Famous Department Store

The Famous Department Store (not to be confused with the "Famous Clothing Store", precursor to Famous-Barr and the May Department Stores Co.) was a department store in Los Angeles, California.

Famous had its origins with the Cal Hirsch & Sons Mercantile Co., founded in 1860 or 1871 depending on the source, which ran Army and Navy surplus stores in St. Louis.

After opening stores in Los Angeles starting in 1913 and later moved its headquarters there. As Cal. Hirsch & Sons, it operated the generically named "Army and Navy Store" at 526 S. Main St. then moved to a larger space next door, what it advertised as the "world's largest Army and navy store" at 530-532 S. Main St. starting in December, 1916. In 1917 it advertised a branch store in San Diego.

U.S. Hirsch was president of the company during the 1930s. By 1948, Urban Hirsch, Jr. was president.

New large store on Broadway
In 1939, it took over the vacated Blackstone's Department Store building at 901 S. Broadway (designed by architect John Parkinson, built in 1917) and renovated and expanded it to 90000 sqft of selling space, shifting the existing 530 S. Main St. store to use mostly as a warehouse. The new Broadway store sold men's, women's and children's clothing, furnishings and accessories; shoes, drapes, furniture, drapes, household utensils and accessories and an entire floor was devoted to toys. It also has a beauty shop and lunch counter.

Expansion across Southern California
Morgan, Walls & Clements designed an art deco building for Famous on Pine Street in downtown Long Beach, which opened in 1929. It is a city landmark building and is currently home to a branch of RiteAid pharmacy.

Epilogue
In 1950 the stores were sold to the J. J. Sugarman Co., a Los Angeles business investment firm, a value estimated at $3.5 million (~$ in ), reported by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the larges mercantile sales of its kind in recent years in California". The chain at that time consisted of eight stores: Advertising for the Famous Department Store ceases in 1952.