Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York–based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, also housed its headquarters and featured an elegant executive dining room on the top floor.
History
The Department Store Years
Rufus Sibley, Alexander Lindsay, and John Curr were employees at the Hogg, Brown & Taylor dry-goods store in Boston. Wishing to go into business for themselves, they investigated potential sites and settled on the growing city of Rochester. Their first storefront, often called "the Boston store" by locals, opened in 1868.[1] When the company opened a new 12-story, 23-acre (9 ha) flagship store in the Granite Building, it was among the five largest department stores in the country at the time.[2]
The Sibley Building
In 1905, after the disastrous 1904 "Sibley fire" gutted the Granite Building and much of Rochester's dry goods district,[3] Sibley's moved to its final location, the Sibley Building at the northeast corner of East Main Street and Clinton Avenue.[4] By 1939, Sibley's was the largest department store between New York City and Chicago.[4]
With the postwar growth of the suburbs, Sibley's expanded outside the city in 1955 with its first branch location at Eastway Plaza in Penfield. The chain would eventually grow to 15 locations throughout the Rochester and Buffalo region. The company was acquired by the Associated Dry Goods Corporation in 1957.
In 1962, competitors B. Forman Co. and McCurdy's collaborated to construct Midtown Plaza, right across Main Street from Sibley's. Sibley's was connected to the new mall by an enclosed third-floor walkway, part of the Rochester Skyway system. In 1969, Sibley's opened a location at 400 S. Salina Street in downtown Syracuse.
The 1980s saw the gradual downsizing of Sibley's. In 1980, the entire fifth floor of the store was cleared out and leased to General Motors Rochester Products Division for use as offices. The in-store bakery closed in 1980, followed by the grocery store in 1981.[5] The parent company of Sibley's was acquired by May Department Stores in 1986, and by 1988 only three floors of the building were open for shopping. Sibley's downtown Buffalo location closed in 1987,[6] followed by the Syracuse location in 1989. Management attempted cost-cutting measures, which only served to drive away what few customers were left.
Kaufmann's-Sibley's transition logo
Sibley's downtown Rochester store closed on January 31, 1990,[7] and its name was merged into May Company's Kaufmann's brand. Most of its suburban locations, after converting to Kaufmann's, became part of Macy's by 2006.
Monroe Community College – Damon City Campus calls Sibley Building Home
Now under a new name, Sibley Square,[10] the iconic Sibley Building is undergoing a major overhaul, transforming the historic site into a combination of retail, commercial (offices), and upscale residential units. The renovations seek to combine the historic treasure of this architectural space while also creating a sleek, modern atmosphere for today's standards.
