The Burdines story began at a Miami trading post in 1898.
A Confederate army officer born in Mississippi, William M. Burdine moves farther south after a freeze wiped out his Bartow citrus business but spared Miami. He opened a dry goods store/trading post in pioneer Miami with a customer pledge of "upright dealing." During the early years the biggest single transaction was a Seminole tribesman who forked over a then-startling $108 for the store's entire stock of green calico.
By 1912, Roddey Burdine, William's 23-year-old son, was in charge, and he built what seemed like a skyscraper at the time -- a five-story tower with an elevator and air conditioning that is still part of the downtown Miami store.
Sales grew as the city evolved into a popular vacation destination, and Burdines touted itself with ads in Northeast publications as the outfitter of the tropics.
In 1929, the Miami department store coined a phrase, "Sunshine Fashions," and urged Florida's winter tourists to arrive with "trunks empty" so they could fill them with bright and breezy vacation duds at Burdines.
When the song Moon Over Miami hit it big in the 1930s, the store brought out a clothing line bearing the same name. In 1946, it introduced the Tina Lesser strapless bathing suit, the first without stockings and formal hats. Shipping tropical fruits home for visiting customers became so big in the 1940s that Burdines opened its own packing house to handle the orders.
For its Sunshine Fashions, Burdines was careful to pick styles that were bold and bright enough to say Florida, but not so wild that they'd stay in the closet once the tourists got home.
Burdines rode its tropical appeal as it expanded across South Florida in the prosperity that followed World War II. Fort Lauderdale was so eager for a downtown Burdines in 1946 that it sold the store its City Hall, then on Southwest Second Street, and moved three blocks down, George said.
Federated purchased Burdines in 1956, pumping fresh cash into the overextended chain and fueling an expansion that would spread across Florida in the next 30 years. Federated Department Stores renamed the stores Burdines-Macy's in 2003, then dropped Burdine's in 2005 in an effort to establish a nationwide brand. A legend was no more...but we will always remember the name BURDINE
A Confederate army officer born in Mississippi, William M. Burdine moves farther south after a freeze wiped out his Bartow citrus business but spared Miami. He opened a dry goods store/trading post in pioneer Miami with a customer pledge of "upright dealing." During the early years the biggest single transaction was a Seminole tribesman who forked over a then-startling $108 for the store's entire stock of green calico.
By 1912, Roddey Burdine, William's 23-year-old son, was in charge, and he built what seemed like a skyscraper at the time -- a five-story tower with an elevator and air conditioning that is still part of the downtown Miami store.
Sales grew as the city evolved into a popular vacation destination, and Burdines touted itself with ads in Northeast publications as the outfitter of the tropics.
In 1929, the Miami department store coined a phrase, "Sunshine Fashions," and urged Florida's winter tourists to arrive with "trunks empty" so they could fill them with bright and breezy vacation duds at Burdines.
When the song Moon Over Miami hit it big in the 1930s, the store brought out a clothing line bearing the same name. In 1946, it introduced the Tina Lesser strapless bathing suit, the first without stockings and formal hats. Shipping tropical fruits home for visiting customers became so big in the 1940s that Burdines opened its own packing house to handle the orders.
For its Sunshine Fashions, Burdines was careful to pick styles that were bold and bright enough to say Florida, but not so wild that they'd stay in the closet once the tourists got home.
Burdines rode its tropical appeal as it expanded across South Florida in the prosperity that followed World War II. Fort Lauderdale was so eager for a downtown Burdines in 1946 that it sold the store its City Hall, then on Southwest Second Street, and moved three blocks down, George said.
Federated purchased Burdines in 1956, pumping fresh cash into the overextended chain and fueling an expansion that would spread across Florida in the next 30 years. Federated Department Stores renamed the stores Burdines-Macy's in 2003, then dropped Burdine's in 2005 in an effort to establish a nationwide brand. A legend was no more...but we will always remember the name BURDINE
The Burdines story began at a Miami trading post in 1898.
A Confederate army officer born in Mississippi, William M. Burdine moves farther south after a freeze wiped out his Bartow citrus business but spared Miami. He opened a dry goods store/trading post in pioneer Miami with a customer pledge of "upright dealing." During the early years the biggest single transaction was a Seminole tribesman who forked over a then-startling $108 for the store's entire stock of green calico.
By 1912, Roddey Burdine, William's 23-year-old son, was in charge, and he built what seemed like a skyscraper at the time -- a five-story tower with an elevator and air conditioning that is still part of the downtown Miami store.
Sales grew as the city evolved into a popular vacation destination, and Burdines touted itself with ads in Northeast publications as the outfitter of the tropics.
In 1929, the Miami department store coined a phrase, "Sunshine Fashions," and urged Florida's winter tourists to arrive with "trunks empty" so they could fill them with bright and breezy vacation duds at Burdines.
When the song Moon Over Miami hit it big in the 1930s, the store brought out a clothing line bearing the same name. In 1946, it introduced the Tina Lesser strapless bathing suit, the first without stockings and formal hats. Shipping tropical fruits home for visiting customers became so big in the 1940s that Burdines opened its own packing house to handle the orders.
For its Sunshine Fashions, Burdines was careful to pick styles that were bold and bright enough to say Florida, but not so wild that they'd stay in the closet once the tourists got home.
Burdines rode its tropical appeal as it expanded across South Florida in the prosperity that followed World War II. Fort Lauderdale was so eager for a downtown Burdines in 1946 that it sold the store its City Hall, then on Southwest Second Street, and moved three blocks down, George said.
Federated purchased Burdines in 1956, pumping fresh cash into the overextended chain and fueling an expansion that would spread across Florida in the next 30 years. Federated Department Stores renamed the stores Burdines-Macy's in 2003, then dropped Burdine's in 2005 in an effort to establish a nationwide brand. A legend was no more...but we will always remember the name BURDINE
A Confederate army officer born in Mississippi, William M. Burdine moves farther south after a freeze wiped out his Bartow citrus business but spared Miami. He opened a dry goods store/trading post in pioneer Miami with a customer pledge of "upright dealing." During the early years the biggest single transaction was a Seminole tribesman who forked over a then-startling $108 for the store's entire stock of green calico.
By 1912, Roddey Burdine, William's 23-year-old son, was in charge, and he built what seemed like a skyscraper at the time -- a five-story tower with an elevator and air conditioning that is still part of the downtown Miami store.
Sales grew as the city evolved into a popular vacation destination, and Burdines touted itself with ads in Northeast publications as the outfitter of the tropics.
In 1929, the Miami department store coined a phrase, "Sunshine Fashions," and urged Florida's winter tourists to arrive with "trunks empty" so they could fill them with bright and breezy vacation duds at Burdines.
When the song Moon Over Miami hit it big in the 1930s, the store brought out a clothing line bearing the same name. In 1946, it introduced the Tina Lesser strapless bathing suit, the first without stockings and formal hats. Shipping tropical fruits home for visiting customers became so big in the 1940s that Burdines opened its own packing house to handle the orders.
For its Sunshine Fashions, Burdines was careful to pick styles that were bold and bright enough to say Florida, but not so wild that they'd stay in the closet once the tourists got home.
Burdines rode its tropical appeal as it expanded across South Florida in the prosperity that followed World War II. Fort Lauderdale was so eager for a downtown Burdines in 1946 that it sold the store its City Hall, then on Southwest Second Street, and moved three blocks down, George said.
Federated purchased Burdines in 1956, pumping fresh cash into the overextended chain and fueling an expansion that would spread across Florida in the next 30 years. Federated Department Stores renamed the stores Burdines-Macy's in 2003, then dropped Burdine's in 2005 in an effort to establish a nationwide brand. A legend was no more...but we will always remember the name BURDINE
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