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Sanger–Harris
Company type	Department store
Industry	Retail
Founded	1961
Defunct	1987
Fate	Merged with Foley's
Successor	Foley's; Macy's
Headquarters	Dallas, Texas
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, electronics, jewelry, beauty products, housewares
Parent	Federated Department Stores, Inc.

Sanger–Harris (or, Sanger Harris as it later appeared) was a department store chain from 1961 to 1987. It was formed by Federated Department Stores in 1961 from two Dallas chains, Sanger Brothers and A. Harris and Co., that dated from the 19th century. The firm merged with the chain Foley's in 1987.

History

Sanger–Harris of Dallas, Texas, was the result of the 1961 merger of then four-unit Sanger Brothers Dry Goods Company of Dallas, founded in 1868 by the five Sanger brothers^[1] and acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1951; and the two-unit A. Harris and Company of Dallas, founded in 1887 and acquired by Federated in 1961.

In 1965 the company built a new downtown Dallas store to replace the flagship stores of the two companies and, so the business legend goes, turned down the opportunity to move into a new shopping center called NorthPark Center. During the late 1970s, the chain dropped the hyphen between 'Sanger' and 'Harris' (rumored as a way to differentiate from hometown rival Neiman-Marcus), and continued as an upper-moderate shopping destination. In January 1987 it was merged into the Foley's division; the combined division was sold to The May Department Store Company the next year. Most locations are now Macy's since 2006 when Federated Stores bought out The May Department Stores Company in 2005.

Architecture

Sanger Bros. logo before merger

Sanger–Harris stores are known for their column and mosaic architecture.^[2] The first building to feature the white columns and mosaic is the Downtown Dallas store. The Sanger–Harris branch stores that were built after 1965 all feature this design. The mosaic is now hidden on the Sanger–Harris Building in Downtown Dallas but the white columns are still visible and the building is still a Downtown Dallas landmark. Most of the former Sanger–Harris branch stores still feature this design today.

Locations

Early stores in operation by 1961


Downtown Elm St./Lamar St./Main St. block Dallas	1870s–1965 (Sanger Bros. until 1961)	This store was open until the new replacement Sanger–Harris location opened at Pacific/Akard in 1965; this building is now the El Centro College campus of the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD).
Downtown Main and Akard St. (Kirby Building) Dallas	?–1965 (A. Harris and Co. until 1961)	This store was open until the new replacement Sanger–Harris location opened at Pacific/Akard in 1965; it is now an apartment building.
A. Harris Center Beckley Ave. at Kiest Blvd. Dallas	?–1975 (A. Harris and Co. until 1961)	This store was retained as a Sanger–Harris location until the opening of the Red Bird Mall (later Southwest Center) location; it is now Nolan Estes Plaza, part of the Dallas Independent School District.
Highland Park Village Highland Park	(See the other Stores section below for more.)
Big Town Mesquite
Preston Center Dallas
Plymouth Park Irving

Stores operating by 1987


Downtown (flagship store) Pacific and Akard St. Dallas	1965–1987 (Foley's until 1990)	Foley's retained this location until it closed in 1990; it is now the headquarters for Dallas Area Rapid Transit.	Etching on pillar outside the former Sanger Harris downtown Dallas store location. This logo was used initially after the Sanger Brothers–A. Harris & Co. merger, prior to the eventual introduction of the one at the top right of this page. This etching was retained by DART.
Highland Park Village Highland Park	1961–1987 (Sanger Bros. until 1961)	This location was retained by Foley's. The building was later a Sakowitz location. Now other retailer(s) occupy the space.
Big Town Mesquite	1961–1987 (Sanger Bros. until 1961)	This location closed after the Foley's merger; it was torn down when the mall was razed.
Preston Center Dallas	1961–1987 (Sanger Bros. until 1961) (Foley's until 2001)	Foley's retained this location until they moved to NorthPark Center. It was then subdivided for occupancy by multiple tenants.
Plymouth Park Irving	1961–1987 (Sanger Bros. until 1961)	This location was closed (Foley's moved to a former Joske's store at Irving Mall). The property was sold to a neighboring church and the building was later razed.
Six Flags Mall Arlington	1970–1987 (Foley's until 2005)	Foley's closed this location, which was torn down in late 2016 along with much of the mall property.	"Dead Mall" tours: interior entrance, 2011, exterior entrance, 2011, interior entrance, November 2016 (just before demolition work began)
Town East Mesquite	1971–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's to present)	Foley's retained this store, which is now a Macy's.
Valley View Center Dallas	1973–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's until 2008)	Foley's, and later Macy's, retained this location initially. It has since closed and was demolished, 2017–19.	Sanger–Harris mosaic at the Valley View Center Mall in Dallas, Texas
Southwest Center (previously Red Bird) Dallas	1975–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's until 2017)	This location was retained by Foley's and Macy's until 2017 when the store closed.
Hulen Mall Fort Worth	1977–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's to present)	This location was retained by Foley's and Macy's.
North Hills Mall North Richland Hills	1979–1987 (Foley's until 2001)	Foley's closed this location when it moved to nearby North East Mall. The building was torn down when mall property was razed.
Collin Creek Mall Plano	1980–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's until 2017)	This location was retained by Foley's and Macy's until 2017 when the store closed.	October 2019, it was demolished in a new development replacing the mall.
Sanger Harris Plaza Tyler	1982–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's until 2017)	This location was retained by Foley's and Macy's until 2017 when the store closed.	Remodeled into a Hobby Lobby and Mardels.
Southroads Tulsa	?–1987 (Foley's until ?)	This location was retained by Foley's initially, but the store and mall were torn down and the property redeveloped. Foley's relocated to Promenade Mall across the street.
Woodland Hills Tulsa	1982–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's to present)	This location was retained by Foley's and Macy's.	This was the last store to have the mosaics. This was also the only store outside of Texas to have mosaics. They are still intact on the north facade.
Crossroads Oklahoma City	1986–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's until 2008)	Originally opened as John A. Brown 1974–1984, Foley's 1986-2005, and later Macy's )2005-2008.) retained this location.	As of early 2008 it has since closed, was being used as an auto parts warehouse for a local car dealership. As of early 2022, is being converted for use as a private charter School.
Quail Springs Oklahoma City	1986–1987 (Foley's until 2006; Macy's until 2016)	Originally opened as John A. Brown 1980–1984, Foley's 1986-2005, and later Macy's (2005-2016.) retained this location until February 2016 when it was closed. This structure was later demolished in spring 2017 to make room for a free-standing Lifetime Fitness building to be built in the store's original parking lot. The former upper-level entrance into the mall is now another direct outside entrance to the mall (the original direct outside entrance is just a few feet away and still in use). The former lower level has also been demolished and filled in. The spot where the department store building itself once stood is now a parking lot for both the mall and Lifetime Fitness.
Foothills Tucson	1985–1987 (Levy's until 1985; Foley's until 1994)	Retained by Foley's initially, mall now repurposed with outlets
El Con Tucson	1985–1987 (Levy's until 1985 Foley's until 1997; Robinsons-May until 2006; Macy's until 2007)	Retained by Foley's initially, later a Robinsons-May, then a Macy's, now demolished for a Walmart Supercenter
Coronado Center Albuquerque	1984–1987 (Foley's until 1988)	Foley's initially retained this store, later closed the store, then returned still later to another space in the mall (formerly Goldwater's and May D&F); now this location is a JCPenney.

In popular culture

In early episodes of Dallas, the downtown Dallas store was used for filming in two different storylines:

When a lowly young woman agrees to give up her baby to Sue Ellen (played by Linda Gray), Sue Ellen visits a department store to shop for baby clothes and related items. Pam (Victoria Principal) sees Sue Ellen and wonders why she is there. Sue Ellen tries to pass it off as getting baby items to give to charity. Later Sue Ellen can be seen walking in front of the downtown Dallas store, with bags in her hand clearly displaying the Sanger Harris logo and design. Then, she goes to drop off the bags with the mother and finds J.R. (Larry Hagman) there instead.
Pam decides she wants to work outside the home, visits "the store" for a job interview with her friend Liz Craig (Barbara Babcock); the downtown Dallas store facade can clearly be seen as Pam approaches the front door of the store. After Pam snags the job, later views of the downtown Dallas store's side entrance on Akard St. can be seen used to introduce scenes of Pam at work.

In the 1986 movie True Stories, a fashion show takes place at the mall in Virgil, Texas. As the scene is about to begin, the camera pans by a mall's exterior. A Sanger–Harris store building can be seen, among others. This exterior actually belonged to Big Town Mall in Mesquite.
During Dallas showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, audience members would sing the Sanger–Harris jingle "You can always tell a Sanger Harris man". This was done when Dr. Frank-N-Furter came down the elevator in heels and fishnet stockings.
Prank call comedian Lucius Tate often pretended to be a collection agent from Sanger–Harris when calling his victims.

Bibliography

Rosenberg, Leon Joseph (1978). Sangers': Pioneer Texas Merchants. Texas State Historical Association. ISBN 0-87611-037-5.
Meyer, Lasker M. (2011). Foley's (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-7928-9.

References

^ Goldman, Kay. "Isaac Sanger." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 2, edited by William J. Hausman. German Historical Institute. Last modified July 25, 2012.
^ "Sanger–Harris, Dallas, Texas". www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-03-11.