In a November 1913 newspaper advertisement, the store boasted that “Each week shows a marked increase in sales the popularity of our Basement Store is growing the bargains are being appreciated practically every day something new is being added to the bargain list our Basement Store is a complete organization within itself” (Cincinnati Post, November 18, 1913, p. Called the “Low-Price Basement Store,” it had its own direct entrances on both Seventh Street and Shillito Place (formerly called George Street). Perhaps the most popular attraction of the 1913 remodeling was the opening of a bargain basement store. Quite possibly, it was at this time that the store completed a seventh-floor addition to the original six-floor building. In turn, the floored-in areas of the old atrium provided more sales floor space. As part of what appears to have been a fireproofing plan, the six-floor open rotunda, or atrium, was enclosed. In 1913, James Griffith and Sons undertook a massive renovation of Shillito’s downtown store. Graduating in 1911, he joined the family business. Stewart’s son, John Shillito II, meanwhile, attended Harvard University. The department store even telegraphed customer orders for goods from Europe. Shillito’s catered to its customers, delivering merchandise to their homes via wagons pulled by beautiful Palomino horses. The John Shillito Company was an innovator and a trendsetter. Courtesy, Lawrence Brand Collection, Kenton County Public Library, Covington. Shillito’s, Seventh and Race Streets, Cincinnati, circa late 1920s.
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