Company could try to reanimate the corpse of Jordan Marsh

Growing up in a different city I remember several department stores. Approaching the buildings immediately signaled that these were not just plain structures of brick and mortar. The Neo-Classical, Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs signaled that these buildings were places where a higher standard of behavior and conduct was expected. The atmosphere lifted anyone who entered to a state of elegance and sophistication based on the design and environment of architecture, displays and charisma unique to temples of retail commerce. They were the location where adults and children were both expected to act more like adults and less like children. The displays were beautiful, the downtown department store was the place where a child's fantasy of Santa was discovered to be real (although I was always confused by the Santa's who were on the streets in town centers).

Not that these were perfect wonderlands of commerce and civilization. When racism was imposed then the civilization was show to be a brittle thin layer where only a certain caste could feel included and comfortable.

This was also when urban centers were also commercial centers of cities. Before urban centers were hung, gutted and quartered as wealth fled to the suburbs to get away for "that element." This was also before the lowest price became the most important factor in retail for most people so that the less tangible but still important qualities of art and design in retail were left to cookie cutter plastics that looked like an aesthetic movement that could be identified by an ism of cheap plastic trashism.

While I would not trade how much our society has matured in terms of leaving skin color, religious differences, creeds, ethnicities, sexual orientation at home where public accommodations, etc. are concerned (except of course for religionists who need to live in a state of purity where they are pure and everyone else is tainted - prehistoric tribalism is alive and well). I would like to see added to our commercial world a recreation of the department store which, while executing its goal of creating profit through retail, provided the side effect of encouraging people to be just a little more civilized, even elegant and a little more mature in their public behavior. As opposed to the regular behavior of adults who act as though they are in cheap and stupid slapstick comedy that is not funny (with all due respect to the Marx Brothers and Three Stooges).

Visit the Macys (nee Wannamakers) in Philadelphia. Meet someone under the Eagle for lunch. Enjoy an organ concert given in their marbled Grand Court from the 28,000 pipe organ. Take a moment from the endless competition to beat the next person at whatever game is being played to actually enjoy the results of both art and commerce. Perhaps department stores were the true religious temples of the commercial society. But instead of depending on black robed worthies voicing their interpretations of the supposed inspirations of a grumpy sky god that was into smiting and smoting, these temples were much more earthly but nevertheless accomplished the same goals of imparting and supporting behaviors and conduct that taught people how to be civilized.