W. G. Swartz Company | Sargeant Memorial Collection

Name: W. G. Swartz Company

Historical Note: W. G. Swartz Company began as a department store in 1896 at Main Street and Granby Street in Norfolk, Virginia under the name of Miller, Rhoads & Swartz. After five years, the store moved to another building on Main Street, across from the Confederate Monument at the head of Commercial Place. In 1907, the store grew to encompass the area at Bank and Plume Streets. W. G. Swartz acquired the interests of Miller and Rhoads on July 1, 1927, and he changed the name of the store to W. G. Swartz Company, Inc. On November 1, 1963, a branch of W. G. Swartz Company opened at Southern Shopping Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The downtown Norfolk store closed its doors on November 25, 1964 as a result of urban renewal on Main Street, the loss of ferries and addition of the Norfolk-Portsmouth tunnel in 1952, and a continual shift in retail shopping from Main Street to Granby Street.

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by W. G. Swartz Company