Sanger Harris (previously styled as Sanger-Harris) was a department store chain based in Dallas, Texas. The chain was owned by department store conglomerate Federated Department Stores and was formed from the 1961 merger of two Dallas-based chains, Sanger Brothers and A. Harris and Co., both dating back to the 19th century.
At its height, the chain owned 20 stores, most in the DallasâÂÂFort Worth metroplex with some additional stores in Oklahoma and Arizona. In 1987, Federated merged Sanger Harris into its Houston-based Foley's chain, which itself would be merged into Macy's in 2006. Most former Sanger Harris stores have been demolished or remodeled.
Sanger Harris of Dallas, Texas, was the result of the 1961 merger of then four-unit Sanger Brothers Dry Goods Company of Dallas, founded in 1868 by the five Sanger brothers and acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1951; and the two-unit A. Harris and Company of Dallas, founded in 1887 and acquired by Federated in 1961.
In 1965 the company built a new downtown Dallas store to replace the flagship stores of the two companies and, so the business legend goes, turned down the opportunity to move into a new shopping center called NorthPark Center. During the late 1970s, the chain dropped the hyphen between 'Sanger' and 'Harris' (rumored as a way to differentiate from hometown rival Neiman-Marcus), and continued as an upper-moderate shopping destination. In January 1987 it was merged into the Foley's division; the combined division was sold to The May Department Store Company the next year. Most locations are now Macy's since 2006 when Federated Stores bought out The May Department Stores Company in 2005.
Sanger Harris stores are known for their distinctive architectural styling, featuring large white marble columns and an abstract mosaic crafted from tiles. This design was introduced with the 1965 downtown flagship, which had the columns and mosaic covering three sides of the store. Future stores, starting with the 1970 store at Six Flags Mall, emulated this design at smaller entryways, with mosaic designs that were, with a few exceptions, unique to each store. Many of the mosaics were designed by Brenda Stubel, one of the first female architects in Dallas.
The mosaic and columns were present at most Sanger Harris department stores constructed between 1965 and 1982. Most of these stores have since been demolished or remodeled; for example, the downtown flagship still features its marble columns, but the tiles were removed when it was renovated into an office building. The only mosaics remaining are at the Hulen Mall, Woodland Hills Mall, and The Shops at RedBird locations. Efforts to preserve the mosaics at demolished locations, such as Valley View Center and Collin Creek Mall, have failed due to the murals' thick asbestos-based stucco and lack of a metallic lath resulting in high removal, cleaning, and preservation costs.