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When Filene's was bought by Federated Department Stores, Inc. this past February for $17 billion, many anticipated changes to Downtown Crossing. After already going through an identity crisis (changing from Boston's own Jordan Marsh to Macy's), the Macy's storefront has always remained a competitor with Filene's and her basement across the street. This recent buyout of Filene's now leaves Federated, who happens to own Macy's too, with two stores across the street from one another. A Globe article today mentions talk of Target execs' interest in taking over the Macy's spot and turning it into one of their stores. According to our beloved mayor, he was in Istanbul last month at the International Council of Shopping Centers, and was chatting it up with them. Menino of course put in his two cents: "I'm a big fan of Target...It would bring a lot of vibrancy to that area."
Federated also announced in March that they are planning on turning most of the May Department Stores into Macy's. This would then mean our Filene's and the bargain basement included, could become a Macy's (a higher chance if Target is eyeing the Macy's property on Summer Street).
While many other cities have recently welcomed large chain stores into their downtowns, saving city folks a trip into the 'burbs, Boston has yet to really jump on this bandwagon. (In terms of Target, one has to travel all the way to Somerville, Watertown or the South Bay Center off I-93.) Manhattan has recently welcomed big chains like Target, Kmart and Home Depot to their little island.
Bostonist does love the Target and introducing it into Downtown Crossing will be another step in Menino's plan to class up the Washington Street area from the porn mecca it once was. Just please don't touch those street carts hocking "hot nuts" and the great deals on flowers...yes, Bostonist said "hot nuts."
Photo courtesy of The AP / Steven Senne
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Filene's Basement is under totally separate ownership from Filene's, so whatever Federated does with the main Filene's store, it's not going to close down the Basement.
Also, where is this "porn mecca" in Downtown Crossing? Somehow I've missed it entirely.
Sure, maybe not quite a porn mecca...but we hear all these stories about the good old days when the Mayflower was still showing skin flicks and they still called the "ladder district" the "combat zone"...but we're not really old enough to understand the history pre-1980 when it closed.
My mistake about the separate ownership of Filene's Basement, but I'm quite happy to hear about it possibly surviving even if does become a Macy's...as for "porn mecca", I've just heard stories from the good ol' days when it was full of porno film houses and drug dealers on every corner, but I'm too young to have actually seen it.
And to clarify, I don't think that Target stores in the area are THAT far away. Please understand that those, like myself, who have to rely on the T to get everywhere, can't make a quick trip to Target without taking a few buses to get there. Oh, to have my own car in the city. A girl can dream, can't she?
Downtown Crossing didn't have porn movie houses. Those were further down Washington Street:
There also used to be a few non-porn theaters showing third-run or kung-fu exploitation films, such as the Pagoda (originally Center, now the Empire Garden restaurant), the Star Cinema (once the RKO Boston and then the Boston Cinerama), and the late lamented Publix (originally Gaiety, now being demolished as you read this). But none of them were in the Crossing either.
the gaiety kind of had strippers for a little while, and there might have been some theaters that showed porn in scollay square. you can still probably buy drugs in downtown crossing if you hang around long enough.
i think paul reubens would have been disappointed.
The Gaiety (Publix) was strictly a movie theatre since at least the early 1940s. It showed second- and third-run action and exploitation films, but not porn.
If it ever had strippers during its burlesque days, they were in the 30s or earlier.