Gimbels is no longer in business. The famous New York department store closed its Herald Square flagship and its East 86th Street location on September 27, 1986, ending a 76-year run in New York City. The Herald Square building still stands at 100 West 33rd Street, where the former department store has been converted largely to office space with retail at its base.
For generations of New Yorkers, shopping at Gimbels was more than a trip to a department store; it was a tradition. From its legendary rivalry with Macy’s in Herald Square to its unforgettable holiday displays, bargain prices, and appearances in classic films, Gimbels became one of New York City’s most beloved retail institutions. This is the story of the department store that proved you didn’t have to be the fanciest to become one of the city’s most treasured landmarks.
Photo: Taken 1950 Raymond Loewy Associates, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons
Is Gimbels Still in Business?
No. Gimbels is no longer in business. The chain’s two remaining New York City stores, the famous Herald Square flagship and the East 86th Street location, closed in 1986. Other Gimbels divisions around the country were also sold or closed as the parent company dismantled the chain.
The name remains familiar because Gimbels was once one of America’s best-known department-store companies and because its rivalry with Macy’s became part of New York popular culture. Movies including Miracle on 34th Street and Elf helped keep the Gimbels name alive long after the stores disappeared.
Was Gimbels a Real Store in New York City?
Yes. Gimbels was a very real New York City department store. The company’s Herald Square flagship opened in 1910 and operated for 76 years. Gimbels later opened another Manhattan store on East 86th Street, giving the company two major New York City locations by the time the chain closed.
Many young people today have probably never heard of Gimbels department stores. Older generations remember them fondly, and some may still have Gimbels merchandise in their homes. At its height, Gimbels was a major American retail company with important operations in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee.
How Gimbels Began
The company was founded by Adam Gimbel, a Bavarian immigrant who opened a dry-goods store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. His sons later expanded the family business, establishing Gimbel Brothers in Milwaukee in 1887 and opening in Philadelphia in 1894.
Isaac Gimbel became one of the major figures behind the company’s expansion. New York was the next great opportunity, and in 1910 Gimbels entered one of the most competitive retail districts in America.
Gimbels Opens in Herald Square in 1910
The New York City flagship opened at Broadway and West 33rd Street, facing Greeley Square and only a block from Macy’s. Designed by architect Daniel Burnham, the enormous ten-story store offered roughly 27 acres of selling space and immediately became part of the department-store district surrounding Herald Square.
The New York Gimbels location had an impressive advertising and marketing campaign. Its main rival was Macy’s, whose flagship store was located just north of Gimbels. One of the major features of the Gimbels building was its direct relationship with the city’s transportation network. Multiple entrances connected shoppers with the nearby Herald Square subway and transit complex, making the store remarkably easy to reach.
Gimbels also expanded into buildings on the surrounding blocks. A multi-level copper skybridge over West 32nd Street connected the main store with the company’s administrative building to the south, creating one of the most unusual surviving architectural reminders of the old retail empire.
Gimbels vs. Macy’s and “Does Macy’s Tell Gimbels?”
Gimbels maintained a competitive rivalry with nearby Macy’s for decades. Gimbels cultivated a more middle-market image and emphasized value, selection, and less expensive merchandise. One of the company’s slogans was “the customer pays for fancy frills,” reflecting an effort to distinguish Gimbels from stores that placed more emphasis on luxury and presentation.
The Macy’s-Gimbels rivalry became so famous that it entered everyday speech. For years, New Yorkers used the rhetorical question “Does Macy’s tell Gimbels?” as a way of saying that competitors do not reveal their secrets to one another.
The rivalry worked in both directions. The two stores competed for customers, publicity, holiday shoppers, and attention, yet their proximity helped turn Herald Square into one of the greatest retail destinations in the country.
How Gimbels Became a Retail Powerhouse
Gimbels continued to prosper and went public in 1922, with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange while the Gimbel family retained control. The family also acquired Saks & Co., a relationship that led to the creation of Saks Fifth Avenue in 1924. Gimbels later expanded into radio ownership and continued growing its retail operations.
By 1930, Gimbel Brothers had approximately $123 million in net sales and about 20,000 employees, making it one of the largest department-store organizations in the world.
Customers were always central to the company’s identity. Gimbels presented its principles as “courtesy, reliability, good value, and enlightened management.” The stores sold clothing, furniture, appliances, outdoor goods, toys, and many other products, with merchandise changing as styles and consumer tastes evolved.
Photo: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Broadway and Herald Square in Manhattan” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 3, 2021. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9f479d90-a682-0133-aaab-00505686d14e
Gimbels in Movies, Television, and New York Popular Culture
The New York City flagship became more than a place to shop. From 1939 to 1940, parts of William Randolph Hearst’s enormous collection of art and antiquities were offered for sale at Gimbels, drawing national attention to the store.
Gimbels was also woven into movies and television. In the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s Santa Claus shocks store management by directing customers to competitors, including Gimbels, when those stores can better satisfy what the customer wants. The film turned the real Macy’s-Gimbels rivalry into part of one of the best-known Christmas stories in American movie history.
The 1967 Dick Van Dyke comedy Fitzwilly built its climax around an elaborate Christmas Eve robbery of Gimbels. The store was also mentioned as a shopping destination on I Love Lucy, giving the name another place in mid-century popular culture.
Photo: Gimbels advertising creator, as published in The New York Times in 1910, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Was the Gimbels in Elf a Real Store?
Gimbels was a real department-store chain, but it had been out of business for seventeen years when Elf was released in 2003. The movie revived the Gimbels name as the fictional workplace where Buddy encounters Jovie and the store’s less-than-convincing Santa.
The movie did not film those scenes inside the former Gimbels flagship. Interior department-store scenes were filmed at Macy’s Herald Square, while the movie used the Textile Building at 295 Fifth Avenue for the Gimbels exterior.
Who Owned Gimbels?
Gimbels remained controlled by the founding family for much of its history. In 1973, the company was acquired by Brown & Williamson, the American tobacco subsidiary of British American Tobacco. Brown & Williamson later organized its American retail holdings under the BATUS name.
Gimbels continued to operate through four largely independent metropolitan divisions in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee. The divisions handled much of their own marketing, advertising, buying, and store operations.
In 1983, the New York and Philadelphia divisions were combined as Gimbels East in an effort to reduce overhead. The merger did not solve the chain’s larger problems.
Why Did Gimbels Close?
Gimbels did not close because of one single event. By the 1980s, the chain was struggling with disappointing performance, changing shopping patterns, suburban competition, discount retailers, and the enormous cost of operating major department stores in traditional downtown locations.
BATUS concluded that Gimbels had limited prospects for improved profitability and began dismantling the chain in 1986. Some stores around the country were sold to other retailers, while others were closed.
The Herald Square store also had an unusually serious inventory-shrinkage problem. Its many entrances and exits, once promoted as a great convenience for subway and commuter shoppers, made loss prevention difficult. The famous underground Gimbels Passageway connecting the surrounding transit network was eventually closed.
Shoplifting was a problem, but it should not be treated as the sole reason Gimbels disappeared. The larger issue was that its corporate owner no longer believed the chain offered enough potential to justify continuing the business.
When Did Gimbels Close in NYC?
Gimbels closed its New York City stores on September 27, 1986. Shoppers spent the final day searching through what remained of the liquidation merchandise at Herald Square and East 86th Street. The closing ended the company’s 76-year history in New York City.
The disappearance was particularly striking because Gimbels had been such a familiar part of the city’s retail landscape. A name that had once been famous enough to become part of everyday New York speech suddenly belonged to the past.
What Happened to the Gimbels Building in Herald Square?
The Herald Square building survived. After Gimbels closed, the property was renovated and reopened in 1989 as A&S Plaza, anchored by the Brooklyn-based Abraham & Straus department store. In 1995, A&S became Stern’s and the shopping complex was renamed Manhattan Mall.
Stern’s closed in 2001. A two-story J.C. Penney later occupied part of the former Gimbels property from 2009 until 2020. Over time, much of the upper portion of the enormous building was converted to offices.
Today, the property at 100 West 33rd Street remains a large office-and-retail building. Vornado Realty Trust continues to market the property under the Manhattan Mall/100 West 33rd Street name, with office space above and retail space at the base.
What Remains of Gimbels in New York City Today?
The most important survivor is the former Herald Square flagship itself. Although the interior has been repeatedly renovated, the building still occupies the same prominent block between West 32nd and West 33rd Streets.
The old Gimbels administrative building at 119 West 31st Street also survives. A faded painted “Gimbels” sign can still be seen on the building, although the lettering has deteriorated over the decades.
Another remarkable survivor is the copper skybridge over West 32nd Street. Gimbels built the bridge in the mid-1920s to connect the main department store with its administrative building. Designed by Shreve & Lamb, the firm that would soon become associated with the Empire State Building, the bridge still hangs above the street as a physical reminder of the scale of the Gimbels operation.
The former Gimbels East property at Lexington Avenue and East 86th Street also became part of the city’s residential landscape after the store closed, eventually forming part of the Park Avenue Court residential complex.
The Gimbels Legacy
Gimbels may be gone, but it hasn’t been forgotten. “Nobody but nobody outsells Gimbels” was one of the company’s famous taglines. They weren’t as flamboyant as other retailers, but the New York City flagship store had a heart and warmth that very few other establishments could replicate.
Ask any New Yorker who was raised in New York City during the twentieth century to talk about Gimbels, and you will be greeted, for the most part, with a warm smile. Memories of the wonderful window displays during the holidays and the magical Christmas department where Santa Claus sat, greeting all the children, defined the holidays for millions forever. It was a special place where New Yorkers shopped and was a part of the lives of so many.
More New York City Department Store History
If you enjoyed learning about the history of Gimbels, continue exploring New York City’s legendary department stores with our features on Macy’s, Woolworth’s, Abraham & Straus, Alexander’s Department Store, B. Altman & Co., and Bloomingdale’s. Together, these iconic retailers transformed shopping into an experience and helped establish New York City as one of the world’s retail capitals, creating memories that generations of New Yorkers still cherish today.
Gimbels New York Timeline at a Glance
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1842 | Adam Gimbel opens a dry-goods store in Vincennes, Indiana |
| 1887 | The Gimbel family establishes Gimbel Brothers in Milwaukee |
| 1894 | Gimbels expands to Philadelphia |
| 1910 | New York City flagship opens at Herald Square |
| 1922 | Gimbel Brothers goes public |
| 1924 | Saks Fifth Avenue opens following the Gimbel family’s acquisition of Saks & Co. |
| 1973 | Brown & Williamson acquires Gimbels |
| 1983 | New York and Philadelphia divisions merge as Gimbels East |
| 1986 | Gimbels closes its New York City stores on September 27 |
| 1989 | Former Herald Square flagship reopens as A&S Plaza |
| 1995 | Complex becomes Manhattan Mall as A&S converts to Stern’s |
| 2009 | J.C. Penney opens in part of the former Gimbels building |
| 2020 | J.C. Penney closes its Manhattan location |
| Today | 100 West 33rd Street remains an office-and-retail property with surviving Gimbels architectural remnants nearby |
Updated August 7, 2026.
History of Gimbels in New York: Why It Closed and What Happened article published on ClassicNewYorkHistory.com © 2026
