J. W. Robinson's
Retailer / private label
UnclaimedDefunct American department-store chain founded in Los Angeles in 1883 and later absorbed into Robinsons-May.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
J. W. Robinson's was an American department-store chain founded in Los Angeles in 1883 by Joseph Winchester Robinson, a Massachusetts merchant who had moved to Southern California intending to develop orange groves. Dissatisfied with the quality and service available from local retailers, Robinson returned to the merchandising business and used his East Coast commercial connections to offer what he presented as superior goods and refined service. The business began as the Boston Dry Goods Store in a small premises at the Allen Block on Spring Street. It moved to larger quarters in the Jones Block in 1887 and, after Robinson died in 1891 at the age of 44, was taken over by his father, Henry Winchester Robinson. The company was renamed J. W. Robinson Company in memory of its founder, although the Boston Store name continued to be used in advertising. Under later management, including Robinson's brother-in-law Nathaniel Blackstone and C. W. R. Ford, the retailer developed from a dry-goods business into a major full-line department store. Rapid growth in Los Angeles led to successive relocations. In 1895 Robinson's opened a large purpose-built store at 239 South Broadway, designed by Theodore Eisen and Sumner Hunt. The building combined retail departments with manufacturing, wholesale, receiving, offices, customer facilities, and elevators. A five-story rear extension facing Hill Street was added in 1908. As Los Angeles's commercial center expanded toward Seventh Street, the company built a monumental new flagship at 600 West Seventh Street between Grand Avenue and Hope Street. Designed by Frederick Noonan and William J. Dodd, the seven-story store opened in 1915 and was expanded in 1923. It became the anchor of an upscale Seventh Street shopping district and was remodeled in the 1930s with a more restrained Modernistic exterior. The flagship offered a broad range of merchandise and services, including women's and children's clothing, imported gowns and hats, millinery, lingerie, textiles, household furnishings, rugs, decorative arts, toys, jewelry, leather goods, stationery, men's and boys' furnishings, beauty services, alterations, restaurants, and employee facilities. Robinson's cultivated an upscale identity and was associated with quality merchandise and service, although its branch expansion came later than that of several competing Los Angeles department stores. The company opened its second major store in Beverly Hills in 1952, followed by locations in Palm Springs, Pasadena, and shopping centers and suburban retail districts across Southern California. Its network eventually reached approximately 30 locations between San Diego, Santa Barbara, Palm Desert, and other markets. Associated Dry Goods acquired or affiliated with Robinson's in the 1950s. May Department Stores acquired Associated Dry Goods in 1986 and subsequently expanded the Robinson's name into Arizona after folding Goldwaters into the division in 1989. Robinson's and May Company California were combined into the Robinsons-May name in 1992–1993. The original Robinson's identity was thereby dissolved, and the former high-end positioning was broadened into a more general department-store proposition. After Federated Department Stores acquired May Department Stores in 2005, Robinsons-May was dismantled during 2005–2006. Former locations were closed, sold, or converted to Macy's and, in some cases, Bloomingdale's. The original Seventh Street flagship also closed in 1993 and was later repurposed for telecommunications, offices, and ground-floor retail.
History
J. W. Robinson's began in 1883 when Joseph Winchester Robinson opened the Boston Dry Goods Store in Los Angeles. Robinson had come from Waltham, Massachusetts, and initially planned to grow oranges in Rosemead. He returned to retail after deciding that local stores did not provide the merchandise quality and service he expected. His commercial contacts in the eastern United States helped him establish a differentiated assortment of dry goods and fashion merchandise. The first store occupied a small space in the Allen Block at Spring and Temple Streets. It moved to larger premises in the Jones Block in 1887. Robinson died in 1891, and his father, Henry Winchester Robinson, assumed control. The company adopted the J. W. Robinson Company name in the founder's memory, while the Boston Store designation remained prominent in public-facing usage. C. W. R. Ford later became president after marrying Robinson's widow. Robinson's former Spring Street premises were subsequently associated with Blackstone's Dry Goods, founded by Robinson's brother-in-law Nathaniel Blackstone. Los Angeles's population and commercial importance expanded rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Robinson's responded by constructing a large new building at 239 South Broadway, which opened in 1895. Designed by Theodore Eisen and Sumner Hunt, the building combined retail floors with wholesale and manufacturing operations, offices, receiving facilities, customer lounges, elevators, and architectural features intended to signal the city's growing metropolitan status. A substantial Hill Street extension opened in 1908. In 1914 the company announced a still larger flagship on West Seventh Street. The building, designed by Frederick Noonan and William J. Dodd, opened on September 7, 1915, and occupied most of the block between Grand Avenue and Hope Street. Its scale and location helped make Seventh Street a new upscale retail corridor. The store was enlarged in 1923 and remodeled in the 1930s, when its exterior was given a more restrained Modernistic treatment and additional parking facilities were introduced. Its departments covered fashion, accessories, household goods, decorative arts, toys, stationery, jewelry, beauty, alterations, and food service. The building also included offices, workrooms, a hospital, employee dining and recreation areas, and a roof garden and café. For much of the first half of the twentieth century, Robinson's concentrated on its downtown flagship rather than rapidly establishing branches in every affluent Los Angeles district. That changed in 1952 with a Beverly Hills store. Later locations included a seasonal Palm Springs shop, a Pasadena store, and branches in suburban shopping centers and retail developments such as Panorama City, Anaheim, Santa Barbara, Glendale, and Newport Beach. By the early 1990s, the chain had grown to roughly 30 stores across Southern California and had also become associated with stores in Arizona. Associated Dry Goods acquired or affiliated with Robinson's during the 1950s. May Department Stores acquired Associated Dry Goods in 1986, making Robinson's part of the May portfolio. In 1989, May dissolved its Goldwaters division and transferred its Phoenix-area stores to the Robinson's name. Shortly afterward, May combined Robinson's and May Company California into Robinsons-May. The move increased operating scale but eliminated the distinct Robinson's identity and diluted its historic upscale positioning by creating a more general department-store format. The original Robinson's flagship closed in 1993. Robinsons-May continued until the acquisition of May Department Stores by Federated Department Stores in 2005. During 2005 and 2006 the Robinsons-May chain was broken up: some stores closed, some were sold, and others became Macy's or Bloomingdale's locations. A separate Japanese venture, Robinson's Japan, had been created with Ito-Yokado and operated a store in Kasukabe, Saitama; that business was later acquired by Seven & I Holdings in 2009. The original downtown Los Angeles flagship survives in altered use, accommodating telecommunications infrastructure, offices, and ground-floor retail.
- 2009
Robinson's Japan is acquired by Seven & I
[1]The separate Japanese operation created with Ito-Yokado was acquired by Seven & I Holdings.
- 2005
Federated acquires May
[1]Federated Department Stores acquired May Department Stores, setting the stage for the dissolution of Robinsons-May.
- 1992
Robinsons-May is created
[1]Robinson's and May Company California were consolidated under the Robinsons-May banner.
- 1989
Goldwaters is absorbed
[1]May transferred its Phoenix-area Goldwaters stores into the Robinson's division.
- 1986
May Department Stores acquires the parent group
[1]May Department Stores acquired Associated Dry Goods and Robinson's.
- 1955
Associated Dry Goods affiliation
[1]Robinson's entered the Associated Dry Goods corporate group.
- 1952
Beverly Hills branch opens
[1]The company opened its second major store near Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
- 1923
Flagship expansion completed
[1]The Seventh Street building was enlarged to provide substantially more selling and operating space.
- 1915
Seventh Street flagship opens
[1]Robinson's opened its major seven-story flagship at 600 West Seventh Street.
- 1908
Hill Street extension opens
[1]The Broadway store was expanded with a five-story rear addition facing Hill Street.
Products and positioning
Upscale department store offering quality merchandise, broad selection, and refined service; later repositioned as part of the broader Robinsons-May mid-market department-store chain.
Apparel · 1883
Women's fashion
Women's merchandise was central to Robinson's identity, ranging from dresses, suits, coats, blouses, knitwear, lingerie, bathing attire, and house dresses to imported gowns and hats. The flagship included specialized fashion rooms, millinery, design services, and departments for different age groups and occasions.
Apparel · 1883
Men's and boys' furnishings
The chain sold men's and boys' clothing and furnishings, including apparel and accessories. These departments formed part of the broad full-line assortment that allowed the stores to serve multiple members of a household.
Home · 1895
Home furnishings and decorative arts
Home departments included rugs, draperies, linens, sheetings, pictures, brasses, statuary, cut glass, art porcelains, and related household merchandise. The assortment supported Robinson's positioning as an upscale store rather than a narrowly focused apparel retailer.
Accessories · 1883
Accessories and personal goods
Robinson's sold jewelry, leather goods, gloves, handkerchiefs, ribbons, parasols, umbrellas, lace goods, trimmings, hair accessories, stationery, and other personal or gift merchandise.
Services · 1895
Beauty and alteration services
The flagship offered beauty parlors, shoe shining, design assistance, alterations, customer restrooms, and other services intended to reinforce the chain's emphasis on personal service and complete shopping convenience.
Brand decisions
2005
Dismantle Robinsons-May after the Federated–May mergerM&ABackground
Federated Department Stores acquired May Department Stores, bringing Robinsons-May into a portfolio that included Macy's and other department-store operations.
Action taken
During 2005–2006, Robinsons-May stores were closed, sold, or converted to Macy's and Bloomingdale's locations.
Aftermath
The Robinson's retail lineage ended as an operating brand, although some former stores continued under successor banners.
1992
Create the Robinsons-May bannerStrategyBackground
May Department Stores controlled both Robinson's and May Company California and sought to operate them as one regional department-store business.
Action taken
The two divisions were combined under the Robinsons-May name.
Aftermath
The independent Robinson's identity disappeared, and the combined business moved toward a broader mid-market proposition. Robinsons-May was later dismantled after Federated acquired May.
1989
Fold Goldwaters into Robinson'sStrategyBackground
May Department Stores dissolved its Goldwaters division in Arizona and needed a continuing brand structure for its Phoenix-area locations.
Action taken
The Goldwaters stores were rebranded as Robinson's stores, extending the Robinson's name into Arizona.
Aftermath
The move increased the geographic scope of the Robinson's division before its later consolidation with May Company California.
Sources1 sources
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