Department Store Magnate. More commonly known as J.L. Hudson, as in J.L. Hudson's Deptartment Store, he came to Detroit, Michigan in 1877, opening a men's & boy's clothing store in 1881 at age 35. In 1891, he built an 8-story store in downtown Detroit, which, together with a 1907 addition, was demolished in the 1920s. In 1911, he opened a store on Detroit's main street, Woodward Ave., adding to it between 1925-28 with 16-stories, part of which extended into a 25-story tower. A 12-story addition was built in 1946, by which time the store had 2.2 million sq. ft. or 49 acres of floor space. In 1912, he took a trip to England & died of pneumonia; his sister's sons took over the store. Posthumously, the department stores became the nation's 3rd-largest in 1927 behind R.H. Macy in New York and Marshall Field's in Chicago.
Department Store Magnate. More commonly known as J.L. Hudson, as in J.L. Hudson's Deptartment Store, he came to Detroit, Michigan in 1877, opening a men's & boy's clothing store in 1881 at age 35. In 1891, he built an 8-story store in downtown Detroit, which, together with a 1907 addition, was demolished in the 1920s. In 1911, he opened a store on Detroit's main street, Woodward Ave., adding to it between 1925-28 with 16-stories, part of which extended into a 25-story tower. A 12-story addition was built in 1946, by which time the store had 2.2 million sq. ft. or 49 acres of floor space. In 1912, he took a trip to England & died of pneumonia; his sister's sons took over the store. Posthumously, the department stores became the nation's 3rd-largest in 1927 behind R.H. Macy in New York and Marshall Field's in Chicago.
Bio by: Earl Richard Sutton
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