festivities that has brought the holiday to the masses.
Each Thanksgiving day, Millions flock to the streets of Manhattan, to gaze up at those oh-so massive balloons as they float by on route to Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square. With the completion of its new 2.2 million square foot home in 1924, Macy’s became the site of the worlds largest store…but not before being forever shaped by one of the most epic real estate holdout battles in New York City history!
In 1858, after several failed business ventures, Rowland Hussey Macy established R.H. Macy & Co. in a small storefront property on Sixth Avenue between 13th — 14th Street in what is now The Village. After several modest expansions to it’s current store, in 1902 Macy’s moved uptown to Herald Square and launched its ambitious plans to build the world’s largest store…that is, if they could just keep it all a secret.
Macy’s began buying up surrounding properties for its new flagship store, all with the utmost secrecy. Before long, the company was in possession of a full city block…well, almost. Macy’s had entered a verbal agreement to purchase the plot on the corner of 34th Street and Broadway but in a last-minute twist, it was sold to Henry Siegel of the rival Siegel-Cooper Company. What could Siegel be plotting with this — well — plot.
It is said that Siegel-Cooper, the current title-bearer of the world’s largest store, purchased the coveted corner plot as leverage. Siegel was a shrewd businessman and saw this as a prime opportunity to strong-arm Macy’s into relinquishing the lease on their established 14th Street store. In exchange he would hand over the ownership of the coveted corner plot in Herald Square.
Well from the looks of the Macy’s building today, it becomes quite clear that Macy’s didn’t bite on the offer. Macy’s went on with its plans, albeit, with a slight modification to one of its corners. Then, after holding out for some time, Siegel folded and built his own 5 story building on the plot. Today that building is leased by Macy’s. Many don’t even know it’s there, at first glance it’s easy to miss — after all it’s sitting inside a giant red Macy’s bag.
