by nolahistoryguy | Sep 12, 2025 | 1920s-1930s, CBD, Fellman's/Feibelman's, Gus Mayer, Maison Blanche, Patreon, Patreon NHG, Podcasts, S. H. Kress, Stein's
The more Canal Street 1935 evolved, the more it remained iconic.
Canal Street 1935
Franck Studios of Canal Street at St. Charles Avenue, 1935. The photographer stands in the neutral ground, on the river side of the outside streetcar track. The fiw on the left is of the 700 block of Canal, the Uptown side of the street.
700 Canal Street is the Pickwick Club building. At this time, it’s still the Crescent City Billiard Hall. The corner shop is Loft’s Candy. Here’s a comment from our friend Derby Gisclair on the corner:
This 1935 photograph by Charles Franck shows the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue. The Crescent City Billiard Hall on the corner looks rather dingy and dark compared to past images. A large sign directing drivers to the St. Charles Hotel juts out over the second floor on the corner above the Loft’s Candy Store. Loft’s at one time was owned by City Stores Company, parent company of Maison Blanche, and became the largest candy manufacturer in the world in the 1920s.
I remember when Derby said this, thinking, this explains why the Candy Department at MB was always so good.
The Pod
Listen to Podcast P10 here.
Billiards to Pickwick
The corner got a facelift when it was sold to the Pickwick Club. The sign for the St. Charles Hotel is typical for Canal Street throughout the Twentieth century. The big hotels were all off-Canal. So, to get you to the St. Charles, or the Monteleone, or even to the Holiday Inn on Royal Street, drivers could follow signs for where to turn.
Up the street. Next to the billiard hall is Steven’s, a store for men. You can see the secondary signs advertising Hart, Schaffner and Marx clothing. Additionally, there’s a wall sign saying “Steven’s” on the side.
Continuing down the block, these buildings remain today. The clock at Adler’s is visible towards the end of the 700 block.
Up to the 800 block, the onion spire on the edge of 800 Canal, the original Pickwick Hotel, is visible. In 1935, this was Stein’s Department Store. Leon Fellman’s/Feibleman’s moved up to Baronne and Common in 1931. Gus Mayer purchased 800 Canal after WWII. They demolished the building in 1947 and built a new store there.
Streetcars
The city completed their most recent street improvement program on Canal in 1930. That’s when the Union Sheet Metal light poles, with their fleur-de-lis lighting, appeared. So, this is just five years into their life. There are several arch roof streetcars up Canal. Our venerable 800- and 900-series streetcars dominated the routes at this time.
Radio
Not much of the French Quarter side of the street is visible in this photo. The Maison Blanche building towers over the Audubon Building in the 901 block. The large antenna on top of the MB building is the transmitter for WSMB Radio. WSMB broadcasted from the 13th floor of Maison Blanche’s office wing.
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by nolahistoryguy | Jan 13, 2024 | 1970s, Carrollton Shopping Center, CBD, Clearview Mall, D. H. Holmes, Gentilly, Godchaux's, Gretna, Gus Mayer, Labiche, Maison Blanche, Metairie
Hanes hosiery co-op ads at various NOLA stores.
NOLA stores and Hanes
In the 1970s, Hanes, known for ladies hosiery and underwear, held a “once-a-year” sale. Various NOLA stores, Maison Blanche, D.H. Holmes, Labiche’s, and Gus Mayer, participated in the sale. They leveraged ad budgets by placing Hanes-specific ads for the sale. These “co-op” ads were paid for mostly by the manufacturer. So, the store promoted their brand and the product brand at the same time.
The sale in 1973 took place over the weekend of 13-January. NOLA stores enticed women to come in for the pantyhose and other items on sale. It’s fun to look at the styles from the advertising and art departments of the local stores.
Maison Blanche
Sign for Maison Blanche in the parking lot of Westside, August, 1958. Sonny Randon Photography via the West Bank Beacon.
OK, yes, I’m a homer. I wrote a book on MB, so we start there. “Hanes sheer-madness annual sale of fashion hosiery in popular shades.” Note the mail-order form as part of the ad. Stores in 1973 were 901 Canal Street, Airline Village, Clearview, Gentilly Woods (The Plaza wouldn’t open until 1974), and Westside.
Labiche’s
The talented artists at Labiche’s opted for a bolder presentation than MB. A woman wearing nothing but a scarf in her hair and jewelry, and the pantyhose. Gorgeous. Stores for Labiche’s: 714 Canal Street, Carrollton (the old shopping center, where Costco is now), Gentilly Woods, and Westside.
Holmes
Daniel Henry Holmes’ dry good store on Canal Street grew to a number of suburban locations after WWII. In addition to the flagship store, Holmes locations included Lakeside Shopping Center, Oakwood, Baton Rouge, and Houma. While Holmes didn’t have a Gentilly store, they opened a location in The Plaza in 1974.
Gus Mayer
Originally in the 801 block of Canal Street, just up from Holmes, Gus Mayer built a big store across the street in 1948, demolishing the old Pickwick Hotel building. They also participated in the Hanes sale promotion. Gus Mayer operated not only the Canal Street store, but one at Elysian Fields and Gentilly Blvd., as well as Carrollton, Clearview, and Oakwood Shopping Centers. While Gus Mayer ATNM as NOLA stores go, they still have stores in Birmingham, Alabama.
Godchaux’s
Godchaux’s originally occupied the 501 block of Canal, later moving to the 801 block, next to the Boston Club. By the 1970s, they expanded to Lakeside and Edgewater Plaza in Biloxi. Their take on Hanes was different than the other NOLA stores. Godchaux’s opted for a cold-weather appeal,
by nolahistoryguy | Jun 4, 2022 | 1960s, Carrollton Shopping Center, Clearview Mall, Gus Mayer
Carrollton Shopping Center took advantage of the Pontchartrain Expressway.
Gus Mayer
“Keep cool, in sleeveless dresses, deftly shaped…” Summer dresses in dacron-polyester from Gus Mayer. This ad, from the Times-Picayune on 4-June-1964. The store sold these dresses in the “Career Shop-Young Moderns” at the Canal Street location, on the third floor. By 1964, Gus Mayer operated three stores in the city. The venerable main store was at 800 Canal, corner Carondelet. They moved to that location from across the street in 1948. The old Pickwick Hotel building, built in 1895, came up for sale after World War II. Gus Mayer bought the property and demolished the building. They erected the building that is now the CVS Drugstore. So, the new location doubled the size of the original store.
Carrollton Shopping Center
Gus Mayer later expanded, sort-of following Maison Blanche’s strategy. MB opened two “suburban” stores in 1947, at Tulane and S. Carrollton Avenues, and Frenchmen Avenue and Gentilly Blvd. Gus Mayer opened on the other side of the now-closed New Canal. When the city filled in the canal in 1949, the state built the “Pontchartrain Expressway.” The expressway originally began at Pontchartrain Blvd. near Lake Lawn Cemetery. It extended into downtown, connecting with the original bridge of the Crescent City Connection.
To get over the Illinois Central train tracks and S. Carrollton Avenue, the state built the “Carrollton Interchange,” visible in the rear of the shopping center photo. Developers constructed the shopping center on land now left unused because of the canal closure.
Carrollton grew in popularity as Metairie grew in population. Airline Highway (US 61) made it easy for suburban shoppers to get to S. Carrollton Avenue. A number of stores recognized this potential. JC Penney anchored Carrollton in the west. Smaller stores, such as Labiche’s, Mayfair, and Baker’s Shoes. The center included an A&G Cafeteria, Winn-Dixie supermarket, and a Western Auto store.
Gus Mayer anchored the center on its eastern side. While not as large as the two-floor Penney’s, the women’s store stood off from the strip-mall design, with its own parking area.
Metairie Migration
Gus Mayer once again followed the lead of Maison Blanche in the 1970s. As Metairie development continued in the west, Clearview Shopping Center opened at Clearview Parkway and I-10. MB had already moved their Carrollton Store to Airline Village, further out. (The Carrollton store became a Budget Store.) The department store then moved to the new mall in Metairie. Gus Mayer picked up on that trend. They closed their Carrollton Store, moving to Clearview.
All of the Gus Mayer Stores in New Orleans closed in the 1990s. The company operates two stores in Birmingham, Alabama.
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