Feibleman’s, 1923 – Leon Fellman’s family renames his store

Feibelman’s replaces Leon Fellman’s upon the passing of the patriarch

Feibleman’s Department Store, 1923 ad in the Loyola Maroon

Feibleman’s Store

The department store operated at 800 Canal Street, corner Carondelet, for eleven years. The store was Leon Fellman’s until 1920. The store’s name changed when Leon Fellman passed away in 1920. So, the family operated the store under the original German name after that.

The store occupied the old Pickwick Hotel building. In 1897, Leon Fellman lost his lease on his space across the street, in the Mercier building. Simon Shwartz acquired that building, at 901 Canal Street, for his new department store venture. So, Fellman convinced the owners of the hotel to lease the building to him for a store. Shwartz opened Maison Blanche at 901 Canal and Fellman moved to 800 Canal.

Lippman Feibelman

Lippman Feibelman left Germany to join his older brother in New Orleans in the 1860s. His brother already changed his name to Bernard Fellman. Lippman followed his brother’s lead, changing his name to Leon Fellman. The brothers established themselves in the local Jewish retail community. Eventually, they opened a store on Canal Street. The brothers split in 1884, when the Mercier Building opened at 901 Canal. Bernard stayed in the 700 block. Leon opened a new store at Canal and Dauphine.

In 1899, Fellman bought the buildings in the 1201 block of Canal Street. In 1902, he demolished those buildings. So, he built a store in their place. Fellman leased 1201 Canal Street to the Krauss Brothers. The four brothers opened Krauss Department Store there.

The name change

Leon Fellman’s became one of the big stores on Canal Street. When Leon’s health declined in 1918-1919, he worked with the Krauss brothers and their brother-in-law, Leon Heymann, to consolidate The Krauss Company. Fellman sold his interest in the store to Heymann. Krauss became totally family-owned.

Upon Fellman’s passing, his family made several legal moves. They re-organized the corporation what owned the store. The Fellmans changed the name of the store, but with a twist. The family used the spelling, “Feibleman”, rather than the brothers original name, Feibelman.

The family moved the store to the corner of Baronne and Common in 1931. They sold the store to Sears Roebuck in 1936.

I’ve yet to sort out why the family went to such lengths to distance themselves from Leon Fellman.

The ad

This ad is from 1923. Feibleman’s advertised regularly in Loyola University’s student newspaper, the maroon. College students often didn’t have “good clothes”. So, all of the downtown department stores advertised in the Maroon.

More about Leon Fellman

Krauss – The New Orleans Value Store by Edward J. Branley

Fellman was an important part of the Krauss story. You can learn about it in my book, Krauss – The New Orleans Value Store.

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