Almost three decades after the Sears Eastern Regional Catalogue Headquarters on Roosevelt Boulevard was demolished, the complex and its 14-story clock tower continues to live on in the memory of many Philadelphians who worked and shopped there, writes Edward W. Duffy for the Hidden City.

Not everything is gone, however. The power plant’s chimney still serves as a billboard for Home Depot, located in the shopping center that replaced the complex.

Memories are especially strong among former Sears employees, since the company cultivated its morale with the Sears News-Graphic, an “all employees picture newspaper.” Sears encouraged its workers to feel like they were all part of an extended family.

Sears, which initially focused on catalog sales, expanded to Philadelphia in 1920. The city was the site of its fourth mail-order facility. Five years later, Sears added a retail location to the Philadelphia mail-order plant. Then, three decades later, the company constructed a stand-alone three-story department store within the complex, employing 1,100 people.

However, by 1993, with the advance of big box discount stores like Walmart and Kmart, the company’s catalogue sales gradually declined.

On Oct. 31, 1994, the Philadelphia mail order plant imploded and 48 acres of the 120-acre property were turned into a shopping center. The rest was sold to Cardone Industries.

Read more about the old Sears tower on Roosevelt Boulevard in the Hidden City.

_____

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on PHILADELPHIA Today in August 2024.