Robertson's — the big store at 211 South Michigan

1904 – closed 1986

Brothers from New York: Robertson Brothers Company opened its first South Bend store in 1904, under its president George A. Robertson — the 1921 Polk directory lists the company at 127–133 South Michigan Street, dealing in dry goods, carpets, cloaks, millinery, gloves, and laces. George Robertson bought his brother's interest in 1910 and kept the plural name. In 1922 the company bought the site at 209–217 South Michigan — ground the record notes first held the Studebaker brothers' blacksmith shop and later the Auditorium Theatre — and built its six-story flagship there, opened in 1925. At six stories over a basement and about 185,000 square feet, it was the largest department store in South Bend, and for two generations it anchored the downtown with Wyman's two doors north. At its postwar height the store employed about 400 people, on the retail-history account.

The Welber years and the store's standing: In 1932 the store was sold to the brothers Will and Sig Welber — the trade press of December 1932 names Sig G. Welber its president in the reorganization — and the Welber family ran Robertson's for the rest of its life. The Indiana University landmark tour of South Bend's Black history records a distinction the store carried in the city's memory: Robertson's was regarded as the downtown department store where Black shoppers were treated fairly, allowed to try on clothing like any other customer, in an era when that was not the rule in American retail.

The end, and the reuse: Robertson's held downtown longer than most: it did not close until 1986, after the trade had moved to the suburban malls — its own later addresses included space near University Park Mall, which stands in Mishawaka and prints below as a boundary. The South Bend Heritage Foundation afterward redeveloped the 211 South Michigan building as affordable housing for seniors, one of the downtown landmarks to survive by changing its work.

Sources:

1. University of Notre Dame, Building South Bend, Robertson's property record — George A. Robertson president; the 1916 tenancy at 211 South Michigan; the 1922 purchase of the 209–217 site; the six-story store built in 1923; the 1932 sale to the Welber brothers (spelled "Weber" in that record); the 1986 closing; the South Bend Heritage Foundation's redevelopment as affordable senior apartments.
2. Polk's South Bend City Directory, 1921 — Robertson Brothers Company at 127–133 South Michigan Street, George A. Robertson president, its lines enumerated.
3. Michiana Jewish Historical Society, Robertson's — the first store opened in 1904; George Robertson's 1910 purchase of his brother's interest; the largest department store in South Bend; the Welber sale and the family's tenure to 1986.
4. Indiana University, African American Landmark Tour (Clio) — the flagship opened in 1925 at 211 South Michigan; Robertson's reputation for fair treatment of Black shoppers, including trying on clothing.
5. The Upholsterer and Interior Decorator, December 1932 — the Robertson Brothers reorganization with Sig G. Welber named president; the store's main floor and rug department in operation.