BRANDEIS/ DOWNTOWN OMAHA/ 50’S

As a child, I took the trolley with an adult to the downtown. By the mid 60’s Petula Clark was signing about if your blue, go downtown. Then that song became quickly dated. In the 50’s, usually a buddy and myself took the bus that had a sign DOWNTOWN. We picked the bus from Military to Cummings and into the rush of the downtown area. Kilpatrick’s, Herzberg’s, the Nebraska were there but on 16th and Douglas was  Brandeis ( Brand  eyes) the flagship store and the largest in the state with numerous other stores throughout the city and state. At its peak there were 3,000 employees as well as a movie theater.

If you took the bus, parking was not a problem. That became the one of seeds of destruction, although more parking did open up. Entering Brandeis was like entering a castle. The main floor was the crowning of high margin items that could be marked down later, so fashion mixed with jewelry, beauty aids,  stationary, men’s sportswear. The ambience came from the various perfume counters, fragrances like Este Lauder, Dorothy Gray, White Shoulders. The clerks behind those counters wore smocks, and extra make up.

The most entertaining  and engaging to me was pneumatic tubes. There was very little cash in each metal  cash register, so big items were paid by the customer whose cash or check was sucked up, out, around, to the main cashier on the mezzanine.  There was a  white guy with green shades making exchanges of money and other financial instruments. He then sent the proper amount back down the tubes to the  correct register. There was a special hum and whine a long with a bell that made the whole thing sound legitimate.

The ceiling was two stories tall so there was a grandeur to the store. If you kept  going on the first, you entered a lunch counter and if you had the money the  Pompeii Room. On both sides were mezzanine balconies with men’s gifts and a barbershop on one side  and maternity, high heels, and flats along with baby clothes on the other. The best part was chairs located by the railings so that you could watch the people below on first. It seem like it was busy and on Saturday afternoons, it was packed.

The second was a regular store. It had a bank and trendy clothes. The third, was devoted to marriage and kids clothes. Young juniors had the necessary styling and Adam’s rib did the same. Fourth was the inside of a house. Whatever you wanted, that was it. It was a gorgeous, grand display of high quality purchases. Not only were there quality brands, but the Brandeis logo was on the product. “Everything you want is at Brandeis.”

Fourth and Fifth were offices, seventh and eight were storage save at Christmas time where you could ask Santa for toys. See the Lionel train chug through the store, and watch an incredible amount of toys and kids in the aisle was warming.  This floor, again,  was the seventh or eighth  story. At any rate, it was at the very top. One time, my brother and I reaching early adulthood took a nostalgia trip to Brandeis. It was still going on. So Brandeis was born in 1881, it ended  in 1980.

In the spring of 1975, I was on a sabbatical with the downtown offices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At lunch time, we hit the streets. Things were getting a bit seedy. Men wrapped in sheets were yelling about salvation, and young boys and girls were offering to sell their services. By dusk, the downtown was vacant. Movie theatres closed for the last picture show. Since then, there  are offices in Brandeis and most every store. Small lunch counters and botiques are available and there is  beautiful lake, baseball diamond,  and the Old Market is the new downtown. All for Mr. Toads!

Brandeis was the Crossroads along with many other stores.  However, Wal-Mart’s were coming. People had second cars. Further there were numerous reasons for the decline and now the revival of a special events area located in the Central Business District or downtown. Brandeis bought Golds in Lincoln and then those two stores (and their affiliates) were sold to Younkers and Dillards also arrived in area. And so when change appears to be constant, it really does make things a bit chaotic which then forms into a new order. This gives rise to more chaos and then a set point of order again. 

If you think, I have forgotten the basement of Brandeis, get a life. The basement had a hot dog and coke for 25 cents and most clothing was marked down or originally discounted. There was a special entrance and the surroundings were more spartan. Yes of course, I shopped there. In the early days, my wife Jennifer and I lived modestly. The ceiling was a tad bit lower in the basement. So the ambience indicated that one had arrived in the people’s place.  

I don’t get around much anymore, because the downtown is about 250 miles away. When I travel, I take the Google trail and there I can see pictures of just yesterday. Yesteryears were once the present and that leads to a short trip here on planet earth where Brandeis had a heyday and many still remember it.

finis/

Prof. Joel Snell

Kirkwood College