For more than 150 years, Marshall Field and Co. reigned as Chicago’s leading department store. This talk traces the store’s history from its beginnings as a dry good store on Lake Street in 1852 into a world-class fashion and service trendsetter renowned for its elegance and exceptional customer service. Photographs, ads, postcards, and memorabilia trace the store’s history and its cherished traditions—the Walnut Room, the Christmas tree, the legendary window displays, the 28 shop, and, of course, Frango Mints. This lecture is based on Leslie Goddard‘s book, Remembering Marshall Field’s, published by Arcadia Publishing in 2011.

Recorded Thursday, February 8, 2011 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.