Foley's Department Store At 1110 Main St.

[Dan the Man]

The Foley's store was not designed with windows on the upper floors in order to showcase the fact that the modern systems in the building, such as central air-conditioning and flourescent lighting, made windows unnecessary. Back in the late 1940s, these systems were considered "state of the art", and highlighting their presence helped market this "super modern" building as a destination in itself.

Franzheim used a series of recessed planes and dramatic lighting to animate the windowless facade of the building. The elegant result received much praise from architecture critics in its day.

The completely internalized shopping experience created by the building's architecture causes many people to consider the Foley's store to be the first "modern" department store in the US, setting a precedent for a building type that was copied many times and is still being used today.

All that said, I feel that our own humble Foley's store is of national architectural significance, and is definitely worthy of preservation.

[Subdude]

Funny - the title is "Folly's Department Store".

Interesting footage though of shopping in luxury.

Check out this one:

Changing face of American cities

Lots of great shots of new buildings in the early 1960s.