Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart Records, bulk 1922-2008

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:
Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart Records
Dates:
bulk 1922-2008
Creators:
Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart (San Francisco, Calif.) and San Francisco Mart
Abstract:
The Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart operated from its founding in 1915 until it closed in 2008. The Mart served as the largest hub for furniture wholesale on the West Coast and hosted sellers from all over the Western United States.
Extent:
29 cartons, 27 bully boxes, 4 pamphlet boxes, 1 flat file. (39.5 Cubic Feet)
Language:
English and Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart Records (SFH 475), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart operated from its creation in 1915 until its closing in 2008. During its apex the Mart operated as the largest hub for furniture wholesale on the West Coast and hosted sellers from all over the Western United States.

The collection consists of publications produced by the Mart, scrapbooks assembled by date (scrapbooks contain ephemera and clippings relating to the Mart), and graphic materials including floor plans, photos, negatives, slides, sketches and a promotional video. Of note are the yearly Buyers Guide and Directories which list individual showrooms and wholesalers. The collection also includes a small amount of correspondence, a switchboard operator's phone directory and an embossing stamp with the SF Furniture Mart logo. The collection does not contain Mart organizational information, staff or business records. Instead the collection content focuses on the sellers who operated in the Mart.

Photos include portraits, early scenes including the Marts first location at 180 Montgomery Street (circa 1915), advertising, construction, earthquake (1906), events, exteriors, interiors, Mart 2 opening (1975), Mart fire (1970), Marts other than San Francisco, and publicity shots.

Biographical / historical:

The Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart, or the San Francisco Furniture Mart as it was commonly called, operated from its founding in 1915 until its closing in 2008 when the bulk of western wholesale furniture markets concentrated in Las Vegas. At its apex the Mart operated as the largest hub for wholesale furniture on the West Coast and hosted sellers from all over the Western United States. It eventually grew to support seven markets under one roof with showrooms ranging from 400 to 1500 square feet. It sold items as varied as furniture, floor coverings, radio and television appliances, giftware, lamps, housewares, decorative textiles, linens, toys and juvenile goods. Semiannual and Friday marts operated on a membership basis with two market weeks a year, one in January and the second in July.

What would become known as the most recent Furniture Mart building was constructed in 1937 with floors added in 1948, 1957, and 1963. It continued to grow with new construction when Mart 2 opened next door in 1975. The Mart campus extended for an entire block of Market Street between 9th and 10th streets occupying 1.5 million square feet. Containing a barbershop, bank, post office, bar, restaurant, newsstand and radio station the Mart provided everything its customers needed.

Designed exclusively for wholesale business the Mart required buyers to maintain a membership and restricted the general public from showroom display areas. Membership required a place of business (other than a home), an established line of credit with three tenants (or firms) operating at the Mart, and recognition "as a stocking dealer" meaning one who stocked merchandise to sell to the public.

The Market Street campus is currently owned by Shorenstein Properties and has been occupied by Twitter Inc. since 2012.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Manuel Perez of the Western Furniture Mart April 29, 2011.
Processing information:

During processing, the entire collection was rehoused into acid free boxes and weeded for duplicate materials.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in 6 series: Series 1: History, Series 2: Correspondence, Series 3: Publications/Promotion, Series 4: Scrapbooks, Clippings and Ephemera, Series 5: Graphic Materials, Series 6: Artifacts.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Katherine Ets-Hokin.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2018-10-05 22:12:54 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items. All requests for permission to publish from photographs must be submitted in writing to the Photo Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart Records (SFH 475), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Website