Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MONTGOMERY WARD
MONTGOMERY WARD. See: KENNEDY MALL
Montgomery Ward was founded by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872. Ward had conceived of the idea of a dry goods mail-order business in Chicago, Illinois, after several years of working as a traveling salesman among rural customers. He observed that rural customers often wanted "city" goods but were often victimized by monopolists who offered no guarantee of quality. Ward also believed that by eliminating intermediaries, he could cut costs and make a wide variety of goods available to rural customers, who could purchase goods by mail and pick them up at the nearest train station.
On December 28, 2000, the company, after lower-than-expected sales during the Christmas season, announced it was going out of business and would close its remaining 250 retail outlets and lay off its 37,000 employees. All the stores closed within weeks of the announcement. The subsequent liquidation was at the time the largest retail bankruptcy liquidation in U.S. history. All of Montgomery Ward was liquidated by the end of May 2001.
The 1929 Dubuque City Directory listed 520-22 Main.
The 1941 through 1959 Dubuque City Directory listed 753-99 Main.
The 1966 Dubuque City Directory listed 8th and Main.
The 1972 through 1977 Dubuque City Directory listed 555 J. J. Kennedy Road. ---
Source:
Montgomery Ward--Wikipedia