901 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota
From Placeography
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{{Location | {{Location | ||
Revision as of 15:50, August 17, 2010
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Young-Quinlan Company | |
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| Address: | 901 Nicollet Avenue |
| Neighborhood/s: | Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| City/locality- State/province | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: | Hennepin County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Year built: | 1926 |
| Primary Style: | Commercial |
| Secondary Style: | Renaissance Revival |
| Historic Function: | Department Store |
| Current Function: | Commercial |
| Architect or source of design: | F. H. Ackerman |
(44.974427° N, 93.2736259° WLatitude: 44°58′27.937″N
Longitude: 93°16′25.053″W)
Contents |
History
Young-Quinlan Company
In 1894, Fred V. Young and Elizabeth Quinlan, who had worked together as clerks at Goodfellows Dry Goods Store, opened the Young-Quinlan Store in the back of Vrooman’s Glove Company at 514 Nicollet Avenue. The store was the first in Minneapolis to sell ready-to-wear women’s garments. Previously, women had to make their own garments or pay someone else to make them, but at the Young-Quinlan store, they could purchase finished products. The store was popular among upper middle class women and Young-Quinlan soon moved into a larger store in the Syndicate Block building on Nicollet Avenue. In 1911, Fred Young died and Elizabeth Quinlan bought his interest in the company making her the sole owner and president of the Young-Quinlan Company. Quinlan was in charge of store’s entire operation and made frequent buying trips to Paris, Florence, and New York. In 1935, Fortune Magazine named Quinlan the “foremost women specialty executive in America.” An active member of the community, Quinlan founded the Business Women’s Club in 1919 and served as an advisory board member for the Salvation Army and the National Recovery Administration, a New Deal program.
"A Perfect Gem”
In 1926, Quinlan commissioned New York architect Frederick Lee Ackerman to design a new building for the Young-Quinlan Store. The five-story building at 901-915 Nicollet Mall was one of the first buildings in the country to offer an underground parking garage with an elevator to bring patrons to the sales floors. The building was made from tan brick and Kasota stone and was designed in the Chicago Commercial style with Renaissance Revival details like arched display windows, pillars, and balustrades, which are identical on all four sides of the building. The elegant interior featured a large marble staircase with wrought iron-railings, crystal chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, and custom-made display cases. Quinlan called the building “a perfect gem.” In addition to quality merchandise, Young-Quinlan featured elaborate displays, such as a collection of Russian imperial jewels housed in the store’s fifth-floor auditorium.
Today
In May 1945, at age 82, Quinlan sold the Young-Quinlan Company to Henry C. Lytton and Company of Chicago. Quinlan passed away two years later and the store was kept closed on the day of her funeral as a tribute. The building remained a department store until 1985. Today, the Young-Quinlan building houses a Dunn Brothers coffee shop, JB Hudson Jewelry store, Target furniture store, and Haskell’s Wine Store on the first floor and office spaces on the upper floors.
