(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Coming up... in the heart of downtown Chicago stood a store where dreams came true, Marshall Field and Company.

- Marshall Field and Chicago, those were synonymous things.

- It was a source of Chicago pride.

- [Narrator] For 150 years, Field's was hailed as the cathedral of all stores.

- Beautiful things to look at, beautiful things to buy.

- The newest designer gown, the newest pair of shoes, the bag you absolutely must have.

- [Narrator] It was a retail paradise where fancy met fantasy, and every floor promised new possibility.

- And it would inspire people, it would cause them to shop with dignity.

- [Narrator] At Field's, millions of visitors, young and old, made lifetime memories, and shopped till they dropped.

- It wasn't just a department store.

It was the department store.

- [Narrator] Marshall Field's, next on "Chicago Stories."

(contemplative music) (upbeat music continues) (Narrator) "Meet me under the clock."

In Chicago, that could only mean one place.

Marshall Field and Company's flagship department store on State Street.

- You ever been to Marshall Field?

- Well, what else is there to do in Chicago?

- Marshall Field's meant a fantasy, a dream.

- [Narrator] Encompassing an entire square city block, Field's promised the ultimate shopping experience.

- It was a whole apparatus that made it happen.

The store that really took seriously the idea that the customer is always right.

- [Narrator] Marshall Field and Company was more than a store.

It was a Chicago institution that became a cornerstone of the city's identity.

And that legacy began with an ordinary man with an extraordinary vision.

- My great-great grandfather, he'd been taught hard work because his parents were farmers, and so he knew how to struggle for money.

Once he had a goal, nothing ever stood in his way.

- [Narrator] At 21 years old, Marshall Field I wanted more than life in his small hometown of Conway, Massachusetts could offer.

- He migrated to Chicago, which in those days was the Wild West, because he felt that Chicago had a great future.

- [Narrator] Field arrived in 1856 to a booming city of dirt roads and plenty of promise.

He landed a job in a general store and rose from clerk to partner in just four years thanks to his uncanny knack for sales.

- A testimony to how talented and hardworking he was.

- He was very savvy with money.

There was also his attention to listening to women and what their needs were.

- [Narrator] Chicago was fertile ground for the retail visionary.

The city was growing, along with consumer desires.

- There's the combination of mass production and extensive fast transportation networks that are really what leads to the arrival of the big department stores.

- [Narrator] The king of retail at the time was Potter Palmer.

- And Potter Palmer did some things that were very innovative for a dry goods business.

- [Narrator] In the 1800s, dry goods stores were a far cry from luxury shopping.

- It was buyer beware.

You would haggle with the prices.

And if you ordered something and just changed your mind when you got home, you're outta luck.

Returns were not a part of everyday business.

- [Narrator] But Potter Palmer turned retail on its ear by offering customers innovative concepts like money-back guarantees and one price, no haggling policies.

- Potter Palmer felt that the way to really succeed in business was to take shopping and turn it into a pleasurable, leisure time activity.

- [Narrator] Palmer was impressed with Field, and recruited the retail upstart along with his partner Levi Leiter.

Their store tallied $8 million in sales their first year.

By 1867, when Palmer sold his stake to focus on his booming real estate business, 33-year-old Field was poised to step in.

Field leased a dazzling new building from Palmer, a five-story marble palace at the corner of State and Washington Streets, marking the beginning of the iconic Field's footprint that would stand for centuries to come.

Field, Leiter and Company launched on October 12th, 1868 with great fanfare.

- The legend is that Marshall Field and Levi Leiter stood at the doorway, and there was a rose for every woman and a cigar for every man.

They're really making it a place where the customer feels really special.

It's a huge change in how people shopped.

(ominous music) (fire roars) - [Narrator] But on October 8th, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire tore through the city and threatened to incinerate their retail dreams.

- They're putting merchandise in wagons to pull it out of the path of the fire, and they're hanging wet blankets out the window.

- [Narrator] Despite near ruin, heroic employees had managed to salvage about $200,000 worth of goods, and Field and Leiter opened just weeks later in a trolley barn determined to rebuild.

- Everyone needed stuff and Marshall Field's was there, and that's how people saw Field's.

They were ready for them, even when they had suffered a tragedy themselves.

- [Narrator] The team reopened two years later in grand fashion, and after a second fire, they purchased an even bigger building for $750,000, a monument to their vision.

(intriguing music) But the strength each partner showed during adverse times eventually led to conflict over the direction of the business.

In 1881, Field bought Leiter out.

At 47 years old, Field was now at the helm of a retail empire, one that encompassed both his namesake store on State Street and a booming, warehoused, wholesale division started almost two decades earlier.

- In Marshall Field's earliest days, they were predominantly a wholesale business.

Most of their sales would've been to other local businesses or traveling salespeople who would sell products.

- [Narrator] His thick catalogs showcased hand-drawn illustrations of thousands of high quality items to local and far-flung merchants.

- This wasn't like the Sears catalog going to your house.

This was strictly for wholesale.

Mandolins, music boxes, perfumeries and toilet soaps.

- [Narrator] Field's whip smart business instincts paid off.

During the 1880s, his wholesale division topped $25 million in sales per year, more than five times what he made selling in his store.

But that was all about to change.

Field was setting the stage for a retail revolution, one that would forever change the way that Chicagoans and the world shopped.

(trolley bell rings) (intriguing music) Near the turn of the century, the gritty congested streets of downtown Chicago were considered no place for a woman.

- The idea of a woman going into an urban area on her own, especially unescorted, was not something that happened regularly.

- Women didn't go shopping by themselves, their husbands had to go shopping with them.

(piano music) - Marshall Field's saw untapped potential.

He planned to cater to the female shopper.

- [Narrator] Rather than buyer beware, Field welcomed women into his store with attentive and courteous service.

- The story goes that Marshall Field oversaw a clerk who was debating with a customer about what she wanted.

- And the employee's like, "Well, I'm trying to set her straight."

And he's like, "You'll do no such thing."

- So he said, "Give the lady what she wants."

- [Narrator] "Give the lady what she wants."

Those six words were more than just a clever slogan.

They would set a new standard in customer service for the entire industry.

- This whole idea that the customer is always right, we take it for granted, but it wasn't a given in the 19th century.

And for a store to put the customer's needs ahead of its own profits, it turns out this is a really good way to build customer loyalty.

- [Narrator] But keeping women in the store long enough to browse and then buy big was another issue altogether.

- Women did not have the ability to go out and shop for a full day.

If a woman was hungry and wanted to eat while they were downtown shopping, they would have to go home, or heaven forbid, go to a saloon, which was not a place that ladies would go to eat.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Rather than lose a lucrative sale, a saleswoman named Mrs.

Herring pitched a delicious lunch solution to one hungry shopper, her homemade chicken pot pie.

- "Oh, no, no, you don't have to go.

If you would like, I'll share my lunch with you."

So the saleswoman shared her lunch, and the woman was thrilled with this, and there was demand to do this again.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Harry Selfridge, a former stock boy who rose to the head of retail, saw a golden opportunity.

Women with leisure time to shop needed a proper place to have lunch.

Selfridge convinced Field to open the store's first tea room, better known today as the iconic Walnut Room, with a menu that still proudly features Mrs.

Herring's original pot pie.

- That was a strategic thing.

There was profit to be made, maybe not directly, but it brought more people into the store and it kept them in the store.

That's a pretty visionary move at a time when most retailers were were saying, "Tough luck.

If it's broken, that's on you."

Now, this became more of a destination.

It wasn't just a place to shop, it was a place to be seen, a place to spend your days.

- [Narrator] Field had transformed the mere errand into an elevated experience.

His global curation staff sourced everything from European fashions to rare antiques direct to the Chicago shopper.

- Part of the way Marshall Field's reputation was spread was by opening buying offices in Paris and London and New York.

- You could find things at Field's that you would not find anywhere else.

- [Narrator] Field did more than source products, he manufactured them.

He built and bought mills and factories around the country, and controlled the supply chain for dozens of exclusive items.

- So they could be competitive in their pricing, know that their product was good.

So Marshall Field's was very innovative in doing that in ways that other retailers weren't.

(sparkly music) - [Narrator] With a stroke of marketing genius, Field mastered branding decades before ad agencies coined the term.

- They knew to put their name on everything from a golf ball to a pencil.

(sparkly music continues) Advertising was the name of the game, and you wanted your name out there.

- [Narrator] And it could all be delivered free straight to the shopper's doorstep by a fleet of horse-drawn wagons.

- They had at one point something like 700 horses and 400 wagons to cover the entire delivery area, which was like 350 square miles.

- [Narrator] A trip to Field's was so coveted that it came with bragging rights in the form of postcards.

- It was a little like those selfies that we see people taking today from the pyramids and, you know, some of those other exotic locations.

It said something about where someone was.

- [Narrator] Field noticed that his store had become a popular meeting spot, especially at one corner.

- Notes were being left on the corner window at State and Washington for people to return and meet other people.

It's a meetup point.

After all, not everybody had a timepiece at this time, let alone a smartphone.

And so rather than have all these notes, he thought by having a clock people could know what time it is.

- [Narrator] Field envisioned a beacon as beautiful as it was practical.

And in 1897, the Great Clock was installed, 500 pounds of iron that would become a Chicago landmark.

- It became a very popular symbol in Chicago and from that day forward, people would say, "Meet me under the clock."

- [Narrator] Under Field's direction, retail sales skyrocketed from $5 million in 1881 to $68 million in 1906, making him the richest man in Chicago and among the richest in the United States.

But that success was not without controversy.

Field forbade his employees from joining unions, drawing fierce criticism and lawsuits, and though he earned praise for hiring women as sales clerks, a move seen as progressive for the time, he was notorious for paying them low wages.

- Women made significantly less than men, but this was an employer that had some cachet.

When you said you worked at Marshall Field's, people were impressed by that.

- Fairly early on, they faced a federal inquiry about their discriminatory pay towards their female employees, which is especially upsetting because they're key to your business model, but you're not willing to pay them.

- [Narrator] Despite his controversial labor practices, Field was widely viewed as bonafide retail royalty.

He built a 25-room mansion on South Prairie Avenue, reportedly the first in the city to have electric lights, but Field was often alone in the family home.

His first wife, Nannie, and their two children lived in Europe most of the time.

(intriguing music) - It wasn't necessarily a very happy marriage.

Marshall Field's life has as much sadness as it has great success to it.

(intriguing music continues) - [Narrator] Gilded Age society courted him, but the titan nicknamed Silent Marsh shrank from the spotlight.

- And he didn't even really seem to enjoy his money to a tremendous extent.

There was a salesman at Marshall Field's who by all accounts loved Marshall Field, and at one point he said to him, "Marshall, you have no life.

You have no personal happiness.

All you have is work."

- [Narrator] The workaholic had reached the pinnacle of his career when tragedy struck.

In January 1906, Marshall Field died suddenly of pneumonia at age 71.

Field had amassed a fortune estimated at $125 million, $3.5 billion in today's dollars.

During his lifetime, and after, Field gave generously to the city that made him, funding pillars of Chicago's cultural landscape, including the Field Museum of Natural History.

- He donated to the University of Chicago, he donated to the Chicago Library, the Art Institute, the symphony, all sorts of cultural places.

The man had a deep civic commitment to Chicago.

- From my great-great grandfather's first gifts in philanthropy, every member of the family has been told that Chicago is our home.

If it hadn't been for Chicago, this never would've happened.

- He was a merchant.

He understood aspiration, he understood loyalty, he understood how to market those things, and that's what made Marshall Field and Company what it was.

- [Narrator] The presumptive heir to Marshall Field's empire was his 45-year-old son, Marshall Field II.

But he had died two months earlier of a single gunshot wound, an event that remains shrouded in mystery.

- What we know for sure is that he passed away from a gunshot wound.

It might have been self-inflicted.

It might have been a suicide.

It might have been a gun accident, perhaps.

It might have been a scandal involving something to do with the Everleigh Club, the great brothel in the city of Chicago.

- [Narrator] Field left the bulk of his fortune to his two young grandsons, and with no heir apparent, a board of trustees was established to govern.

John G. Shedd was the natural choice to take the reins as president.

Shedd, who would go on to found Chicago's renowned Shedd Aquarium, had been groomed by Field as he steadily climbed the ranks from stock boy to head of the wholesale division.

- John G. Shedd was the perfect man to take over, and he continued the legacy of Marshall Field, the man.

(uplifting music) - [Narrator] Field had left behind one big piece of unfinished business, a grand vision to expand his store to encompass an entire square city block.

He had commissioned Daniel Burnham, one of the most renowned architects in America, and now Shedd would guide the mammoth project.

Burnham's signature Beaux-Arts masterpiece was constructed over two decades, each addition carefully replicating the original style, including the awe-inspiring grand atrium, which bathed the merchandise in light.

And the majestic great dome by Louis Comfort Tiffany, a 6,000 square foot mosaic made of more than 1 million pieces of shimmering glass.

- So you have the Tiffany Dome of Favrile glass, which is a special type of glass that has the color embedded in the glass, very painstakingly built.

- [Narrator] And the crowning jewels, a new 7-ton great clock on State and Washington streets to match its twin around the corner.

- Marshall Field's has not had to have a lit sign that says Marshall Field and Company on the front of the building for over a century.

People know it's that building.

- [Narrator] The clocks became so iconic, they later inspired Norman Rockwell's painting "The Clock Mender."

Anchored by 50-foot tall granite columns, the building eventually soared 150 feet high, and when complete, stood as the biggest department store in the world, ultimately realizing Field's dream.

(high-class music) Inside, shoppers browsed luxury goods in rooms designed to look more like exhibit spaces than a department store.

- In some ways, it reminds me of a museum.

- It helped contribute an understanding on people that there could be public third spaces that could inspire you in different ways just by being there and being in those surroundings.

- It's a space where people can enjoy rich architecture.

Yes, you do go there to buy things, but it is more than that.

It would cause them to shop with dignity.

- [Narrator] And shop they did.

With 73 acres of floor space, every inch was strategically planned.

- You've got the perfume counters at the doors.

The first floor was marble, which is just gleaming.

The counters were hand-carved mahogany.

All of that was done with with great intentionality.

You come in, you pass all these cases of enticing merchandise, and when you leave, you have to come back down and go past all those wonderful displays.

- [Narrator] Field's showcased the latest innovations, the first to offer a wedding registry and free gift wrap.

Over the decades that followed, the store's offerings expanded, as did the retail space.

With the new men's annex across the street, Field's boasted up to 150 specialized departments.

And with tempting displays in every direction, spending was intentionally hard to resist.

- You needed a new suit for a wedding, you needed belts and socks and ties, and, of course, you know, perfume, everything you wanted you could get at Marshall Field's, and it was beautiful and it was elegant.

(bouncy music) - [Narrator] A visit to the 4th floor toy department was the stuff of childhood dreams for generations of wide-eyed children.

- They had stuffed animals, and they were the actual size, so you could have a stuffed giraffe that was the size of an actual giraffe.

They could sell you anything from a balloon to a custom-made bicycle, because they had toys you would not find anywhere else.

(intriguing music) - [Narrator] The book department drew authors and celebrities alike.

- They were actually the leading book retailer for a period of time.

They had an incredible array of people come in and do book signings.

Amelia Earhart, Shirley Temple, Judy the Elephant.

- [Narrator] Judy the Elephant, a live stand-in for a well-known children's book character called Eddie the Elegant Elephant was one of Field's rare marketing events that didn't go exactly as planned.

- The idea was that the elephant would hold a stamp in its trunk and stamp the books.

When it was time to bring the elephant back home, the elephant didn't want to get on the freight elevator.

They actually contacted a local construction company to build a ramp down some stairs to get the elephant out of Marshall Field's before they opened again the next day.

- [Narrator] Field's 76 elevators were better known for their glamorous elevator girls featured in "Life" Magazine.

Coiffed and trained at the store's Charm School, these impeccably mannered young women shuttled customers up and down to enjoy a dozen floors of spectacular shopping.

(bell dings) - Marshall Field's wanted an elevated experience in their stores, so people were expected to have the best of manners and be extremely polite.

- As the store expanded physically, the customer services expanded as well.

- [Narrator] Field's delivered the pinnacle of customer service with next level pampering and sumptuous amenities for every visitor, especially well-heeled women.

- There's an enormous ladies' waiting room with a wall of telephones.

There is a theater ticket office.

You can look up steamship and railroad timetables.

There was a beauty salon, you could get a manicure, get your hair done.

- We had a doll hospital.

Everybody from the bake shop, to alterations, to the shoe department.

These were experts in their field.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] And an assortment of elegant dining options ensured shoppers could comfortably stay all day.

- Other department stores had small tea rooms.

Marshall Field's, it was an entire 7th floor of restaurants, tea rooms, grills.

- Marshall Field's had fashion shows and cooking demonstrations and all sorts of other activities that made it, again, a destination.

- [Announcer] 10,000 people an hour can be carried from floor to floor on these modern electric stairways.

- People are getting dressed up to go to this store, and so they wanna be seen.

Imagine coming down the escalator, and everyone is looking around and they see you coming off and sauntering into that department.

And so it also becomes very personal about wanting to go up and down that escalator that in some ways becomes a runway.

(bouncy music) - [Narrator] "Life" magazine snapped the escalators too.

Patrolled by Field's novel, four-legged security helpers.

And Field's redefined window shopping, drawing crowds with mesmerizing displays.

- Marshall Field's becomes very innovative in the way that they use their store windows.

- People come to look at the windows, but the goal is to get customers into the store because they loved something that you showed them, and you showed it to them in a way that was absolutely irresistible.

- Pedestrians who are literally just going about their day, get to for a second, a split second opt into this idea of aspiration and desire that Marshall Field's is creating because these windows weren't just a mannequin with clothes hanging on them, they were scenes.

(whimsical music) - [Narrator] They were scenes that elevated fashion through art, a marketing concept that was also reflected in Field's in-house magazine, "Fashions of the Hour."

Featuring lavish illustrations by acclaimed artists, each edition highlighted store products alongside profiles in fashion, art, travel, and high society.

- It catered to women very early and very deliberately.

So this feeling that, hey, by shopping at Field's, you're getting the cool stuff first.

You're not waiting to see what happens with the ladies in New York or Boston.

- [Narrator] From its earliest days, Marshall Field and Company was designed for the moneyed class, but the store evolved, drawing in less wealthy patrons too by offering a sophisticated shopping experience for every budget.

- One of the biggest rewards for working in a department store was the challenge to make something as utilitarian as a skillet or the newest crockpot, make that irresistible to that clientele as the newest designer gown might be for the customer in the 28 Shop.

Both of those customers were essential members of our retail community.

- If you had a lot of money, you could find something.

If you didn't have a lot of money, you could still find something, and you knew coming from Marshall Field's that it was gonna be quality.

(bouncy music) - [Narrator] That was exactly the idea behind another Field's first, the Bargain Basement, a floor dedicated solely to discounted merchandise.

- People can still participate in this idea of fantasy.

And so they can start off upstairs, maybe they can't afford anything and maybe they go downstairs and they shop in the bargain basement.

- But from an aspirational point of view, it's like someday I wanna move up to the 3rd floor.

- It's about creating this experience that psychologically gets in a person's mind that I wanna be a part of this.

And a way to do that is to purchase something from here.

(lofty music) - [Narrator] And when a woman of any social class left Marshall Field's with a signature hunter green bag on her wrist, she was telling the world that she had arrived.

- A Marshall Field's bag said, "Hey, I am the shizz."

- Those bags really were like, yeah, yeah, I'm walking out of the store, you know, with that kinda rope handle and that green bag.

Status.

- [Narrator] And nothing matched the thrill of a Marshall Field's delivery truck arriving at your door.

- Everybody gets the Amazon truck in their driveway now, but back then you didn't get a Marshall Field's and Company delivery truck.

I mean, you had to be something special to get that.

- [Narrator] Since its earliest days, Field's promised unparalleled service to everyone, no exceptions.

- It's important to realize that while we're reminiscing and thinking about Marshall Field's with nostalgia, the reality is sometimes a little different than what we remember.

- Of all the department stores in Chicago, Marshall Field's was probably the most racist, and it's a hard thing to talk about because we like to think of it as, you know, the store everybody loved.

If you were African-American, you probably would be gently persuaded to visit the budget floor or simply ignored by clerks.

- [Narrator] Not even Ida B. Wells, the famous Chicago journalist and anti-lynching activist was spared.

- Ida B. Wells goes to the bargain basement, and she experiences racial discrimination, even though she's there to return something.

She's already made a purchase.

- Ironically, there were people like Al Capone who were legit criminals who were able to go and shop there with no limitations.

He bought his clothing, his underwear, everything at Marshall Field's.

But, for Black people, for people of color, the situation was different.

- [Narrator] And sought after sales and management jobs were out of reach for many Black applicants.

- A lot of Black women in particular wanted to work at Marshall Field's.

It was an esteemed position to have.

It represented not only economic mobility, it represented social mobility.

- [Narrator] Facing accusations of racial discrimination in hiring in 1952, Field's management responded that it "would not consider a dark-skinned person to be fully qualified for a position in the store."

- There seems to have been a very clear sense that their brand identity would've been tarnished by that.

- [Narrator] After an investigation by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, Field's reportedly hired more Black workers, but often in behind-the-scenes jobs.

- Having Black people representing their store in this public facing way is something that they think will deter customers.

And it's not just Marshall Field's where this is happening, but it's something that we see play out in retail throughout time.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Near the end of World War II, across America, the economy was booming.

A new middle class was emerging with money to spend, and a seismic population shift was underway, one that would shape Marshall Field and Company's future.

- One thing the company did really, really well was to recognize and follow its customer base as they're moving out into the suburbs.

The very first Marshall Field's branch store opened in 1928.

- [Narrator] By mid-century, white middle class residents began moving out of the city in droves into planned suburbs, which paved the way for dedicated shopping centers that would come to be known as the mall.

Suburbia fueled decades of expansion, and Field's added 18 locations.

- They're not only opening up branch stores, they're actually leading the way in the emergence of a lot of these shopping malls.

It's all part and parcel of that policy, which has been there from the very beginning of the customer comes first.

- [Narrator] But that heyday ended in the 1980s when retail giants were ravaged by a wave of corporate restructuring and leveraged buyouts.

Field's held out, one of only a handful of independent department stores remaining.

That is until 1982 when it was acquired by British American Tobacco Group, or Batus, for $367 million.

The new guard closed underperforming stores and reinvigorated advertising.

Ads grew bigger, bolder, and young models saw Field's as a blue chip launchpad.

- One of the people who got their start at Marshall Field's as a model is none other than Cindy Crawford, who hails from DeKalb, Illinois.

(intriguing music) - [Narrator] Field's small army of display artists welcomed celebrities and even royalty for promotional appearances.

(intriguing music continues) And they captivated Chicagoans with wondrous special events, sensational scenes inside and out that extended to the realm of fantasy.

- The elephant that was clutching the corner of State and Randolph gazing out under the Great Clock.

Then there was the time that we had the giant owl on top of the clock.

We had the vertical fashion show recreating the Norman Rockwell painting of "The Clock Mender."

- [Narrator] The city's favorite department store was such a part of the American psyche that it was affectionately reflected for decades in television and film.

- Can I take something out for you?

(hysterical laughing) - Well, I've had 4.5 years at Marshall Field's in lingerie.

- Marshall Field's?

That's a good background.

- Yes, I thought you would think so.

- "My Best Friend's Wedding" is set in Chicago, and Cameron Diaz's character is going to get married.

How do you establish that we're in Chicago?

You have them shop at Marshall Field's.

- So do you think he'd really accept?

- Michael, a job like that?

- Any yard stick that involves sanity, it'd be the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

- It's something as simple as "The Break Up."

- I'd give you a hug, but my hands are kind of full with all the bags here.

- With those famous bags walking by, you're, "Oh, that's Chicago.

It says Marshall Field's."

I mean, perfect.

And you talk about a movie like "Mahogany," when you see Diana Ross going through the store.

That was telling us in that movie, "Hey, this is an up and comer.

She's at Marshall Field's."

- I suggest you let the promotion to the display department satisfy any creative urge you may think you have.

- [Narrator] But beyond the silver screen, shoppers cherished longstanding traditions passed from generation to generation.

- It all contributes to something that's hitting all of your senses and most likely creating a really warm and happy memory.

- Oh my God, the brownies, the chocolate chip cookies, but real chocolate chip cookies.

The fact that all of us don't weigh 8,000 pounds is a miracle.

- We were a blue collar family, and our grandparents would take us to get our clothes.

I distinctly remember that.

We would get London Fog coats at Marshall Field's, and then we always had lunch in the restaurant, and we would get my Frango mint pie, which is today still my favorite dessert.

- Frango mints were not invented in Chicago.

It's such a Chicago institution.

People don't realize they actually started in Seattle.

- [Narrator] Frangos were born in 1927 in the candy kitchens of Seattle's Frederick and Nelson department store.

When Marshall Field and Company bought the store, Frango found a new home in the candy department on the 13th floor.

- Women in starch white uniforms produced the candy right there in Marshall Field's.

You could watch it happen.

I have Frangos in my freezer right now.

I have them in my freezer at all times.

You just never know when you need a Frango.

- [Narrator] Frangos are almost as beloved as another tradition, Christmas.

(Christmas music) Each season, wide-eyed visitors, young and old, arrived in droves and marveled at the magnificent holiday windows.

And for more than two decades, they were designed by visual merchandise artist Amy Meadows.

- They were our gift to the city.

You could see them as many times as you wanted.

There was no admission fee.

They were for your pleasure and your entertainment.

- You just, you kind of nosed your way to the front and saw these amazing displays.

- It didn't matter.

You could have been from Mars with six legs, and if you were standing on State Street, you could look in the windows just like Mrs.

Astor.

- I don't see people pressing their nose up against their computer screens at home.

They were magical.

- So cool.

- To hear the "Oohs" and the "Ahhs" and to think like, "Yeah, I helped do that.

Isn't that awesome?

Are you enjoying it?

Yes."

That was, how do you top that, you know?

How do you top that?

- [Narrator] Each year, an eager public awaited the reveal of the unique Christmas theme that would be carried throughout the store.

- Was it even a holiday story?

(Christmas music) How could you essentially winterize the stories that you were going to tell?

(Christmas music continues) - [Narrator] Planning could take months, even years, and yet a tireless set of elves from virtually every trade descended to decorate the entire store in just days.

- [Amy] Well, actually there were 10 floors, there were 10 city blocks to decorate for Christmas.

That took a freaking army, a village of people to execute this.

(Christmas music) (energetic music) - [Narrator] But perhaps the grandest display of all was the Walnut Room's towering Great Tree, a tradition that began in 1907.

Each year, the tree grew in height, topping out at 45 feet tall.

- But it's like when you look up and you see that huge, think of a kid, you know, seeing that.

- The Great Tree was a real tree until 1963 when the fire codes changed and would be hoisted up the North State well, and then carried over to the Walnut Room.

But after that, it became an artificial tree.

- When we'd go visit my father, he'd take us down to Marshall Field's.

And if it was Christmas, we'd go eat under the Christmas tree.

I loved the tree.

And what I wanted to do, if I could, was go in when they were putting it up.

How they hauled in one section at a time to put this thing together was fascinating.

- [Narrator] Just like other visitors, the Field family passed down holiday traditions to their children too.

- We said, "This is what your great-great-great grandfather started and what made the family famous."

And they would go have a little tour of the store, and I tried to get them out before they start spending serious money.

(chuckles) - [Narrator] After Montgomery Ward introduced "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1939, Field's answered with a Christmas power couple, Uncle Mistletoe and Aunt Holly, instantly iconic characters that became a merchandising bonanza.

♪ The jolliest man I know ♪ ♪ with the merriest ho ho ho ♪ ♪ You're sure to love him so ♪ ♪ Your Uncle Mistletoe ♪ Every year, they joined Santa Claus, who listened to countless wishes in his cozy cloud cottage.

And anyone who ever peered through a Christmas window, dined under the towering tree, or strolled the store among the twinkling lights took a piece of the Marshall Field's magic with them.

By the late 20th century, competition for retail dollars was fiercer than ever.

An economic downturn and the rise of discount stores cut into sales.

- As a society, we chose to go to the places where the prices were lower, and so we get what we pay for.

It became almost impossible for legacy department stores like that to really survive.

(frenetic music) - [Narrator] Meanwhile, Marshall Field's spun through a revolving door of corporate ownership.

- We had all three names on the price tag.

Dayton's, Marshall Field's, then Hudson's.

Chicago didn't like that.

- [Narrator] And slowly, some of Field' most beloved symbols were ham-handedly dismantled.

Production of the Frango mint was unceremoniously shipped to Pittsburgh.

The iconic hunter green shopping bags were suddenly brown.

Field's fans howled at the changes.

- It's a bag, it's a price tag.

Who cares?

We did.

You know, it wasn't us anymore.

It was somebody in another city telling us how we were gonna shop, what we were gonna buy.

- [Narrator] By the early 2000s, Marshall Field's was in many cities beyond Chicago.

At its height, more than 60 stores dotted the U.S.

And Field's latest owners, the Target/May company, wooed Field's fans back with an all-out marketing blitz, a splashy, sexy, brand renaissance.

- Customer shopping habits were changing.

Downtown was changing.

You have to change.

We began to integrate specialty shops into the stores.

- [Narrator] But all the boutiques, bells and whistles couldn't stop what was coming.

Federated department stores bought out the Target/May company in January of 2005.

Federated owned Macy's, and rumors of a name change spread faster than the Chicago Fire.

- So all of 2005 we were like, "Please God, please."

- [Narrator] Federated made the announcement.

Marshall Field's would become Macy's, and Chicago lost its collective mind.

- We used to come to Chicago just to go to this store.

I have ripped up my Macy's card.

- It was this gut level reaction in Chicago.

- [Narrator] Federated's CEO Terry Lundgren seemingly dismissed the outcry saying "70% of shoppers said a name change didn't matter.

Only 5% said the name change was a terrible idea."

(upbeat music) In stark contrast to this claim, grassroots ground troops launched a "Save Marshall Field's" campaign.

- And the petition was called "Keep It Field's," and people flocked to it.

For Chicagoans to hear that it wasn't just going to be new ownership, but it was going to be Macy's felt like a personal insult.

- [Narrator] Some even leveled public warning shots.

How stupid can one corporation be?

They don't understand that force feeding a New York idea to Chicagoans is not good business.

- One of Chicago's most beloved champions, late film critic Roger Ebert penned a scathing takedown.

"Don't mess with Chicago, and don't mess with the name Marshall Field's.

You will generate rage beyond your wildest nightmares.

If you doubt me, Google the phrase 'The Chicago Way.'"

- For him, Marshall Field's was gonna be Marshall Field's forever.

And the idea that, you know, Macy's were gonna come in and slap their name on it, he was ready to actually organize like an actual labor movement, if you will.

He actually said, you know, "We could all cut up our Marshall Field's charge cards."

And I'm like, "I don't know if this is the hill we wanna die on, Roger."

But it was completely sincere.

It was how he felt.

You know, he'd buttonhole you in between screenings to talk.

"Can you believe Macy's?

Come on!"

- [Narrator] Not even Roger Ebert could give Marshall Field's a Hollywood ending.

- [Protesters] Boycott Macy's!

Field's is Chicago!

- [Narrator] On September 9th, 2006, Macy's red star officially replaced the iconic Marshall Field signature at stores across the country.

- [Protesters] Field's is Chicago!

- [Narrator] Thousands responded with anger, tears, and more protests.

- It's really about civic pride and community.

We converged at State Street, and we had our picket signs.

At that time, it was a cultural touchstone and so it was amazing how many people showed up.

- It was part of Chicagoans' identity as a major American city because look, this is a city that's got this great center of retail and fashion and commerce.

That's what hurt for a lot of Chicagoans.

- We expected it to be there forever.

We didn't know Macy's.

Chicagoans didn't shop at Macy's.

- One thing that I love about Chicago is how much people who are from Chicago love Chicago.

And so anytime that there's rapid change, there's going to be, you know, pushback because people love their city.

- [Narrator] Cherished old displays, merchandise, and countless Marshall Field's artifacts were piled into storage at the new Macy's.

- Mannequin from the 1920s, 1930s, articulated arms.

- [Narrator] Today, thousands of pieces from the collection are housed at the Chicago History Museum, one of the largest Field's repositories in the world.

- Probably more '40s.

- Everything from photographs of the store and display windows to internal business documents to architectural blueprints to Uncle Mistletoe dolls.

We know the power it holds over Chicagoans because of the way they want to keep engaging with it, because Chicago history is American history.

- A stamp, buttons, some button hooks, rulers, golf balls.

- [Narrator] Ken Zelen is still building on his personal collection of more than 2,000 pieces.

- This is roughly 10, 12% of what I own.

I think it's important for future generations to know about Marshall Field's.

To see what a wonderful, amazing place this was.

Marshall Field's is always in our heart, Marshall Field's is always Chicago.

- I still have some of my Marshall Field's Christmas boxes, and I say, "You can have the gift, but I want that box back."

I love that Marshall Field's box.

(uplifting music) - [Narrator] Marshall Field and Company started as a grand idea, then forever reshaped the way we shop.

- What we can cherish is the example that this company set, that pampering customer service and luxurious surroundings can create a shopping experience that is so special.

- So many generations of Chicagoans have great memories associated with Marshall Field's.

They think about going there maybe with their grandmother or their parents, or just being downtown and seeing that iconic clock and knowing you were in a bustling metropolis.

- [Narrator] Beyond the clocks, echoes of Marshall Field's remain.

The Walnut Room, Frangos, and the building with its stately name plate are official landmarks to what became the ultimate shopping experience and a love letter to Chicago.

But to millions of fans around the globe, it's more, so much more.

- Marshall Field's means home and happiness.

- (Leslie) There's something about the name that is magical, and people remember it very vividly.

(gentle music) (no audio) (no audio)