Window Shopping at Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Co.

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published December 01, 2012 and can be found here.

   Do you remember window shopping at the big downtown department stores? Freezing cold holiday shoppers all pressed up against the plate glass like moths to a porch light. Dreams of sugar plums and reindeer and presents under the tree were fueled by these sparkling menageries of the latest and greatest stuff. The displays themselves were an art form; and pulling people in off the street was the ultimate goal. In all but our largest metros, scenes like these have been lost as retailers gradually moved to suburban malls. This series of pictures from the Rochester Public Library documents some of the windows at Sibley, Lindsay and Curr Co. department store in downtown Rochester more than 70 years ago...

   A Sibley's window display at Christmas, featuring mannequins in skiwear and other winter outerwear. 1932.

   A Sibley's Christmas time window display with the theme of English carolers in a village. "In Merrie England. The Christmas Carolers on Their Rounds Through the Village. The Spirit of Christmas in is in the air." 1925.

   A women's hat tree thingy. 1940.

   The same "tree" theme from the window continued inside the department store. 1940.

   A modern kitchen. 1940.

   An old fashioned kitchen. Note: The old fashioned kitchen and the modern kitchen were displayed side by side. 1940.

   Various kitchen items. 1940.

   Scuba diver gear in an underwater scene with treasure chests. 1940.

   Back to school fashions. 1940.

   Back to school fashions. 1940.

   Back to school fashions. 1940.

   Wedding fashions. 1940.

   An array of silverware. 1940.

   Raincoats c.1940.

   More rain gear c.1940.

   A Sibley's window display featuring a mannequin seated at a piano; also a second piano, a saxophone and an accordion. c.1940.

   Women's shoes. c.1940.

   Women's bath attire. 1941.

   Fashionable clothing in a picnic setting. 1941.

   Women's hats. 1941.

   "Eat Plenty of Bread for Health and Variety. Bakery Main Floor." 1941.

   "Welch's Grape Juice. Refreshing Anytime!" 1941.

   Skiwear and other winter outerwear. 1940.

   A variety of wreaths and artificial trees. 1940. This window also features a copy of an oil painting by William L. Taylor based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,     "Home Keeping Hearts are Happiest."

Visit RochesterSubway.com again tomorrow and we'll cross over to the other side of Main Street; to do some more window shopping at another local holiday favorite.

About Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Co.
   Department Store...

The store was founded by partners Rufus Sibley, Alexander M. Lindsay and John Curr, who opened their first dry goods store in 1868 at     75 East Main Street

in Rochester. This business was so successful that between 1877 and 1880 they bought properties at     69-73 Main

and also the old Osborne House hotel and expanded. In 1893 they built the     Granite Building

and moved their store to that location, where they stayed until the disastrous     Sibley Fire of 1904    destroyed the interior of the building. Within a month they had relocated to the old     Empire Theater

building, and in 1904 their     new store

opened on Main between Clinton and North. Sibley's was a Rochester institution, and enjoyed great financial success. The store was modernized in the 1930's by John R. Sibley, son of Rufus. In the 1950's the company expanded into the suburbs. In July of 1986 the company was purchased by May Department Stores, which renamed the stores under the Kaufman's name in 1990 and eventually closed the downtown Rochester landmark store.

Happy Holidays and Shop Local!