R. H. Stearns and Company
R. H. Stearns & Company, or Stearns, as it was commonly called, was an upper-middle market department store based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded by R. H. Stearns in 1847. The flagship store - from 1909, the R. H. Stearns Building - was located on Tremont Street, opposite Boston Common, a few blocks away from its primary competitors on Washington Street, Filene's and Jordan Marsh. R. H. Stearns carved out a niche as being more service-oriented than its competitors, and it was considered by many to be the "carriage trade" store of the Boston area. By the mid-1970s the changing face of the retail marketplace caught up with the store, and it did not have the financial backing like Filene's or Jordan Marsh, who were both owned by large national retail holding companies. At the time of Stearns' demise Filene's was owned by Federated Department Stores, and Jordan Marsh was owned by Allied Stores. History In 1847, Richard H. Stearns opened a one-room shop at 369 Washington Street, next to the Adams House, where he sold yard goods, whalebone and thread. Over the next twenty-five years he relocated the business several times, never more than a few blocks from where he