Author Bruce Allen Kopytek brings "Jake's" back to Birmingham
I clearly remember sunny strolls through the streets of Birmingham as a young girl. Hoping to hit my dad up for a new pair of Levi’s at Here and Now, popping into Machus for their famous savory salad, or ogling the infinite selection of Pappagallo purse covers were often on my little shopping list of likes as we walked easy around 1980’s downtown Birmingham.
The one store that I never had to plead a visit to was Jacobson’s. If you lived in the Birmingham area, you’ll recall that Jacobson’s, in it’s day, was a fashionable destination that offered everything from wedding gowns to baby booties. Elegant sales men and women would efficiently assist as you browsed, quietly calculate your totals on small hand-written pads, and deftly tissue your purchases and send you on your way.
From it’s opening in 1950 until it’s closing in 2002, “Jake’s” was a mainstay of Birmingham’s bustling retail district. The modest store that began in Reed City, Michigan in 1868 not only expanded across the state, but into the hearts and memories of its patrons as well.
Shelby Township author and architect Bruce Allen Kopytek has carved a unique literary niche for himself as a department store historian. Kopytek’s interest in department stores that either no longer exist or have changed beyond recognition are, in fact, the impetus behind his book Jacobson’s: I Miss It So! The Story of a Michigan Fashion Institution(The History Press).
Kopytek’s Jacobson’s: I Miss It So! takes a look at the much loved Michigan institution, the various buildings and personalities behind the upscale outfitter, and Nathan Rosenfeld, the retail genius behind it all. Jacobson’s: I Miss It So!, Kopytek’s nostalgic retail story and study, was selected as a 2012 Michigan Notable Book.
If you have the time, visit Kipytek’s blog, the Department Store Museum. This online site is a beauty designed to pay homage to “America’s great, late-lamented department stores.” Other stores featured include Gimbels, I. Magnin & Co., and Sage-Allen with fabulous pictures and intriguing information.
*Support your local bookstores, libraries, and universities. It matters.
Alan Stamm
5:40 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Our original Jake's at 360 West Maple, converted into the McCann Erickson ad agency, was supplemented by two annexes a few blocks away. Jacobson's Children's Store was on the southwest corner of Willits and North Old Woodward, while a Home Store was across Willits on the opposite corner.
Who needed Somerset or any other mall? ;-}
last minute lynn
12:12 am on Thursday, February 2, 2012
One of my favorite things about Jacobson's was the beautiful silver gift boxes. They could turn an ordinary gift into an extraordinary present.
I also remember when the salespersons would send the sales slips and money thru a tube to the cash office, where the change was made and the sale finalized.
Megan Shaffer
8:58 am on Thursday, February 2, 2012
I completely forgot about the tube transactions. It is amazing how we all have these singular memories about Jacobson's. The author, Allen Kopytek, told me that as he discusses the book people often share simple stories of great emotion and forgotten observations such as your own.