Macy's Herald Square

Macy's Herald Square is the flagship department store of the Macy's chain and one of the most recognizable retail landmarks in New York City. The store occupies a large city block around West 34th Street and Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan, between Seventh Avenue, Broadway, West 34th Street, and West 35th Street, although small pre-existing properties historically interrupted parts of the block. It is also associated with the corporate headquarters of Macy's, Inc. The Herald Square store opened in 1902 after R. H. Macy & Co. moved its principal New York operation north from the former Ladies' Mile shopping district. The relocation placed the retailer at a developing commercial crossroads and required the company to overcome the considerable distance from the established shopping area around 14th Street. Macy's reportedly used a steam wagonette to transport shoppers between the old and new locations during the transition. The original building was designed by Theodore de Lemos and A. W. Cordes and constructed by the Fuller Construction Company. Its facade combines a Palladian-inspired composition with prominent sculptural details, including caryatids at the principal 34th Street entrance. The store expanded in stages during the twentieth century. Additions designed by Robert D. Kohn were completed in 1924, 1928, and 1931, with the later work incorporating increasingly Art Deco characteristics. The completed complex came to occupy approximately 2.2 million square feet, making it the largest department store in the United States by floor area and one of the largest department stores in the world. Several historic wooden escalators remain in operation, adding to the building's architectural and experiential significance. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Macy's Herald Square operates as a broad-based department store rather than as a single-product brand. Its merchandise has included apparel for women, men, and children; footwear; accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; jewelry; home furnishings; furniture; bedding; kitchen products; luggage; seasonal goods; toys; and gift merchandise. The store also serves as a platform for fashion presentations, temporary retail concepts, holiday programming, and brand activations. Its large scale enables Macy's to combine conventional department-store shopping with destination experiences tied to New York tourism and cultural events. The location is particularly associated with Macy's animated holiday windows, Santaland, the Macy's Flower Show, and the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, whose route ends at or near the Herald Square store. The store has also hosted public art and fashion-related displays, including the 2007 Art Under Glass exhibition. In partnership with technology retailer b8ta, Macy's has used a section known as The Market @ Macy's for rotating presentations of emerging brands. Macy's began a major renovation of the flagship in 2012. The project, completed in 2015, was intended to modernize customer areas while preserving the building's role as a historic retail destination. Subsequent proposals sought to increase the economic use of the property, including possible hotel or office towers and a rooftop park. In 2019 and 2020, Macy's publicized plans for a large office tower above the existing store, although the future of those plans is not established here. The store has also faced the broader pressures affecting department stores, including changing shopping habits, competition from digital commerce, and interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macy's Herald Square developed from the expansion of R. H. Macy & Co., a New York retailer whose origins trace to Rowland Hussey Macy's earlier dry-goods ventures. After unsuccessful stores in Massachusetts, Macy established R. H. Macy Dry Goods on Sixth Avenue at 14th Street in 1858. The business later moved to 18th Street and Broadway, in the Ladies' Mile shopping district, where it operated for almost four decades. Macy died in 1877, and ownership eventually passed through the Macy family. In 1895, Isidor Straus and Nathan Straus acquired the company. The Straus brothers moved the flagship north to Herald Square, opening the new store in 1902. The location was strategically ambitious: it was farther north than the established dry-goods stores, so Macy's used a steam wagonette to help carry customers between the old shopping district and the new site. The initial building was designed by Theodore de Lemos and A. W. Cordes and featured a monumental facade with a principal entrance on West 34th Street. The property grew through additions that allowed Macy's to occupy most of the surrounding block. Expansion work designed by Robert D. Kohn opened in 1924, 1928, and 1931. These additions created the large complex known today and introduced stronger Art Deco elements into the later portions. A small building known as the Million Dollar Corner remained at one corner under a lease arrangement; its unusual relationship with the department store became part of the site's history. The complex also retained distinctive wooden escalators, some of which continue to operate. During the twentieth century, Herald Square became a defining example of the urban American department store. Its size allowed Macy's to present a wide range of merchandise under one roof, while its location made it accessible to residents, commuters, tourists, and visitors attending events in Midtown. The store's public identity expanded beyond retail through holiday windows, in-store seasonal attractions, fashion displays, and its connection to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The building's architectural and historical importance was formally recognized when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. By the early twenty-first century, the building contained approximately 2.2 million square feet and attracted millions of visitors annually. Macy's began a comprehensive renovation in 2012, with Studio V Architecture serving as master-plan architect and Kevin Kennon Architects working on exterior and entry elements. The work was completed in 2015, although the company continued to alter departments and customer spaces as retail conditions changed. Macy's later considered ways to generate additional value from the site, including hotel or office towers and a rooftop park. A 2019 proposal called for a substantial office building above the store; an updated 2020 concept described a taller tower with additional office space, a sky lobby, and neighborhood improvements. The status of that development proposal is not confirmed in the supplied material. The store has also experienced controversies and disruptions. In 2014, Macy's settled claims brought by the New York Attorney General involving racial profiling and false detention of customers, agreeing to a monetary penalty and nondiscrimination measures. In 2020, the pandemic forced a temporary closure, while protest-related attempted looting caused limited physical damage after the store had been boarded up. These events illustrated the tension between Herald Square's symbolic status as a major public destination and the operational and economic pressures facing large department stores.

• 2020

  Pandemic and protest disruption

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The store was temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and later boarded up during New York protests, when an attempted looting incident was thwarted.

• 2015

  Flagship renovation completed

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The major renovation was completed in November, followed by continuing adjustments to departments and customer areas.

• 2012

  Comprehensive renovation begins

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Macy's began the first full renovation of the flagship store, updating the building for contemporary retail use.

• 1978

  Building receives national historic designations

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.

• 1931

  Seventh Avenue building completes the present complex

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  A final major addition designed by Robert D. Kohn completed the principal store complex.

• 1928

  Second Kohn-designed expansion opens

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Further construction expanded the Herald Square complex and continued its architectural evolution.

• 1924

  First major Kohn-designed expansion opens

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  An expansion designed by Robert D. Kohn increased the store's footprint.

• 1902

  Herald Square flagship opens

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Macy's opened its new flagship at West 34th Street and Broadway in the Herald Square area of Manhattan.

• 1895

  Straus family acquires Macy's

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Isidor Straus and Nathan Straus acquired the company, setting the stage for the move to Herald Square.

• 1858

  R. H. Macy Dry Goods opens in New York

  [1]Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Rowland Hussey Macy established a New York dry-goods store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street, creating the business that later became the Macy's department-store chain.

A mass-market-to-premium department store presented as both a full-line retailer and a major New York visitor attraction, combining broad merchandise selection with historic architecture, seasonal spectacles, and destination events.

• Department store retail · 1902

  Full-line department-store merchandise

  The flagship carries a broad Macy's assortment spanning women's, men's, and children's apparel; footwear; handbags; accessories; cosmetics; fragrance; jewelry; watches; luggage; and gift merchandise. Its role is to provide a large multi-category shopping destination rather than specialize in one product segment.

• Home retail · 1902

  Home and lifestyle merchandise

  Home categories have included furniture, bedding, bath products, kitchen and dining goods, decorative items, and related household merchandise. These departments extend the store's traditional department-store model beyond fashion and support its positioning as a one-stop retail destination.

• Emerging-brand marketplace

  The Market @ Macy's

  Developed through a partnership with technology retailer b8ta, The Market @ Macy's provides rotating pop-up spaces for newer brands and products. The concept gives the flagship a more flexible format for discovery-oriented retail and temporary brand presentations.

• Seasonal experience

  Macy's Santaland

  Santaland is a Christmas-season attraction featuring holiday scenery, toys, and opportunities for children to meet and be photographed with Santa Claus. It is an experiential extension of the store's seasonal merchandising and visitor programming.

• 2014

  Racial-profiling and false-detention settlement

  Macy's agreed to a $650,000 penalty proposed by the New York Attorney General to resolve claims involving racial profiling and false detention of nearly two dozen customers at the Herald Square store. The settlement included commitments to policies intended to ensure equal treatment and additional safeguards against discriminatory practices.

  Source

Read more

• 2007Art Under Glass

  United States

  Macy's used the Herald Square windows for a public art exhibition during the summer and fashion-week period. Participating artists and designers included Misaki Kawai, Anna Sui, and John F. Simon Jr.

  Outcome. Extended the store's window-display tradition into contemporary art and fashion programming.

  Source
• Animated holiday window displays

  United States

  The Herald Square store presents themed animated Christmas windows on the Broadway side each holiday season. Six windows use detailed scenery, moving figures, and changing narratives to attract shoppers and large numbers of public viewers. Since 2012, Standard Transmission Productions has designed, fabricated, and animated the displays.

  Outcome. Established one of the store's most visible annual destination traditions.

  Source
• Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

  United States

  Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade is closely associated with the Herald Square flagship, where the parade ends. The event links the store brand to a nationally recognized public spectacle and seasonal retail period.

  Outcome. Reinforced Macy's national visibility and Herald Square's role as a holiday destination.

  Source
• Macy's Flower Show

  United States

  The annual spring Flower Show transforms parts of the store with coordinated floral installations designed to bloom as they are installed. The program functions as both a public attraction and a seasonal merchandising event.

  Outcome. Created a recurring spring destination event at the flagship.

  Source
• Macy's Believe

  United States

  The holiday Believe campaign uses seasonal participation and fundraising to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

  Outcome. Connected holiday activity at Macy's stores with charitable fundraising.

  Source

• 2020

  Update the air-rights development proposalStrategy

  Background

  Macy's continued evaluating a mixed-use development above the flagship amid pressure on traditional department-store retail.

  Action taken

  The updated concept increased the proposed office area and height and added a sky lobby and public-realm improvements.

  Aftermath

  The supplied material does not confirm whether the proposal proceeded to construction.

  Source

• 2019

  Propose an office tower above the flagshipStrategy

  Background

  Macy's explored ways to increase the economic productivity of its large, centrally located real-estate asset while retaining the department store.

  Action taken

  The company announced plans for a 1.2-million-square-foot office building above the existing store.

  Aftermath

  The concept was revised in 2020 to describe a tower of more than 900 feet and approximately 1.5 million square feet, including a sky lobby and nearby-area improvements. Completion is not established in the supplied sources.

  Source

• 2012

  Undertake a comprehensive flagship renovationStrategy

  Background

  The historic store required modernization while remaining a major retail and visitor destination.

  Action taken

  Macy's began a full renovation with Studio V Architecture as master-plan architect and Kevin Kennon Architects handling exterior and entryway design.

  Aftermath

  The project was completed in November 2015, after which Macy's continued to modify the interior to reflect customer demand and retail economics.

  Reported renovation cost. $400 million (2012–2015)

  Source

1. 1Macy's Herald Squareen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Macy's Herald Square official store pagel.macys.com