Blumberg’s in 1929. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Before malls and online shopping, downtown San Diego was the city’s retail heart. Fifth and Broadway teemed with families, teens, and neighbors drawn to polished wood floors, glass display cases, and window displays that showcased the latest fashions. Shopping was as much a social outing as a practical necessity, with stores offering lunch counters, tea rooms, and holiday spectacles that brought the community together.

However, all of these iconic stores, from Marston’s to Walker Scott, Lerner’s, Kress, Blumberg’s, Davidson’s, and Lion, have since closed, leaving only memories of a bustling downtown shopping era.

Marston’s: Elegance and Community

Marston’s Department Store for the 50th Anniversary of Marston Co. in 1928. The view shows display cases and counters in the store. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Founded in the 1870s by civic leader George W. Marston, Marston’s was a downtown landmark. Four floors of merchandise and clerks who knew their regular customers made shopping ceremonial.

A front and side exterior view of the 5-story Marston’s Department Store on Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue at C Street. Automobiles are parked by the building and traveling down the streets. People are on the sidewalk or crossing the streets: two large flags, one American, wave from atop the Marston building. A furniture store is at the far right. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

A tea room on the upper level offered sandwiches and pastries, while holiday windows drew families from across the city. Contemporary reports described Marston’s as “the most complete and elegant store in San Diego.”

Holzwasser’s and Walker Scott: East Coast Style in San Diego

A crowd of women in the clothing department of Walkers Department Store on opening day. Walker’s Department Store was located at Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Downtown San Diego in 1935. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Holzwasser’s opened in 1911 at Sixth Avenue and Broadway, offering wide aisles, fashionable clothing, and perfumes, modeled on East Coast department stores. The Great Depression forced its closure, and by 1935, Walker Scott took over the space. Walker Scott continued the tradition of multi-floor shopping with clothing, housewares, and toys, and elevators were a popular attraction for children.

Lerner Shops: Affordable Fashion

Lerner Shops was at Fifth and C Street. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Its window displays were frequently updated to reflect current trends, drawing citywide attention.

Lerner Shops provided young women with accessible clothing. One longtime shopper recalled:

“A trip to Lerner’s felt like a small victory — fashionable clothes without breaking the bank.”

San Diego Union-Tribune, 1983

S.H. Kress & Co.: Five-and-Dime Charm

View of Fifth Avenue and C Street in Downtown San Diego. Kress Department Store, also known as Kress 5-1- & 25 Cents Store, is in the left foreground. Several people are walking along the street in about 1940. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

The Art Deco Kress building, completed in the 1920s, housed candy, trinkets, and household goods. A lunch counter served milkshakes and sandwiches, and children often pressed their faces to the windows, imagining what awaited inside. Local reporting highlighted the store’s popularity for both shopping and socializing.

View of Downtown San Diego looking north on Fifth Avenue from Broadway in about 1920. Kress, 5-10-25 Cents Store, is on the far left. Hotel Richelieu and Marton’s Department Store are seen on the right side of the street. Many other businesses are also in view. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Blumberg’s, Davidson’s, and Lion: Personal Service

View of Downtown San Diego street looking north on 5th Avenue from F Street to E Street in about 1920. Numerous businesses are in view, including Ernsting Jewelers, New Harvey’s Eat Shop, Baranov’s Jeweler, a multistory bank, Lion Clothing Co., and Davidson’s Department Store in about 1920. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Smaller stores such as Blumberg’s, Davidson’s, Barinov’s, and Lion offered neighborhood charm and dependable service, as did Sears. Clerks remembered regular customers, creating loyal followings, according to reports.

Photo of the Blumberg bankruptcy in 1930 and a liquidation sale that attracted hordes. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Families purchased clothing, shoes, and household goods while connecting with friends and neighbors.

View looking west on Broadway from 5th Avenue with Baranov’s at left and Harris [and] Frank seen up street on right in 1961. The US Grant Hotel is seen uptown on the north side of Broadway at Fourth Avenue. Downtown streets are decorated with Christmas decorations and lights. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)
View of San Diego Federal Savings & Loan at 1027 Sixth Avenue between Broadway and C Street in the 1930s. Numerous businesses are seen on Sixth Avenue looking north, including Frank and Ben Cigar Store, Bunnell Photo Shop, Nye Hotel, Ernstings Jewelers, Sears, and Jackson’s. On the left side of the street are the Scripps Building, Hotel Botsford, Marston’s Department, and J. W. Ware Jewelers. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)
View of Streetcar No. 432 and another streetcar at Broadway and 5th Avenue in Downtown San Diego in the 1940s. Baranov’s Jewelers are in view on the right, and Foreman Department Store and Lion Clothiers are seen up the street on the right behind two streetcars. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

The End of an Era
By the 1950s, downtown streets were lined with Marston’s, Walker Scott, Lerner’s, Kress, Blumberg’s, Lion, J.J. Newberry’s, and Woolworth’s.

Davidson’s Liquidation Sale. (Photo courtesy of the San Dego History Center)

Downtown also hosted other retailers such as Sears, Cherry & Savage, Hatters, and Men’s Furnishers, as well as Jacobson’s, all of which contributed to the bustling shopping scene alongside the larger department stores.

View of San Diego Federal Savings & Loan at 1027 Sixth Avenue between Broadway and C Street in about 1938. Numerous businesses are seen on Sixth Avenue looking north, including Health Spot Shoes, Nye Hotel, Ernstings Jewelers, Sears, and Jackson’s. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)
Horton Plaza Information Booth Volunteers in 1960. The Information Booth opened on Aug. 22, 1951. Volunteers inside the booth answered questions and gave directions. Jacobson’s clothing store is in the background. (Photo courtesy of the city of San Diego Digital Archives)

Suburban malls in the 1960s drew shoppers away with free parking, air conditioning, and multiple stores under one roof. Marston’s was sold to The Broadway-Hale Co. in 1961 and demolished in 1969. Walker Scott lasted into the 1980s, while the other downtown stores gradually closed.

Remembering Downtown’s Legacy

A view of six people in the doorway of Cherry & Savage, Hatters and Men’s Furnishers. A little girl is at the far right of the doorway with three men and two women to her left. The man second from the left may be Horace E. Rhodes. The left side of the store is clothing, and the right side is hats, c. 1890. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Today, offices, apartments, and restaurants occupy the spaces where these stores once stood. Historic photographs, architectural details, and archival materials preserve the memory of a time when shopping downtown was a social event, a community gathering, and a cornerstone of San Diego life.

Sources:

San Diego History Center archival materials, including documents, photographs, and business records on Marston’s, Holzwasser’s, Walker Scott, Lerner Shops, S.H. Kress & Co., Blumberg’s, Davidson’s, and Lion.
San Diego State University Special Collections and University Archives, including Walker Scott department store records and downtown retail documentation.
San Diego Union and San Diego Union-Tribune historical coverage from the 1910s through the 1980s, including store openings, closures, and shopper recollections.
City of San Diego Digital Archives, including photographs of Marston’s, Kress, and downtown streetscapes illustrating the shopping environment.
National Register of Historic Places documentation for the S.H. Kress building, including architectural and operational details.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and city directories verifying store locations and neighborhood context.

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