Remember Hess's or if you were born before 1960 Hess Brothers?  Hess's was a department store that was started by Charles and Max Hess in Allentown, PA in 1897.  Max Hess came to Allentown on a business trip and saw a potential for a department store serving the area.  Hess brothers opened in 1897 on 9th and Hamilton Streets in downtown Allentown.

History
The Hess brothers continued to expand the store, acquiring adjoining properties until owning almost the entire block.  The store cosisted of several stores and was renovated to appear as one.  Max Hess Sr. died in 1922 his brother Charles continued to run the store until 1932 when Max's son Max Jr. joined the team and continued Max Sr. legacy from 1932 until 1968.  Max Jr was known as a leader in retailing.

Charles and Max made Hess brothers a shopping destination in Allentown, often with flamboyant and exciting displays and events.  Some prominent events included the annual May flower show in which the store was decorated overnight with thousands of fresh flowers.  It was reported that Max had the air conditioning turned as low as it could go to keep the flowers fresh through the night.  The store's outside was updated in 1947 and included a 45' tall neon light.

Christmas was also a special time of the year for Hess Brothers, decorated inside and out and featuring giant toy solders and a puppet show Pip the Mouse.  Celebrities were known to make appearances at the store and all seem to remember the Patio Restaurant.  The Patio was actually located in the basement and featured excellent food with the Hess's touch.  Personally I remember food served to children in small stoves and refrigerators.  It is said that the Patio Restaurant never mad a profit in all the years it was open at the flagship store.

Changes
In 1968 Max Hess Jr. sold Hess Brothers to Philip Berman who officially renamed the store to Hess's.  Berman also expanded the Hess's stores into the suburban areas surrounding Allentown.  The suburb stores were all named for the area the were located i.e.:  Hess's Westgate.  In 1979 Berman sold the Hess's chain to hotel and shopping mall developer Crown American.  Hess's bloomed through the 80's as shopping malls grew and appeared nearly everywhere.  The Hess's chain expanded to 76 stores by the early 90's.  Competition and recession brought tough times to the 97 year old icon of Allentown.

The End
Hess's closed or sold many of it's southern stores in the mid 90's to various department store chains.  Finally in 1994 the remaining 30 stores were sold off, 10 to May Department Stores and 20 to BonTon.  The flagship store in downtown Allentown sat unoccupied from 1996 to 2000 when it was torn down to make way for the Plaza at PPL Center.

Me and my memories
As a kid, I spent a lot of time there.  It seemed like a regular place for the family to go, they had everything.  The bargain basement to the enormous toy section in the 4th floor annex at Christmas time.  The Oasis snack bar had the BEST "Mexican Hot Dogs" I believe all it was was a hot dog with some sort of salsa on it.  The Patio...triple decker club sandwiches and models walking by during the meal, not to mention the strawberry pie.  The parking deck and the spiraling ramp leading out of the place, the 1st time I drove it myself I was a bit nervous.

I recall playing with "new state of the art" Atari computers, watching a video tape, and helping an old lady that fell backward down the escalator.

I worked at Hess's for several years 89-92 and I saw a part that most never did.  I worked at the main store and the South Mall store.  The main store had caverns and passage ways everywhere.  Hidden offices that the buyers and managers worked in were littered around the outside perimeter of the sales floors.  There was an employee elevator that was an old manually run elevator that led from the street level to the 8th floor.  Many may have remembered 5 floors but the Hess's building was actually two buildings.  The annex building directly behind the main building was mostly a warehouse but also served as some parts of the store and executive offices - that were on floor 3.

One could understand the age of the store, I once saw graffiti on the wall in the elevator shaft the wrote something like "Joe was here 1946" 50 years before I worked there.  I miss the store and the perceived mystery and wonder that went with it.  Even seeing it behind the scenes didn't take that away.