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The Livingston department store on the south side of the square was arguably the first downtown shopping store in the 1960s. Roland’s women’s store on the north side of the square was the second, possibly the first in the spirit of women.

Founded in March 1866 by Sam and Aaron Livingston, the company was originally known as the McLean County Dry Goods Store. It was in the middle of the 100 block of West Washington Street (the south side of Courthouse Square), and it stayed there for 113 years.

Livingston had an area of ​​42,350 square feet, making it one of the largest stores in northern Illinois. Today, for comparison, some Wal-Mart supermarkets span 223,000 square feet. In 1946 Livingston added another floor by digging a full basement to house his appliance department and a vault for storing furs.

In the 1970s, downtown Bloomington was in decline. Sears and JC Penney’s had moved from downtown to Eastland Mall in the 1960s, and Montgomery Ward then moved to College Hills Mall around 1980. Roland moved to the New World of Veterans Parkway, but closed permanently at the end of the 1980s. 1980s. Local department stores and clothing stores found it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to compete with the enormous economies of scale enjoyed by Sears and other retail giants.

Livingston never left the city center. Despite an infusion of some $ 100,000 for redecorating and increased promotion, sales were disappointing and Livingston’s closed on January 31, 1979. The store held the mandatory “close of business” sale during its final week, offering store accessories, mannequins (“whole and parts”), cash registers and clothes racks. Learn more about Livingston’s in this column by Bill Kemp.

Pictured: Phoenix Hall, located on the south side of McLean County Courthouse Square, can be seen here in this 1860 lithograph (the hall spanned the seven uppermost windows on the left). In 1917 Livingston razed five of the seven Greek Revival buildings (including the two housing Phoenix Hall) to make way for a modern department store. Today, Michael’s Restaurant occupies the ground floor of this building.

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