Wolf & Dessauer

1896 – sold 1969

Founded: Opened in 1896 by Sam Wolf and Myron Eisman Dessauer at 808 South Calhoun Street. The store moved to 119 West Berry Street (1904–1918) and finally to the northeast corner of Clinton and Wayne streets — the six-story white terra-cotta flagship, one of the largest retail buildings in Indiana.

Founders: Sam Wolf and Myron Eisman Dessauer. A later president, G. Irving Latz, led the store into the postwar years (died 1947).

What it did: Fort Wayne's department store — "where Fort Wayne shopped." Beyond merchandise it was a social institution: lounging rooms, telephones for shoppers without one at home, and the city's Christmas. Its 25-foot lighted wreath (1937) and the Santa-and-reindeer display first lit by Mayor Harry Baals in 1940 became the city's holiday signature.

Course: A second store opened in Huntington, Indiana, in 1952. On 10 February 1962 the old Berry Street building was destroyed in one of the largest fires in Fort Wayne history; the business traded on at the Clinton and Wayne flagship.

Fate: Sold to City Stores in 1966, and by City Stores to L. S. Ayres of Indianapolis in 1969 (the Wolf & Dessauer name ended 2 December 1969). The downtown store continued as an Ayres location — Wikipedia gives its closing as 1979; a Fort Wayne retail history puts the downtown closure in the early 1970s; Ayres also traded at Glenbrook and at Southtown Mall (opened 1969). The Santa and wreath displays, lost after the name ended, were rediscovered in a warehouse in 1979 and have been lit every Christmas since 1980.

Sources:

1. Wolf & Dessauer, Wikipedia — founding 1896, founders, addresses, City Stores 1966, Ayres 1969, downtown closing 1979.
2. ACGSI, "Wolf & Dessauer of Fort Wayne" — the 1937 wreath and 1940 Santa display; Latz.
3. Hit Coffee, downtown Fort Wayne retail history — the 1962 fire; the early-1970s downtown closure (conflicting with Wikipedia's 1979).
4. Jim and Kathie Barron, Wolf & Dessauer: Where Fort Wayne Shopped (History Press, 2011).