M. Furchgott & Sons
In early 1907, Furchgott’s department store (then located at 265 King Street) announced a storewide clearance sale. The business was moving to this site and, in preparation, Max Furchgott (1844–1921) had spent several weeks in New York buying inventory. Furchgott’s Daylight Store, the handsome new department store at 240–242 King Street, below the Washington Light Infantry armory, opened with great fanfare on March 7, 1907. Metz’s Band entertained the throngs of shoppers who surged in and out of the store all day, admiring the merchandise and greeting Furchgott and his family.
Max Furchgott’s two older sons, Arthur (1884–1971) and Melvin (1886–1960), had been working in the store for several years. In 1908, Max Furchgott made them partners and renamed the company, M. Furchgott & Sons. Arthur and Melvin were as well-liked as their father, and business increased steadily. (At one point, the company operated branches in Atlanta, GA, and Jacksonville, FL, besides the Charleston store.) By midsummer 1909, Max Furchgott & Sons had completed a renovation that added more than 7,000 square feet of retail space: an expansion into the second floor, and a vast rear wing for suits and coats. The third brother, Oscar Furchgott (1890–1949), soon joined the firm. He and Melvin became managers, steering it through another remodeling (1921), Arthur’s retirement, and the death of Max Furchgott. The store finally closed in January 1933, a victim of the Great Depression. Its site is now part of Charleston Place.
Furchgott’s advertisement, 1910
News and Courier, November 13, 1910.
Advertisement in the 1907 Charleston city directory
M. Furchgott & Sons storefront, 1924
Newspaper advertisement, November 16, 1924. Courtesy of Charleston County Public Library.