RIP David Prowse. I’ll assume that wasn’t him visiting Shillito’s in 1980, but eleven-year-old me was delighted nonetheless.

Shillito’s Department Store in downtown Cincinnati was the first department store in Cincinnati, the oldest west of the Alleghenies and a special shopping destination for generations of Cincinnatians. The last location was built in the late 1870’s on 7th and Race Streets.  It had seven acres of floor surface, six stories above ground and two below and had all of the modern conveniences of its time, including five elevators. The store had over 1,000 employees and sold household goods, clothing, carpets, and appliances, among other items. Although the Shillito family sold the business in the 1920’s and it later became part of Federated Department Stores, the Shillito name was in use long after. The building at 7th and Race remains and was renovated in the late 1990’s to become apartments.   Click here to visit the Digital Library to see more images of vintage Cincinnati. 

Inspired by Anne originally appeared inside Landor’s lobby and as a fashion window on Race Street from April to July in 2010, opening during Cincinnati’s first ever Fashion Week. This location was particularly meaningful because Landor is located in what was once Shillito’s Department Store where Wainscott’s work was originally created.