On March 25, 1925, 5,000 visitors attended the opening of Sessel’s expanded clothing store in their building at Third Street and Piasa Street (219-221 Piasa Street). “The occasion was one of the most notable events of the kind in the business history of Alton.” The celebration lasted from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the store gave out 3,000 carnations and 2,000 balloons.
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In 1907, Maurice Sessel opened Sessel’s Alton store in a corner of the old Armory building. In 1914, Sessel’s leased additional space on the first floor. In 1919, the second floor was also taken over, and in 1924, the entire four-story building was leased.
The building’s first floor housed the heating plant and coal bins for the Haskell property on Piasa Street. The heating plant was separated from the salesroom by only a tile and plaster partition, which “was a constant source of expense through merchandise being damaged by coal dust and caused much uneasiness on the part of the store employees on account of the danger from fire.” Part of the renovation and expansion included removing the interior heating plant and building a new boiler room under the sidewalk along the north side of the building. This required removing over 200 tons of rock, and hundreds of Altonians watched the progress every day. It took most of a year to finish the entire renovation, but the store stayed open for the duration.
Alton architect James H. Maupin designed plans for the renovated building, and Maurice Sessel announced that “he would buy, as far as he could, everything here in his home town.” Sessel’s renovation used brick from Alton Brick Company and lumber from Springman Lumber Company. Flooring came from Young’s Dry Goods store, and paints and varnishes came from H.K. Johnston’s Hardware Company. Sessel’s was furnished with wicker furniture from C.J. Jacoby & Company.
Local businesses and friends sent floral arrangements to Sessel’s to celebrate the reopening, and photographer L.B. Kopp took a series of photographs of the store decked out in flowers. The Alton Evening Telegraph noted that the photos were made under the light from the regular electric fixtures through five-minute exposures. After the photographs had been taken, Maurice Sessel arranged to have the flowers sent to the hospital. “Mr. Sessel said that the receipt of the flowers made members of the firm supremely happy, and that it was desired to pass on a bit of this happiness to as many shut-ins as could be reached.”
Sources
“5000 Visitors at Opening of Sessel Store.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 26, 1925.
“Lytton’s….” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 7, 1946.
“Many Sessel Employes [sic] are Stockholders.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 23, 1925.
“March 25th The Beginning of a New Era in Merchandising.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 23, 1925.
“Sessel Building Presented Some Big Engineering Feats.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 23, 1925.
“Sessel Opening Tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 24, 1925.
“Sessels Practiced Strict Home Trade in Furnishing New Store.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 23, 1925.
“Spirit to Build Awakened Here; City Progresses.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 23, 1925.
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