Vincennes in Knox County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Gimbel's Department Store
Photographed by M. Brown
1. Gimbel's Department Store Marker
Installed 2025 Indiana Historical Bureau, Jewish American Society For Historic Preservation, William G. Pomeroy Foundation, Indiana Jewish Historical Society, and Vincennes Historical and Antiquarian Society.
Bavarian Jewish immigrants Adam and Solomon Gimbel worked as peddlers before establishing a dry goods and clothing store here by 1848. Regular advertising and quality goods drew customers, and the business prospered. The company moved to Milwaukee in 1887, expanding to Philadelphia (1894) and New York City (1910). In the 1920s, Gimbels went public and acquired Saks and Co.
Gimbels’ became one of the largest department stores in the U.S. by the late 1920s with over fifty locations nationwide by the 1960s. It appeared in film and television shows such as Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and I Love Lucy (1950s). Local business owners used the “Gimbel” name for stores here into the 1980s, though they were separate from the iconic national chain.
Erected 2025 by Indiana Historical Bureau.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Immigration • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation., and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1848.
Location. 38° 40.791′ N,
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Indiana’s Tri-State Region, in Southern Indiana, and in the Wabash Valley. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Vincennes (within shouting distance of this marker); U.S.S. Vincennes (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Patrick Henry Square (about 300 feet away); a different marker also named Patrick Henry Square (about 300 feet away); Home of Francis Vigo (about 300 feet away); Gold Star Honor Roll (about 300 feet
Photographed by M. Brown
2. Gimbel's Department Store Marker (Side 2)
Also see . . .
1. How One Indiana General Store Became The Iconic Gimbels’ Department Store.
Gimbels' may not be around anymore, but it was once one of the world’s largest department store empires, and it all started in the Hoosier State.(Submitted on May 18, 2025, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
2. Gimbel Brothers Department Stores: Dust to Dust.
Founded in 1842 by German Jewish immigrant peddler Adam Gimbel in 1842 in Vincennes, Indiana, by the 1920s Gimbel Brothers was the largest and most profitable department store retailer in America. The Gimbel’s name was known to everyone in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee, as well as millions of visitors to those cities. At its 1940s peak, over 500,000 people attended the Gimbel’s Thanksgiving Parade in Philadelphia, which predated the Thanksgiving Parade in New York, organized by arch-rival Macy’s. Millions more later watched the Gimbel’s and Macy’s parades on network(Submitted on May 18, 2025, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)television. Gimbel’s had a starring role in the popular 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street.
3. Gimbel's Department Store Marker
3. History of New York’s Gimbels Department Store. Gimbels maintained a competitive rivalry with nearby Macy’s for decades. Customers who couldn’t afford Macy’s higher-priced goods often shopped at Gimbels to find popular products at prices that wouldn’t break their budgets. One of Gimbel’s key slogans was “the customer pays for fancy frills.” They maintained a modern look and feel to their stores without all of the pomp and circumstance that other retailers relied on. (Submitted on May 18, 2025, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
4. Gimbels’ Department Store, Vincennes, Indiana.
Does Macy's tell Gimbel?(Submitted on May 26, 2025, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
The iconic and ironic American idiom gained international popularity from the 1947 Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street. Iconic in that it came to mean keeping a secret. Ironic, the secret was that Macy's and Gimbels' both had Jewish roots. Both became giants of American Department store corporate history, transforming the American economy and retailing. Gimbels began the transformative process in Vincennes, Indiana.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 18, 2025, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 617 times since then and 143 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 18, 2025, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
