Forever Dayton’s

Dayton’s was a department store once located in the frozen wilds of Minneapolis, Minnesota.   

Dayton’s entire business philosophy was based upon the age-old axiom of; “the customer is always right” and “our word is our bond.”  

With regards customer service, all customers were to be treated respectfully and all issues were to be resolved immediately and to the complete satisfaction of the customer. 

This method of doing business served the Dayton family well.  They were among the most successful and became one of wealthiest families in Minnesota. 

Minnesotans who experienced the long-term grandeur of this magnificent emporium have at least one inimitable story about Dayton’s.  Consider the young mother who took her two very young sons shopping in downtown Minneapolis.  Such a 1950’s excursion would naturally include a stop at everyone’s favorite department store, Dayton’s. 

The oldest of the little lads was demanding an immediate visit to the toy department.  While mom had promised that such a visit was forthcoming this little guy had run out of patience with his mother’s infernal browsing and the insistence that her desires take precedence.  

In an attempt to quell the whining, she assured him that the toy department was on the same floor they currently occupied and that would be their next stop.  This youngster, like all youngsters of his era, knew exactly where the toy department was located and it wasn’t on that floor. To prove he was right he ran over to a man and asked him where the toy department was.  The lad knew he had to work at the store because he was a man and men weren’t seen shopping in Dayton’s in the middle of the day – only women. 

The gentleman told the little boy it was three floors up and directed him to the escalator. 

The mother came over and collected her insulant offspring.  She apologized to the gentleman but as she did, she noticed a number of sales clerks were smiling and laughing.  In her somewhat embarrassed state, she asked if her son had said something rude or impolite.  They responded that the lad was very polite but that the man her son approached – the man she had just apologized to - was none other than Donald Dayton, the president and grandson of the founder of that magnificent emporium.  

So, this mom was able, by pure happenstance, to meet one of the Twin Cities most notable residents.  Naturally the next stop was indeed three floors up and the toy department.  All was once again, right with the world. 

Christmas wasn’t Christmas without a visit to Dayton’s.  The entire downtown Minneapolis area was beautifully decorated (since abandoned).  The true centerpiece was Dayton’s.  Its window displays found gazers three to five people deep. If little lads weren’t perched high atop their father’s shoulders, they would have to push their way through the crowd to gawk at the exhilarating magic.

As years passed, the stores eighth floor auditorium was turned into a cornucopia of Christmas delight. Each year a different Christmas story would be told through remarkably beautiful animated Christmas holiday displays.  The line to see these treasures could stretch down to the third or fourth floor of the store.  The wait could be two hours or more and was never viewed as an annoyance.  Everyone knew that yet another thrill was forthcoming.  At the end of the story, it was time for the visit with Santa.  Dayton’s was masterful at making Christmas special. 

In 2001 the Dayton’s name was replaced by Marshall Fields and later Macy’s.  Most Minnesotans refused to accept the name change and throughout the years continued to refer the chain of department stores as Dayton’s, no matter what name appeared on the buildings. 

That little boy from the 1950’s saved and closely guarded old Dayton's shopping bags. They became one his most prized possessions.  He would take them along when he went shopping just in case anything was purchased at Macy's.  He would then insist the purchases be placed in the Dayton's bags. The Macy’s personnel were as pleased by this demand as his mother was with his persistence for an immediate visit to that toy department.  He found it great fun and a very special way to remember the store and remind others of its once glorious existence. 

On March 19, 2017 the downtown Minneapolis flagship store, built in 1902, was closed. 

If we live long enough, we eventually experience days in which we lament the fact that we may have lived too long.  That was one of those days. 

Unfortunately, all that remains of Dayton’s is the memory of an elation that could once be understandably expressed by tossing ones’ hat into the air in front of the old venerable department store – an elation that can only be recaptured today by viewing the opening credits for the Mary Tyler Moore Show.