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Joslins
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Joslins Department Store began as J. Joslins Dry Goods Store, founded by John Jay Joslin in 1873; it was a direct competitor to <a href="/facts/The_Denver_Dry_Goods_Company/Hh0p8drP">The Denver Dry Goods Company</a> which commenced operations in 1888. The original <a href="/facts/Joslin_Dry_Goods_Company_Building/y8LU36z2">Joslin Dry Goods Company Building</a> is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and is currently a <a href="/facts/Courtyard_by_Marriott/qmcMRh83">Courtyard by Marriott</a> property. </p><p>Around 1910, Joslin sold the business to <a href="/facts/H.B._Claflin_%2526_Company/B379wxLX">H.B. Claflin & Company</a>, which collapsed in 1914.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> Two store chains were created from the bankruptcy: <a href="/facts/Associated_Dry_Goods/IuKAV5Uq">Associated Dry Goods</a> and <a href="/facts/Mercantile_Stores_Company%2c_Inc./y6J9Pxre">Mercantile Stores Company, Inc.</a> As a nameplate of Mercantile Stores, Joslins became the first Denver-based department store to build branch locations in the 1940s, later expanding the chain with larger anchor stores in malls in the 1960s and 1970s. </p> <p>In 1998, the <a href="/facts/Dillard%2527s/v3sevVkd">Dillard's</a> department store chain purchased Mercantile Stores, converting most of the then-existing Joslin's stores to Dillard's stores.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> One former Joslin's store in Colorado Springs and the recently-opened flagship store at Park Meadows in Lone Tree were sold by Dillard's to <a href="/facts/The_May_Department_Stores_Company/BVglSTMB">The May Department Stores Company</a>, which converted the Colorado Springs store to a <a href="/facts/Foley%2527s/YQ0v0VbE">Foley's</a> and the Park Meadows store to the Denver area's second <a href="/facts/Lord_%2526_Taylor/7621MHMj">Lord & Taylor</a> store.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="locations">Locations</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th>Location</th><th>Address</th><th>Opened</th><th>Closed</th><th>Disposition</th></tr><tr><td>Downtown Denver</td><td>934 16th Street, Denver</td><td>1873</td><td>1995</td><td>redeveloped into <a href="/facts/Courtyard_by_Marriott/qmcMRh83">Courtyard by Marriott</a>, 1996<p>building received National Historic Register designation, 1997</p></td></tr><tr><td>Greeley</td><td>825-827 Eighth St, Greeley</td><td>1944</td><td>1973</td><td>moved to 1015 9th Ave, 1963<p>replaced by Greeley Mall location, 1973<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>Englewood</td><td>3470 S Broadway, Englewood</td><td>1945</td><td>1954</td><td>Nielsen's Department Store acquired in 1945<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><p>replaced by 3315 South Broadway location</p></td></tr><tr><td>Lakewood</td><td>7308 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood</td><td>1946</td><td>1957</td><td>replaced by JCRS Shopping Center location</td></tr><tr><td>Aurora</td><td>9620 E Colfax Ave, Aurora</td><td>1949</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Broadway_Plaza_(Denver)/3nL504jB">Merchants' Park Shopping Center</a></td><td>627 S Broadway, Denver</td><td>1952</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Englewood</td><td>3315 S Broadway, Englewood</td><td>1954</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Boulder</td><td>1919 14th St, Boulder</td><td>1956</td><td>1980</td><td>first three/four floors of Colorado Building remodeled into offices<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td>Lakewood</td><td>JCRS Shopping Center, 6715 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood</td><td>1957</td><td>early 1970s</td><td>space redeveloped into <a href="/facts/Casa_Bonita/aqs448uk">Casa Bonita</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td>Villa Italia</td><td>7200 W Alameda Ave, Lakewood</td><td>1966</td><td>2000</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>redeveloped for <a href="/facts/Belmar_(Lakewood)/Yb2lto5h">Belmar</a></p></td></tr><tr><td>Pueblo</td><td>southeast corner of Main Street and W 4th Street, Pueblo</td><td>1970</td><td>1976</td><td>Crews-Beggs Dry Goods Co acquired in 1959, changed to Joslin's name in 1970<p>replaced by Pueblo Mall location, 1976</p></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Cinderella_City/oWpSH3mG">Cinderella City</a></td><td>Englewood</td><td>1968</td><td>1995</td><td>replaced by Southglenn Mall location, 1995</td></tr><tr><td>Buckingham Square Mall</td><td>1440 S Havana St, Aurora</td><td>1971</td><td>2005</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>redeveloped for <a href="/facts/The_Gardens_on_Havana/es91uPD4">The Gardens on Havana</a></p></td></tr><tr><td>Greeley Mall</td><td>2050 Greeley Mall, Greeley</td><td>1973</td><td>2008</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>closed, 2008</p></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Pueblo_Mall/LWnXc3vA">Pueblo Mall</a></td><td>3601 Dillon Dr, Pueblo</td><td>1976</td><td></td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Westminster_Mall_(Colorado)/mqLmk8r0">Westminster Mall</a></td><td>5433 W 88th Ave, Westminster</td><td>1977</td><td>2011</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>closed, 2011</p></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Southwest_Plaza/GbwWuyRG">Southwest Plaza</a></td><td>8501 W Bowles Ave, Littleton</td><td>1983</td><td>2006</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>converted to a <a href="/facts/Dick%2527s_Sporting_Goods/QB00N5TT">Dick's Sporting Goods</a> and <a href="/facts/Steve_%2526_Barry%2527s/Y3KxS5kR">Steve & Barry's</a>, 2006</p></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Frontier_Mall/nPNXJ8kc">Frontier Mall</a></td><td>1400 Dell Range Blvd, Cheyenne, WY</td><td>1983</td><td>2021</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>closed, 2021location purchased by Appliance Factory & Mattress Kingdom, 2023<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></p></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Chapel_Hills_Mall/DpPd3Gzq">Chapel Hills Mall</a></td><td>1750 Briargate Blvd, Colorado Springs</td><td>1985</td><td>1998</td><td>location purchased by <a href="/facts/The_May_Department_Stores_Company/BVglSTMB">May</a> and converted to <a href="/facts/Foley%2527s/YQ0v0VbE">Foley's</a>, 1998<p>converted to a Macy's, 2006</p></td></tr><tr><td>Twin Peaks Mall</td><td>1250 S Hover St, Longmont</td><td>1985</td><td>c. 2008<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>redeveloped for Village at the Peaks, 2014</p></td></tr><tr><td>Southglenn Mall</td><td>6911 S University Blvd, Centennial</td><td>1994</td><td>2006</td><td>converted to a Dillard's store, 1998<p>redeveloped for <a href="/facts/The_Streets_at_SouthGlenn/p4TvsXwm">The Streets at SouthGlenn</a>, 2006<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></p></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Park_Meadows/2hpcNUD9">Park Meadows</a></td><td>8425 Park Meadows Center Dr, Lone Tree</td><td>1997</td><td>1998</td><td>location purchased by <a href="/facts/The_May_Department_Stores_Company/BVglSTMB">May</a>, 1998, and converted to <a href="/facts/Lord_%2526_Taylor/7621MHMj">Lord & Taylor</a>, 1999</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Barnhouse, Mark A. (November 2018). <i>Lost Department Stores of Denver</i>. Arcadia Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-439-66585-5</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Rebchook, John (19 May 1998). "J.J. Joslin started store 125 years ago downtown". Rocky Mountain News. p. 4B. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Bunn, Dina (19 May 1998). "Curtain Falls on Joslins". Rocky Mountain News. p. 1B. The Little Rock, Ark., retailer announced Monday it is buying Mercantile for $3.14 billion in cash and assumed debt.Ten Joslins stores in the state and one in Cheyenne will close or be converted to Dillard's. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Dubroff, Henry (23 May 1998). "An unforgettable department store sale". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/1998/05/25/newscolumn1.html" target="_blank">http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/1998/05/25/newscolumn1.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Parker, Penny (4 Aug 1998). "Lord & Taylor coming to mall". Denver Post. p. C-1. The Joslins at Park Meadows is turning into a Lord & Taylor and the Joslins at Chapel Hills mall in Colorado Springs will become a Foley's, according to the terms of a deal announced Monday between Dillard's and May Department Stores Co. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Edgerton, Red (29 Jun 1973). "Joslins adds and expands merchandise in new store". Greeley Daily Tribune. p. 44. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/greeley-daily-tribune-joslin-dry-goods/19338520/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/article/greeley-daily-tribune-joslin-dry-goods/19338520/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Downtown History Tour". City of Englewood / Englewood Historic Preservation Society. 8 Oct 2021. <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9ed593c8b7ad4a4787e15a7dd48b8643#ref-n-ZEasta" target="_blank">https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9ed593c8b7ad4a4787e15a7dd48b8643#ref-n-ZEasta</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Joslin's exteriors: Photo 1". Boulder Historical Society/Museum of Boulder. . . . plans were soon announced that the Colorado Building would be remodeled into a financial and office building. According to a 31 October 1979 Boulder Daily Camera article, the Boulder Joslin's location was due to close 31 January 1980 because of difficulty finding a new location. <a href="https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A34556/" target="_blank">https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A34556/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Lewis, Rosemary (2012). "Fortress Commerce: Jefferson County's Malls" (PDF). Historically Jeffco. Jefferson County Historical Commission. pp. 3–7. Joslin's moved out of JCRS in the late 1970s and its space became the Casa Bonita restaurant. <a href="https://historicjeffco.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/historical_jeffco_2012_web.pdf" target="_blank">https://historicjeffco.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/historical_jeffco_2012_web.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Former Dillard's in Cheyenne Purchased by Appliance Factory & Mattress Kingdom". Cheyenne Post. 27 Feb 2023. <a href="https://www.thecheyennepost.com/business/former-dillard-s-in-cheyenne-purchased-by-appliance-factory-mattress-kingdom/article_04ecc24a-b6d4-11ed-8648-b3a3b2c6455c.html" target="_blank">https://www.thecheyennepost.com/business/former-dillard-s-in-cheyenne-purchased-by-appliance-factory-mattress-kingdom/article_04ecc24a-b6d4-11ed-8648-b3a3b2c6455c.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Holiday shopping season will be 28th — and final — for Twin Peaks Mall". Longmont Times-Call. 7 Dec 2013. <a href="https://www.timescall.com/2013/12/07/holiday-shopping-season-will-be-28th-and-final-for-twin-peaks-mall/" target="_blank">https://www.timescall.com/2013/12/07/holiday-shopping-season-will-be-28th-and-final-for-twin-peaks-mall/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Arellano, Kristi (1 Mar 2006). "Mall's closing buys a moment of nostalgia". Denver Post. p. C-01. <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2006/02/28/malls-closing-buys-a-moment-of-nostalgia/" target="_blank">https://www.denverpost.com/2006/02/28/malls-closing-buys-a-moment-of-nostalgia/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>