Bamberger's
Shawn asked: "Does anyone know the history behind this store? When I was young I heard radio commercial's about this store from stations in N.Y.City but I never have been to one."
Bamberger's was short for Louis Bamberger and Company. It was based in Newark, NJ. Mr. Bamberger didn't have any heirs, so he sold it to R.H. Macy and Company in the 1920's. Macy's retained the Bamberger's name and eventually opened stand alone stores, that anchored the downtown shopping areas, in Morristown, NJ and Plainfield, NJ. Just about every mall in New Jersey was anchored by "Bam's". Macy's opened also Bamberger stores in malls in the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas, in Christiana, DE and in Nanuet, NY.
Bam's was my very first credit card and it was not accepted at Macy's and vice versa, so those of us who shopped at both stores had to carry both cards. (I seem to recall that they only accepted their own cards until the late 1980's. The two cards were eventually accepted at both stores.) In the New York area, radio and television commercials used to say "At Macy's and Bamberger's, etc., etc. Newspaper ads in the New York Times (which widely circulates in New Jersey) and other New York based newspapers were for Macy's only. Newspaper ads for New Jersey based newspapers (and in all the other markets where Bamberger's operated) were just for Bamberger's. (This included New Jersey newspapers that circulated in New York.) (It's interesting that the Thanksgiving parade was always known as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and not the Macy's Bamberger's Thanksgiving Day parade.) Bam's was known for it's customer service.
The once elegant Newark store was known for it's holiday widow displays. It started to decline after Newark was hit by riots in 1967. It was a mere shadow of it's former self, by the time it was shuttered as part of Macy's bankruptcy proceeding in the 1980's. Except for a handful of departments, it basically had become one huge clearance center. (I work in Newark and was a regular shopper there.) (The stand alone stores in Morristown and Plainfield, and one store in the Baltimore area were also closed.) Macy's eliminated the Bamberger's name shortly before the bankruptcy filing. Restaurant's at Bamberger's were called Louis B's, in honor of the stores founder, Louis Bamberger. The Louis B's name was retained after the stores were converted into Macy's. Louis B's was known for its French onion soup. As far as I know, all Louis B's restaurants "closed for renovations" during the bankruptcy proceeding and never reopened. (I'm not aware of any Macy's store in New Jersey that even has a restaurant.) Bam's offered " complimentary" standard gift wrap until right before the bankruptcy filing. Bamberger's color scheme was green. It's credit card was green. It's shopping bags and gift boxes were green. And, it's standard gift wrap was green. It was a kind of sort of forest green. Macy's color scheme was a kind of sort of red. The housewares department at both Macy's and Bamberger's was (and still is) called "The Cellar". Bamberger's had it's own delivery trucks (complete with the Bamberger's name) until the stores were changed to Macy's. The deliverymen's uniforms also had the Bamberger's name embroidered on them. The Bamberger's name (on the stores, shopping bags, uniforms etc., etc.) was written in script instead of block letters. The last time that I got a furniture delivery from Macy's, they contracted it out to a local mover.
Wow, I'm surprised that I remember this much about Bam's. Thanks for asking. It was nice to take a trip down memory lane!
Mike
). We used Purex, Tide, & Wisk from the time they were introduced until they were discontinued. 
