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Higbee Company Department Store
Higbee’s department store was the stage for three scenes in A Christmas
Story. The first is the opening scene in which Ralphie first spies the
Red
Ryder BB Gun. The large glowing “HIGBEE” sign is unmistakable.
The
second scene is the parade just before Ralphie goes to see Santa. The
parade scene was filmed just outside Higbee’s in Cleveland’s public
square
at 3 AM in the morning. The final scene is Ralphie and Randy’s visit
to
see Santa which was filmed inside Higbee’s. Higbee’s kept the Santa
slide
that was made especailly for the movie and used it for several years
after
the movie’s release.
Higbee’s was the first department store in the greater Cleveland area.
The 12-floor Higbee Company building was the anchor for Cleveland’s
Public
Square from its open in 1931 until its eventual close on Monday, Jan.
7,
2002. Higbee’s operated as Dillard’s between 1992 and its close.
When
Higbee’s closed it was the last of the downtown department stores in
Cleveland. While the store is closed the building still stands and is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Higbee’s is named for Edwin Converse Higbee. Edwin Higbee opened the
Hower & Higbee Dry Goods store in 1860 with partner John G. Hower.
After,
Hower’s passing, Edwin Higbee became President and the name of the
store
was changed to the Higbee Company. Edwin Higbee served as President
from
1897 until his death in January 1906. The company lived on and opened
its
department store is 1931. In the decade of the 1960s, Higbee's
established
6 stores in the Cleveland suburbs. The profitable chain was sold in
1987
to Dillard Dept. Stores and Edward J. DeBartolo. At that time Higbee's
was
the area's largest sales volume retailer of high-end fashion
merchandise,
with 14 stores in northeast Ohio. When DeBartolo sold his share in
July
1992, the chain was renamed Dillard's.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
 Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Public Square, 1890s
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The monument visible in A Christmas Story that sits opposite
of Higbee’s in Public Square is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.
It is the Cleveland’s major Civil War memorial. Dedicated on 4 July
1894 the monument consists of an elevated base containing a tablet room.
The base is surmounted by a column capped with a 15' high Statue of Liberty,
bringing the total height of the structure to 125'. Surrounding the exterior
of the base are 4 groupings of bronze sculpture depicting various Civil
War battle scenes. |
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