Industry Retail Founded 1867 Ceased operations 1987 Parent organization Associated Dry Goods | Defunct 1987 Successor Sibley's Fate Mergers and acquisitions | |
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Products apparel, shoes, household furnishings, accessories Headquarters Buffalo, New York, United States | ||
The William Hengerer Company, known informally as Hengerer's, was a Buffalo, New York-based department store chain, with stores exclusively located in the Western New York region.
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History
The company was founded in 1867 as J. C. Barnes & Co., followed and followed by Barnes & Bancroft in 1869, at 259 Main Street, with James K. Bancroft. In 1873, William Hengerer was admitted as a partner and the company became known as Barnes, Bancroft & Co.
Along with other department stores located in Buffalo including AM&A's, Flint and Kent, and the Sweeney Company, Hengerer was very successful in the 1880s and 1890s. The department stores offered cooking classes, beauty parlors, and restaurants and introduced and washing and sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, and iceboxes to the public.
In 1889, Hengerer's new department store was built at 268 Main Street and was designed by Cyrus K. Porter and built of brick with Medina sandstone trim. In 1903, a new store was constructed and by 1907, Hengerer's boasted of being the largest department store between New York City and Chicago.
Wm Hengerer Co. was a founding member of the Associated Dry Goods Corporation in 1916.
Closure
The Hengerer chain was merged into ADG's Sibley's name in 1981, with its flagship store at 465 Main Street in downtown Buffalo closing by 1987.