46 | JANUARY 7 • 2021

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Where Fashion Reigned
I

recently wrote about the famous
Himelhoch’s clothing store in Detroit.
While there were many, many Jewish
retailers in the city over the past centu-
ry, there was one other women’s cloth-
ing store in the same elite league as
Himelhoch’s — B. Siegel’s.
B. Siegel is mentioned on 407 pages
of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and the JN
in the William Davidson
Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History. Indeed,
“advertisements” for the
store can be found in the
very first issues of the
Chronicle. I found it interest-
ing that, instead of images
of clothing, shoes or other
goods, these ads were
mini-essays, written to provide the reader
with the reasons that one should shop at
B. Siegel.
For example, consider the moral of
the ad from Chronicle of July 13, 1917. It
begins with an “overheard conversation”
about Siegel’s and then: “The woman who
comes to B. Siegel Co.’s has also learned
that style is foremost, and that it is always
combined with extreme care in selection
of material …”
The store’s founder, Ben Siegel, was
born in Germany in 1861 and migrated
to Selma, Ala., in 1876. There, he learned
about retail merchandising. Siegel moved
to Detroit in 1881, where he bought the
Heyn’s Bazaar on Woodward Avenue.
He changed the store’s name to Siegel’s
Cloaks, Suits and Furs, claiming that it
was the “finest and most complete cloak
and suit store in the United States.”
In 1904, B. Seigel’s moved into a cast-
iron-fronted structure at Woodward
and State Street, near J.L. Hudson’s and
Himelhoch’s. That same year, Ben mar-
ried Sophie Siegel (her surname was also
Siegel). Aunt Sophie was “no shrinking
violet,” nephew Marty Mayer related in a
story about the family from the Aug. 25,

1998 issue of the JN. She even taught him
how to shoot dice and play poker! She
was also a respected communal leader.
Indeed, the Siegels were great support-
ers of the Detroit Jewish community.
Editor Philip Slomovitz wrote about
the impact of the Siegels in the April
3, 1981, issue of the JN. Along with
participation in and generous dona-
tions to various organizations, Ben
was deeply involved in the fight
against the antisemitism of Henry
Ford and Father Coughlin. Even
after Sophie passed in 1955, her good
work continued: She donated the Siegel
mansion in Detroit’s Boston Edison
district to the Greater Detroit Interfaith
Roundtable. It was home for that organi-
zation until 1997.
Ben managed B. Siegel’s until 1931.
After he retired, his nephew, Leo, was
CEO until 1947. During Ben’s era, B.
Siegel’s was closed on Shabbat; his succes-
sors closed the store on Yom Kippur and
Rosh Hashanah. He also made a habit
of giving newborn babies a free pair of
shoes. Ben died in 1936.
Eventually, B. Siegel grew to eight loca-
tions. Its store at Livernois and Seven
Mile helped give that area its nickname:
“the Avenue of Fashion.” Unfortunately,
like Himelhoch’s and other stores, B.
Siegel’s could not survive the
drastic economic changes
that occurred in Metro
Detroit. The chain closed
its doors in 1981.
The 100-year history of
B. Siegel’s is another great
saga of Jewish immigrant
success in Detroit. Many
shoppers still miss the store
“where fashion reigns.”

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available
for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair

Where Fashion Reigned

She even taught him

how to shoot dice and play poker! She
was also a respected communal leader.

Indeed, the Siegels were great support-

ers of the Detroit Jewish community.
Editor Philip Slomovitz wrote about
the impact of the Siegels in the April

. Along with

participation in and generous dona-

after Sophie passed in 1955, her good
work continued: She donated the Siegel
mansion in Detroit’s Boston Edison
district to the Greater Detroit Interfaith

like Himelhoch’s and other stores, B.
Siegel’s could not survive the

shoppers still miss the store

Go to the DJN