The S. H. Kress Company was a chain of five and dime department stores established in Memphis in 1896. Samuel H. Kress was an avid art collector and aesthete, and many of his stores are considered architectural landmarks as a result of his ongoing interest in the decorative arts and a desire to place buildings of lasting importance in the communities his business served. Most locations featured lunch counters and excluded African-Americans from service, leading to general boycotts and an eventual loss of business by the 1960s. The company survived until 1981, but by that time, many locations had long been shuttered and the real estate sold or rented for use by other businesses. I’m not sure when the Waycross location closed but I imagine no later than the late 1960s or early 1970s. Downtown department stores struggled by that time as shopping centers and malls became preferred locations for shopping.
The Waycross Kress Building now serves as a real estate office.
Downtown Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The old Kress and Woolworth stores had strikingly beautiful structural details and flourishes. That always fascinated me as well as going in the stores and shopping when I was a kid, and later, until they all closed.
We have a Kress Building in Americus, GA, too. Maybe you can take a photo the next time you’re in town. 🌞
Mention of Kress in Waycross did not include that Kress eventually became K Mart…..all across the country.
On Mon, Jan 29, 2024 at 10:37 AM Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian
Very true. The “K” in K-Mart was for, “Kress.”
Not so. K-Mart came from the S.S. Kresge chain. Different guy with a similar name to S.H. Kress.
S.S. Kresge Company became K-Mart, not Kress. Different entrepreneur.