Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden
Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden | |
Location | 1300 Admiral Wilson Boulevard, Camden, New Jersey |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°56′37″N 75°6′37″W / 39.94361°N 75.11028°W |
Area | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
Built | 1927 |
Architect | Carr, George Wallace; Nimmons, George C. |
Architectural style | Classical Revival |
Demolished | June 5, 2013 – August 23, 2013 |
NRHP reference No. | 00000795[1] |
NJRHP No. | 8[2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 27, 2000 |
Designated NJRHP | May 22, 2000 |
The Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store Building in Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States, was built in 1927 and housed a Sears department store until 1971, when the store relocated to Moorestown Mall. It was South Jersey's first free-standing department store.[3] It was also among the first department stores to be built with its own parking lot, a precursor to the modern shopping mall.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 2000.
After Sears relocated, the building was home at different times to a nightclub, a car dealership, a day care center, and a housing authority office, before becoming vacant for several years. In 2007, it was purchased by Ilan Zaken, owner of the hip-hop clothing company Miskeen Originals, for $2.7 million (~$3.82 million in 2023). Zaken spent more than $1 million on a plan to transform it into his company's headquarters as well as a culinary school and restaurant supply mall, but the project was not completed.[4]
In February 2011, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that the city could acquire the building through eminent domain.[5]
On June 11, 2012, Campbell Soup Company, whose corporate headquarters is nearby, purchased the building for about $3.5 million, with plans to demolish it. Campbell contended that uncertainty surrounding the building impeded its development of an adjacent office park. The purchase effectively ended the ongoing legal battle to preserve the building.[4]
Demolition of the building began on June 5, 2013.[3][6] It was completed on August 23, 2013.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Camden County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. April 1, 2010. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
- ^ a b "Razing of Sears Building to start; Redevelopment planned at site of city landmark", Courier-Post, June 5, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Campbell Soup buys 85-year-old Camden building for $3.5M, ending legal battle", Courier-Post, June 11, 2012. Accessed May 27, 2013.
- ^ "Judge Says Former Sears Bldg. in Camden Can Be Razed", David Madden, KYW Newsradio 1060, February 8, 2011. Accessed May 28, 2013.
- ^ Boyer, Barbara (June 6, 2013). "Demolition begins at Camden's Sears building". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ "Sears building demolition completed", Courier-Post, August 24, 2013.
- Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
- Neoclassical architecture in New Jersey
- Commercial buildings completed in 1927
- Buildings and structures in Camden, New Jersey
- Sears Holdings buildings and structures
- Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places
- Retail buildings in New Jersey
- National Register of Historic Places in Camden County, New Jersey
- Buildings and structures destroyed in 2013
- Demolished buildings and structures in New Jersey
- New Jersey Register of Historic Places
- 1927 establishments in New Jersey
- 2013 disestablishments in New Jersey
- Demolished but still listed on the National Register of Historic Places