May Company California

This article is about the Los Angeles-based department store chain that was eventually merged to form Robinsons-May. For the St. Louis-based holding company, see The May Department Stores Company.

May Company California
FormerlyA. Hamburger & Sons
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryDepartment store
FoundedOctober 29, 1881; 142 years ago (1881-10-29) in Los Angeles, California as A. Hamburger & Sons, Inc.
FounderAsher Hamburger
DefunctJanuary 31, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-01-31)
FateMerged with J.W. Robinson's
SuccessorRobinsons-May (1993)
Macy's (2006)
HeadquartersLos Angeles, 8th & Broadway (1908–1993),
Laurel Plaza, North Hollywood (1983–1993)
Area served
Southern California and Las Vegas
ProductsClothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
ParentMay Department Stores Company

May Company California was an American chain of department stores operating in Southern California and Nevada, with headquarters at its flagship Downtown Los Angeles store until 1983[1] when it moved them to North Hollywood. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California subsidiary, J. W. Robinson's, in 1993 to form Robinsons-May.

May Company California was established in 1923 when May acquired A. Hamburger & Sons Inc..[2] (founded in 1881 by Asher Hamburger). The company operated exclusively in Southern California until 1989 when May Department Stores had dissolved Goldwater's, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and transferred its Las Vegas, Nevada store to May Company California.

Two well-known stores were the flagship Downtown store on 8th Street between Broadway and Hill streets, and the May Company Wilshire at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The 1926 garage building at 9th and Hill Streets was one of the nation's first parking structures (Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1001). The Wilshire location has been featured in several vintage films, including Behave Yourself!

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference lat-1983oct26 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Pitt, Dale (2000). Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. University of California Press. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-520-20530-7. OCLC 873134356. Retrieved February 4, 2009.