Marshall Field & Co.

What began as Potter Palmer's dry-goods store in 1852 would eventually become a tour-de-force of department store history. Two young merchants, Levi Leiter and Marshall Field, joined the endeavor in 1865 and began to create Chicago's most innovative, successful and fashionable of retail establishments. Although Potter and Leiter would bow out, Field would look to expansion and eventually owned and rebuilt the entire square city block of State Street, Washington, Randolph, and Wabash. The building would feature a magnificent six-thousand square foot dome of Tiffany glass mosaics, large windows for display, and the first-ever dining room restaurant. It was, however, the services and atmosphere that Marshall Field & Co. provided that would give patrons a positive shopping experience and a reason to return. Luxurious lounges, bridal registries, personal shopping services, no-questions-asked return policies, quality merchandise, couture fashion, and even elevator operators whose training included a course in charm, kept the buying public coming back. In 1982, Field's was sold and is no longer an independent Chicago-based company, but it remains a hallmark of Chicago's legacy. Native Chicagoans and visitors alike will hold memories of Marshall Field's for generations: Frango Mints, dining in the Walnut Room, being fitted for a bridal gown, animated holiday windows, the Christmas tree and, perhaps, meeting someone under the "Field's clock."