Dayton's

Dayton's
IndustryDepartment store
FoundedJune 24, 1902; 122 years ago (1902-06-24)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
FounderGeorge Draper Dayton
DefunctJanuary 12, 2001; 23 years ago (January 12, 2001)
FateLocations rebranded as Marshall Field's in 2001 Downtown Flagship redeveloped as The Dayton's Project in 2017
SuccessorMarshall Field's (2001–2006)
Macy's (2006-present)
HeadquartersMinneapolis, Minnesota
OwnerThe Dayton Family (until 1969)
ParentDayton-Hudson Corporation
(later Target Corporation)
(after 1969)
SubsidiariesTarget

Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high-end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years.[1] Although it was regionally known as a high-quality shopping destination, Dayton's is best remembered for starting the discount shopping chain Target. The company was also instrumental in the history of shopping malls, opening the first indoor shopping mall in the United StatesSouthdale Center in Edina, Minnesota, in 1956.

In 1969, Dayton's merged with Michigan department store chain Hudson's to form the Dayton-Hudson Corporation. The Target division of the company eventually grew so large that in 2000 the corporation was renamed the Target Corporation. Dayton-Hudson had acquired Chicago-based Marshall Field's in 1990 and Target rebranded Dayton's stores as Marshall Field's stores in 2001 in an effort to focus more on discount retailing. In 2004, Marshall Field's was purchased by May Department Stores, which subsequently merged in 2005 with Macy's, turning the remaining Marshall Field's stores into Macy's department stores.

For most of its history, Dayton's was owned and operated by the Dayton family. The company's mark on Minnesota remains with three Twin Cities shopping malls created by Dayton's, Southdale, Rosedale, Ridgedale, with the original location still standing.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ "History of Dayton Hudson Corporation – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  2. ^ Brady, Tim; El-Hai, Jack; Gihring, Tim; Hutton, Rachel; Kogan, Judy; Ratelle Leach, Carol; Lewis, Courtney; Rosengren, John (2006-11-14). "40 Moments That Changed Minnesota". Minnesota Monthly. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  3. ^ Ode, Kim (2015-09-08). "From Dayton's to the Dome, some names never change – at least if you've lived here forever". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  4. ^ Prather, Shannon (2017-06-28). "Historians pick through former downtown Daytons". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-29.