Podcast P10 – Canal Street 1935 Unpack

Podcast P10 – Canal Street 1935 Unpack

by | 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, podcast

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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Stein’s Canal Street

Stein’s Canal Street

by | Sep 24, 2021 | 1920s-1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, CBD, Stein's, Uncategorized

Stein’s Canal Street occupied three different locations over the years.

stein's canal street

Stein’s Canal Street

Ad for Stein’s Clothing in the Times-Picayune, September 21, 1972. Stein’s was originally located at 800 Canal Street, corner Carondelet Street, but moved up in the 800 block in 1948. By the 1960s, the store returned to the corner, but on the 700 block side of Carondelet. The store, part of a national chain, featured men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing. Stein’s first came to New Orleans when Feibelman’s Department Store moved from 800 Canal to the corner of Baronne and Common Streets, in 1931.

Fellman’s to Feibelman’s to Stein’s

stein's canal street

The old Pickwick Hotel building, now Stein’s Clothing, 1940

When retailer Leon Fellman split with his brother Bernard in 1886, he opened his own store at 901 Canal. This was the old Mercier Building, which replaced Christ Episcopal Church, at the corner of Canal and Dauphine. By 1897, S. J. Shwartz acquired the entire Mercier Building for his new department store, Maison Blanche. Shwartz evicted Fellman. Leon went across the street. He convinced the owners of the Pickwick Hotel at 800 Canal to let him convert their building into a department store. They agreed, and he opened Leon Fellman’s.

Name change

Leon passed away in 1920. His family dropped the Fellman surname, returning to the German version of their name, Feibelman. The family changed the name of the store from Leon Fellman’s to Feibelman’s. In 1931, the family acquired the old NOPSI building at Baronne and Common. They demolished the building (it had been severely damaged by fire) and constructed a new store there. That left 800 Canal available. Stein’s leased the building, bringing the chain to New Orleans.

Gus Mayer takes over

Stein's Canal Street

Stein’s, 810 Canal Street, 1948

In 1948, another out-of-town chain, Gus Mayer, bought the old Pickwick Hotel. Their New Orleans store was in a small building on the French Quarter side of the 800 block of Canal. Gus Mayer demolished the old building, constructing their flagship store in the city. That building remains at 800 Canal, occupied by a CVS Drugstore.

Moving out

Gus Mayer’s purchase of the Pickwick building meant Stein’s had to find a new location. They moved next door, to 810 Canal Street. The store re-located a second time, to 738 Canal. So, by the 1950s, Stein’s stood on the river side of Carondelet and Canal, and Gus Mayer on the lake side of the corner.

stein's canal street

Stein’s Gentilly Woods, 1960

In the late 1950s, Stein’s opened a second location, in Gentilly Woods. That explains the “Downtown Store Only” reference in this 1972 ad. The chain folded in the 1980s. Kid’s Footlocker currently occupies 738 Canal Street.