The Emporium (Long Beach)

The Emporium was a department store in Downtown Long Beach, California.

The Emporium's origins go back to Harry Brown and Stephen L. Powers, whose company S. L. Powers & Co. opened The Great Cash Bargain Store on July 28, 1904, at 32 Pine Street (later 332 Pine) in the then-new W. H. Martin Building.^[1]

On March 30, 1905, Powers changed the store name to The Emporium. In January 1907, this first "Emporium" closed.^[2]

Meanwhile, Henry D. Meyer of Pasadena who owned Meyer's Department Stores (also written Meyer or Meyers) in Pasadena, Holtville, and Hemet,^[3] opened a Long Beach branch at 151 Pine around 1905.^[4] In March 1908 T. Sundbye of Huntington Beach partnered with Meyer and the store was known as Meyer & Sundbye's.^[5]

Under Meyer's ownership, The Emporium would reopen again on July 31, 1909, this time at 151 Pine,^[6] which Meyer had operated as "Meyers Department Store".^[7]

On March 29, 1912, The Emporium moved to a new building at the northwest corner of Broadway and Locust.^[8]

On May 1, 1914, Henry D. Meyer of Pasadena sold the store to Ed. Ahlswede^{[9][10][11][12]} who had operated a large dry goods store in Chicago,^[13] and his son Herbert F. Ahlswede (b. July 5, 1878, Chicago).^[14][15]

In December 1932, The Emporium merged with Marti's department store, which as from December 30^[16][17] operated at the former Emporium store at Broadway and Locust, now branded Marti's, and closed its old location at 4th and Pine. Marti's held a grand re-opening on January 12, 1933.^[18] Marti's in its advertising thanked its customers for their support despite the Great Depression, and in an advertisement profiled its new location: "Marti's New Store will be a Good Store Designed for the Masses without Frills and Fancies…but a Good Store"^[19] Nonetheless, Marti's closed for good shortly thereafter.

• 16th Anniversary, article in The Long Beach Sun