Sears & Roebuck Shoe Factories

The factories in this image were both used by the Sears & Roebuck Company as shoe factories. The factories on the left and right were built in 1905 and 1912, respectively, and both occupied the Sears & Roebuck Company until 1929. The buildings were then used by a succession of shoe companies until they were demolished, in 1972. The two sites are now occupied by the River View Manor Apartments (left) and the Village View Apartments (right)

Sears & Roebuck was founded in 1893 by Richard W. Sears in Chicago, IL. He first started his business to sell watches by mail order, eventually, he hired Alvah C. Roebuck to repair the watches and thus established a business selling jewelry and watches. From there the company only grew and it had to expand and started selling other things thus leading to the creation of the shoe factories being created in 1905. Sadly with everything turning to technology and online shopping, Sears and Roebuck became less popular and filed for bankruptcy on October 15, 2018. Now, what was a thriving company with nearly 3500 stores around the country now operating less than 50.

https://www.history.com/news/sears-catalog-houses-hubcaps

https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Sears-USA/