# Georgetown University Shop



## Angrik (Dec 7, 2006)

Does anyone remember the Georgetown University Shop? I purchased a black/white herringbone overcoat from them as well as several oxford cloth shirts in the early 1980s when I was a college student. I believe the Georgetown store closed first, followed later by the closing of the Chevy Chase store. 

I also remember the Powers & Goode Men's store in College Park, MD. That store survived the 1970s era only to close at the start of the Reagan era.


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## HL Poling and Sons (Mar 24, 2006)

I worked there for two years in the mid-eighties when I was an undergrad at GU. I remember it well and with great fondness.

HL


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## Mel (Dec 12, 2006)

*Gt Univ Shop*

The Georgetown University Shop was great. It was owned by Tom Saltz who originially owned Lewis and Thomas Saltz's shop in downtown DC. With Tom's aging and wish to get out of the business the store went under. I am not sure if he sold it before it closed.


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## medwards (Feb 6, 2005)

Angrik said:


> Does anyone remember the Georgetown University Shop?


Indeed I do. It is missed.


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## Tom Buchanan (Nov 7, 2005)

I remember it well. Did not know the Saltz connection. Morbid trivia -- RFK was wearing a Georgetown Univ. Shop suit the day he was assassinated.


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## HL Poling and Sons (Mar 24, 2006)

Salz sold the store to a family named Smoot (if I remember correctly). Smoot was formerly with Woodward and Lathrop, the DC department store. As a department store merchant, Smoot didn't have a real sense of the GU Shop customer, didn't really know "trad" (to retro-fit this term). This was one of the long list of problems that led to the demise of the store (I could go on and on about the others). Smoot was my boss in those last years of the shop.

There was also a fellow named Stever Barrabas who I believe owned the shop before Salz. This, of course, would have been in the golden age...


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

Tom Buchanan said:


> I remember it well. Did not know the Saltz connection. Morbid trivia -- RFK was wearing a Georgetown Univ. Shop suit the day he was assassinated.


I've posted several times about my fond memories of the GU Shop as well as Powers & Goode (where I bought my first "real, grownup" suit in the late 1970s).

As I've mentioned in those posts, the 1980s TV miniseries about RFK with Brad Davis contains a scene shot inside the original 36th Street, NW, location of the GU Shop (Bobby and Ethel are discussing something while he tries on clothes):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088594/

The building is still there and now houses, IIRC, offices used by the University for the alumni association or something.

I still have wooden hangers and a few small items from the GU Shop. Got quite a few nice suits there by Corbin, Oritsky of Reading, H. Freeman, and Hartz-Oakloom, and I loved the Troy Guild shirts.

Arthur A. Adler was another fine old DC men's store that is no more. Wm. Fox & Co. carries on the tradition as a kind of lonely torchbearer (Fox, on G near 15th, carries wonderful top-quality stuff, BTW, and visitors to DC should not miss it).


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## Angrik (Dec 7, 2006)

Wow! I forgot about Arthur Adler and the Lewis and Thomas Saltz store. 

I donated my GU shop overcoat to a charity last winter. Although I had it for more than 20 years, it looked and felt new. With dress casual being the norm at my company, I had no use for it. But I sure do miss that overcoat, especially since that was my last connection to the GU shop.


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## ronwatt (Mar 8, 2011)

I find this thread most enlightening, my father was in the mensware business in Washington DC from the 50's to the 70s. He had owned a mensware store in England prior to World War 2 and after the war immegrated to the US he developed a high end client bas that followed him from location to location during his career including RFK & Richard Nixon, he probably sold RFK the suit mentioned above. He worked for Farensworth Reed, Lewis & Thomas Saltz, Sidney West, Rogers Pete, Pritchard's (where a young Craig Fox began) Georgetown University Shop (for both Steve Barabas, Then Tom Saltz) and finaly went to Brooks Brothers when they came to Washington. Thanks for the memories!


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Britches, Raleighs, Garfinckles, Woodies and Hechts all closed in succession the moment I moved here in the early 90s.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Britches, Raleighs, Garfinckles, Woodies and Hechts all closed in succession the moment I moved here in the early 90s.


Well Hecht's was here until 2003 or so I think. I bought my most recent pair of Weejuns there. I remember Britches very fondly, great store, both the regular one and 'Great Outdoors'.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

DC is such a vibrant, consumer-driven market that it's a little hard for me to understand the high rate of retail business failure. My first real business job, long ago, involved me in the liquidation of Farnsworth-Reed, mentioned above. Huge quantities of third-rate stuff was brought in, had the venerable Farnsworth-Reed label slapped on it, was way overpriced at "50% off" and unloaded in massive quantities in a year long "going out of business" sale.


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## Mazama (May 21, 2009)

Mel said:


> The Georgetown University Shop was great. It was owned by Tom Saltz who originially owned Lewis and Thomas Saltz's shop in downtown DC. With Tom's aging and wish to get out of the business the store went under. I am not sure if he sold it before it closed.


In the 1960s Lewis and Thomas Saltz was a prototype traditional men's clothing store in downtown DC about a block from the Treasury Department and two blocks from the White House. Every Wednesday, as I recall, they ran a small advertisement, of the sort now posted here as examples of class Trad style/advertising, on page A2 of the Washington Post which I studied as a style model. Sounds like they may have closed in the mid-to late-70s.


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## bsteinbach (May 24, 2011)

*Georgetown University Shop and Lewis & Thos. Saltz*

I thought I would offer some comments as I have personal knowledge, my father Heinz (Henry) Steinbach having worked for Saltz for 34 years, some 23 as its VP, general manager and head buyer. 
The brothers Lewis and Thos. Saltz first had a business in DC called Saltz brothers that was located on F St, I believe more or less where Raleigh's later had a location. That closed and they later, by sometime during the early 40's opened Lewis & Thos. Saltz at 1409 G St., later expanding next door into 1411 G. It became the premiere men's clothing store in DC, although a shout out should be given to Arthur Adler and Raleigh's before they became more of a chain. 
In about 1955 they sold out to the Steen family out of Chicago - Enoch Steen had a number of clothing businesses (see Enoch Steen collection at 
 ). Lewis died not long thereafter. Son Richard Steen came to DC to be the president of L&T - son Bill went to SF to run Bullock and Jones, a similar store there. My father started running the business on a day to day basis. By the early 60's they had a store at Connecticut and K as well, and had added a women's department at 14&G. Connecticut Ave. expanded and added a women's department later in the 60's, then was reduced for a few years in the early 70's during construction of the Farragut North Station.
I worked there myself (marking, receiving, some sales) during holidays and summers in high school, college and law school. The clientele was impressive. In addition to JFK's inaugural top hat coming from there  LBJ was a customer - I was there once when he came in as VP not long before he became president, and as president there was a picture of him pointing to his label - as well as many members of Congress and Supreme Court Justices from Vinson to Burger (who I met there just before I took my LSAT). 
In late 1970 they opened a store in Friendship Heights, where Brooks Brothers is now, that included a gift shop as well as a women's department. This did very well and offset some decline in the G St. store due to cut and cover Metro construction in front and general downtown decline after the riots. (A footnote to history - the closest the riots got to the White House was when the windows of the G St. store were broken into and ransacked). I worked there a fair amount and remember a lot of diplomatic trade (obvious because of sales tax exemptions). We wrote up each sale on a ticket, added it ourselves - including the tax - and then took it to the register. A big change was when we started taking credit cards in addition to a store account.
In late 1978 the Steen family decided to liquidate their holdings - there was also a sister and they wanted to divy up the holdings. Saltz was sold to a group headed by Ted Lerner and Sonny Abramson of Tysons fame (and the Lerner family now owns the Nats). Lerner was then building White Flint and wanted to bring Saltz into what was then to be a very upscale mall. There was also interest in moving into Tyson's itself - certainly a Virginia location made sense. They brought in a guy to actually head the operation whose name I forget who had been head of Sun Radio, which had gone under. White Flint opened but really only took away from Friendship Heights. The new management and my father lasted about a year - it seemed to my father that they did not want to make money and in particular the guy that came in did nto seem competent to him. Anyway, by summer 1979 my father was forced out. (He later landed at Britches in the finanical side of things and helped their very successful 80's performance under their founders until he died in 1988 - after the founders left, Brithces foundered). Saltz went downhill after that. It was sold again to some folks out of Tennessee; all but one store closed by 1985 and the last one, Connecticut Ave., soon thereafter - the last owners talked of going into the made to measure business but that went nowhere. The name is still used by these folks for other businesses. The fixtures for Conn. Ave were bought by a Korean who has Christopher Kim's on M St and around 21st. He has a very nice shop, not quite on a par but similar in style and service.
Meanwhile, Tom Saltz had bought the Georgetown Univ. Shop and ran that with his wife. As he got older, he wanted to sell but lacked a long-term lease. So he opened a store around 1979 in the old Friendship Heights shopping center (where Clyde's and Giant are now), which made sense in light of Metro coming in. A few years later he sold the business. I don't know how long the FH store lasted after the Georgetown store closed. Having Brooks Bros. so close probably did not help. (BB moved into this market in the late 70's).
Saltz featured Hathaway shirts in their prime but also sold Troy Guild and, during annual sales at least, Jacobsen as well as some private label. Suits ranged from Haspel (great seersucker in the days before universal air conditioning) up to top of the line Oxxfords. French Shriner and Johnson and Murphy shoes as well as Bass Weejuns and Wallabees when they first came out. Countess Mara, Liberty and other tie lines. 
Those ads - for many years Saltz ran its daily ad on the page opposite the editorials. When the Post decided to have a full op-ed page with no advertising, it offered Saltz a page 2 position. It stayed there until at least the end of the 70's. 
Anyway, thought those who read this might appreciate the musings.


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## Mazama (May 21, 2009)

Thanks, Mr. Steinbach for sharing your memories of the interesting and detail history of Louis & Thomas Saltz.

Your narrative reminds me that I did shop with them out in Friendship Heights when I was in DC for a few months, although the "experience" was nothing like that at the old downtown shop, as era that is forever gone with the wind.


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## CMDC (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks so much for the musings. I've obviously got a great interest in this history given my location and it's great to have some blanks filled in. I come across a lot of these pieces while thrifting and am lucky enough to have some in my rotation.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

many thanks, bsteinbach, to someone who grew up in DC in the 50s and early 60s, that was a great pleasure to read. And, welcome to the forum!


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## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Is this shop now defunct? :confused2:


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

it is.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
LOL. Rambler, you could have tried to soften the blow just a bit, perhaps saying, 'defunct is a rather harsh way of looking at it but, they have cut way back on their merchandising efforts(?)!'


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2020)

My father has a G-shop house account which I exploited to build out a preppy wardrode; Gant, Weejuns and lots of Madras.
A side benefit was that I was allowed to keep my parking space in the side lot a go and get real drunk at the Tombs.
I also remember seeing Mary Travers there, maybe buying for Peter and Paul.


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2020)

Guest-488630 said:


> My father has a G-shop house account which I exploited to build out a preppy wardrode; Gant, Weejuns and lots of Madras.
> A side benefit was that I was allowed to keep my parking space in the side lot a go and get real drunk at the Tombs.
> I also remember seeing Mary Travers there, maybe buying for Pepter and Paul.


Haha, I enjoyed being on duty in the car park, anything to be outside in the warm sun, slightly warmer than Scotland so was a novelty whilst working there! Remember Tombs too, great place for a pint or two during lunch breaks!


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2020)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Britches, Raleighs, Garfinckles, Woodies and Hechts all closed in succession the moment I moved here in the early 90s.


Long before there was Burberry Shop in DC the Georgetown University Shop carried Burberry trench coats for women. Even though I worked for Woodies at the time and had a discount on clothing I wanted the Burberry trench. I saved and saved for one and wore it forever.


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## MarcDavidMiller (Mar 1, 2005)

I remember GU shop well, both the Georgetown and Chevy Chase locations. The only item I ever purchased, though, was two shirts for black tie use, with detachable collars, bib fronts and they buttoned in the back, to have an uninterrupted bib. Classy!

I worked at the Georgetown Inn on Wisconsin and N Streets for a couple of years (1982-1984), and spent far too much of my funds at Britches of Georgetown, F. Scott’s, and Piccolo Mondo (downtown). Britches had a great selection of trad clothing, a bit more modern and fitted than Brooks Brothers at the time, including Alan Flusser. Flusser stayed at the hotel and I had breakfast with him, a sartorial thrill. I asked him why he didn’t include Hermès ties in his book of clothing musts: he said that he didn’t like them very much! 

I also got to meet Alexander Julian when he opened a store on WIsconsin Avenue. He drove, or was driven in, a private Checker Cab. Great clothing, again very traditional in cut but with more innovative colors (and still high quality). 

Back to food/drink: I did go to Tombs but much preferred F. Scott’s, a fun place where I could put wear black tie on a Saturday night for a date. My eatery of choice was Martin’s Tavern, across the street from the Georgetown Inn. A real family atmosphere, good food and even on a first visit you would be considered a regular. I also enjoyed Desparado’s on M Street, a bit of a dive bar a block from where I lived and now the Embassy of Ukraine. A few years ago the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy and I were talking about the building and he was quite amused about my description of it when it was a bar.

I recently moved back to Washington after being in New York most of my life, and am just rediscovering the magic of this capital city. Obviously this thread brings up many memories.


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## Iain Caird (Nov 19, 2017)

I remember going with Mr Saltz in the car to help him with an ‘antique‘ chair he’d bought! I remember it for two reasons.
A) in relation to antiques in Scotland this chair was new
B) I was terrified as he drove along a one way street the wrong way. I did point out that the street was one way but just seemed to make him drive quicker!

After working there for 3 months I went to work in Rubinstein Bros in New Orleans for another 3 months. Best 6 months of my life!


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2020)

Angrik said:


> Does anyone remember the Georgetown University Shop? I purchased a black/white herringbone overcoat from them as well as several oxford cloth shirts in the early 1980s when I was a college student. I believe the Georgetown store closed first, followed later by the closing of the Chevy Chase store.
> 
> I also remember the Powers & Goode Men's store in College Park, MD. That store survived the 1970s era only to close at the start of the Reagan era.


I worked there 1977-1980...loved it...remember guys like Bill Nealon, Joe Sewell, Chris Craig. Keith Siebert, John Diamond, all great guys...Anyone know where any of them are now?


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