DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll take it from there. Now, you want to talk about a store that made a statement from day one, let me tell you about what happened on September 10, 1907, right here in Dallas. That's the day the first Neiman-Marcus store opened its doors — not with a whisper, but with a set of principles that were going to turn heads in the retail world.
Innovative marketing concepts. Quality merchandise. That was the foundation, and three people laid it.
Herbert Marcus, Sr., his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband A. L. Neiman.
They planted their flag right in the center of Dallas' early retail district, and that was no accident. This was the place to be, and they knew it. The store became the cornerstone of what would grow into one of the leading retail establishments not just of the city — but of the nation.
Now, you'd think a story like that just keeps building and building forever, smooth as silk. But in 1913, fire destroyed the building here. Just like that.
Gone. What do you do when the cornerstone burns? You build again.
And that's exactly what they did — a new structure went up at Main and Ervay streets. The fire couldn't touch what had already been started. Some things, once they take root in a city, just don't stop growing.
What the marker says
On September 10, 1907, the first Neiman - Marcus store opened at this site. Established by Herbert Marcus, Sr., his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman and her husband A. L. Neiman, it was founded on the principles of innovative marketing concepts and quality merchandise. Located in the center of Dallas' early retail district, the store was the cornerstone of the firm's later development as one of the leading retail establishments of the city and the nation. A fire destroyed the building here in 1913 and a new structure was built at Main and Ervay streets.