Guide to the Walker Scott Department Store Records
© Copyright 2006 Special Collections & University Archives. All rights reserved.
2006-05-15
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
Guide to the Walker Scott Department Store Records
1915/1993
Special Collections & University Archives
Overview of the Collection
Collection Title: Walker Scott Department Store Records
Dates: 1915-1993
Bulk Dates: 1960-1969
Identification: MS-0265
Creator:
Walker Scott Department Store
Physical Description: 16.61 linear ft
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections & University Archives
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
Historical Note:
The Walker Scott Department Store was founded in downtown San Diego in 1935. The store's original owner, Ralf M. Walker,
who already owned and ran Walker's Department Store in Los Angeles, passed away in New York six weeks before the San Diego
store's opening. A former stock boy at the Los Angeles store, George A Scott, whom Mr. Walker had sent to the New York University
of Retailing (1930) opened the San Diego store with Mr. Walker's widow, Eliza Fitzgerald Walker. Eliza Walker became president
of the company while Scott held the title of vice president. Walker’s Downtown store opened on October 3, 1935, situated on
5th and Broadway. It eventually expanded to eight stories, and held San Diego County’s first escalators.
Upon the death of Eliza Walker in 1951, Scott became the president, director, chief executive and principle stockholder of
the company. Three years later, the board of directors changed the company’s name to Walker Scott Department Store. In 1955,
the company established a Service Center for additional accounting and shipping operations. In 1959, they purchased Stevenson’s
in La Jolla, a store that continued operation under its original name. In 1960, the company opened what was the largest Walker
Scott Department Store in the College Grove Shopping Center – San Diego's first suburban shopping center. It was situated
on the north side of State Highway 94 at College Avenue with direct access from all major traffic roads in the area. The shopping
center was surrounded by a parking area capable of accommodating 5,000 cars at one time.
Walker Scott’s Department Stores opened in the Linda Vista Shopping Center in 1963, the Escondido Village Shopping Center
in 1964 and Oceanside in 1976. In 1970, the company added a fabric store in Lakeside, Ocean Beach and El Cajon. In 1968, Walker
Scott purchased the Whitney’s Department Stores and operated two stores ran by that firm in Claremont and El Cajon. The company
also operated branch stores in Palm Springs (1970), San Carlos (1973), Mission Valley (1973), Mira Mesa (1975) National City
(1982) and Pacific Beach (1983). Each department store featured women’s, men’s, children’s apparel, and accessories, and sold
yardage, bedding, appliances, radios, televisions, house wares, draperies, floor coverings, China, silverware, jewelry, furs,
cameras, gifts, books, cosmetics, notions lingerie, millinery and toys.
In 1975, Robert J. Dicker and Boyd E. Alvord bought controlling interests of the company. The Board of Directors named Dicker
as president and chief executive officer of Walker Scott Co. and Alvord as company vice president and secretary. Although
sales peaked at $45.5 million in 1983, profitability declined. On January 5, 1989 the downtown store officially closed because
it had lost its lease. The combination of a population shift to the suburbs and a new shopping center, Horton Plaza, with
four major department stores, opening across the street from Walker Scott’s Department Store had pushed the company out of
business. Dicker sold the chain to Harold Kapelovitz. He and his investors concluded that substantial loss for the company
was imminent due to increased competition in the San Diego retail environment. Kapelovitz decided to close the remaining stores
when the leases expired in 1986.
In addition to business affairs, George A. Scott was involved in numerous civic organizations such as the Boys Club, Salvation
Army, USO Advisory Council, Community Chest, Fiesta de Pacifico, YMCA, San Diego Transit, San Diego Council of Churches, San
Diego Hospital Association and many other committees. Scott was named “Mr. San Diego” by the Grant Club in 1954 and was the
1964 winner of the Golden Man and Boy Award of the Boys Club of San Diego. In 1976, the Central City Association named Scott
“Man of the Century.” Scott wrote his book
Your Future in Retailing in 1961 and donated all proceeds from the book to the National Distributive Education Clubs of America Program. Scott lectured
extensively on retailing and merchandising as chairman of the Committee On Careers In Retailing of the National Retail Merchants
Association. During his lifetime, he raised over $75 million dollars for local causes and received more than 200 civic and
service awards.
Scott was born in Scotland in 1907, lived in Canada briefly and came to the United Sates and became a citizen in 1931. In
1952, he married Evelyn Hjelm. Their two children are George Walker Scott born in 1953 and Andrea Cox born in 1955. He died
at the age of 86 in 1993.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Corporate Name:
Walker Scott Department Store Company -- Archives
Genre/Form of Material:
Artifacts
Corporate Records
Photographs
Personal Name:
Scott, George A.
Scott, George A. -- Portrait
Walker, Eliza Fitzgerald
Walker, Ralf M.
Walker, Ralf M. -- Portrait
Topical Term:
California economic conditions of the 20th century
Department stores -- California -- History
Department stores -- California -- San Diego County -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Administrative Information
Processing Information:
Processed by Alex Tea, May 2006.
Conditions Governing Use:
The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with
the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections
is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be
submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Conditions Governing Access:
This collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation:
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Walker Scott Department Stare Records, Special Collections and University
Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
Arrangement of Materials:
I. Management Files, 1930-1985
1.) Business Files, 1930-1985
2.) Civic Files, 1943-1983
II. Minutes, 1939-1974
III. Newsletters, 1915-1986
IV. News Clippings, 1935-1993
V. Photographs, 1954-1976
VI. Artifacts, 1930-1993
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the activities of the Walker Scott Department Store Company, run by George A. Scott. The records
date from 1915-1993, with the bulk of the documents created in the 1960s during the company’s expansion to other branch stores.
The series are
Management Files,
Minutes,
Newsletters,
News Clippings,
Photographs and Artifacts. The
Management Files are further divided into
Business files and
Civic files. The
Minutes include records of company meetings. The
Newsletters include various company publications. The
News Clippings include articles from local newspapers. The
Photographs include pictures from formal events. The
Artifacts include various audiovisual materials, attire, scrapbooks and portraits.
The
Management Files series includes
Business Files and
Civic Files. The
Business Files document the activities and business throughout the company’s existence, and contain such topics as advertising, store openings,
stock, leases, financing, insurance, contracts and interactions with other retailers. It also includes opening plans of the
College Grove branch and its groundbreaking ceremony which included family night, constructors’ night, symphony night and
all faiths night. The
Civic Files contain certificates, correspondence, budgets and project plans that Scott sponsored. He planned fundraisers for organizations
such as the Boys Club, Salvation Army, USO and the War Chest. These files are labeled by subject and filed alphabetically.
The
Minutes document the board meetings from 1939-1986. The minutes document issues, events and personnel affiliated with the department
store. They reflect the efforts of department managers, executives, fashion, expense or salary committee members. A range
of topics such as sales, promotions, and customer service are covered and range from specific store issues to overall district
trends. They illustrate the problems the company had encountered in retail competition and loss of profits. The minutes are
labeled by date and committee and filed chronologically.
The
Newsletters include various company publications including
The Clarion,
Time and Tide,
The Friendly Chatter and
Walker Scott News.
The Clarion documents the earliest newsletters from Walker’s Department Store in Los Angeles.
Time and Tide and
The Friendly Chatter document the first newsletters in Walker’s Department Store in Downtown San Diego. The bulk of the company newsletters are
Walker Scott News which range from 1955 to 1986. The department store had expanded during this time so the newsletters included columns for
each branch store as well as overall trends for the district. It also featured employee accomplishments, store events and
sales advice. The newsletter issues are labeled by date and filed chronologically.
The
News Clippings include articles from various local San Diego newspapers from the Downtown Store opening in 1935 until his death in 1993.
The clippings include the department store’s advertisements, sales, promotional events and philanthropist events. Many of
these articles discuss the success of the company. There are two large sections of a newspaper covering the opening of the
Walker’s Department Store in Downtown San Diego in 1935. There is also a large section in the
College Grove Independent in 1960 that advertised Walker Scott merchandise. The bulk of the clippings are small articles. The clippings are labeled
by date and filed chronologically.
The
Photographs collection consists of photographs from 1954-1976. It includes photographs of Scott with friends, colleagues and associates
at various events and associations. These photographs have no internal arrangement and are housed in 11 folders.
The
Artifacts consist of booklets, scrapbooks, loose pages of scrapbooks, portraits, posters, attire, awards and other memorabilia. The
scrapbooks and loose scrapbook pages include newspaper articles, photographs, certificates, programs and other paper material.
They are numbered in no discernible order. The posters and booklets describe the company or store events. The awards include
a bronze plaque and a large certificate for Scott’s philanthropist work. There are several sound recordings including 7 magnetic
tapes records of store meetings, a cassette of Scott’s memorial service and a record of the company’s 25th anniversary. Attire
includes commencement gowns and a mortarboard, traditional Mexican clothing and a sombrero. The portraits are of Walker and
Scott. The smaller artifacts are labeled by subject and filed chronologically in folders while the larger artifacts have no
internal arrangement.
Box 1, Folder 2
Anniversary Programs
1930-78
Box 1, Folder 5
College Grove All Faiths
1960
Box 1, Folder 6
College Grove Constructor's Night
1960
Box 1, Folder 7
College Grove Cornerstone
1960
Box 1, Folder 8
College Grove Correspondence
1960
Box 1, Folder 9
College Grove Family Night
1960
Box 1, Folder 10
College Grove Financing
1960
Box 2, Folder 1
College Grove Financing
1960
Box 2, Folder 2
College Grove Financing
1960
Box 2, Folder 3
College Grove Groundbreaking Ceremony
1960
Box 2, Folder 4
College Grove In-Store Organization
1960
Box 2, Folder 5
College Grove Opening
1960
Box 2, Folder 6
College Grove Symphony Night
Box 2, Folder 7
Corporation Stock
1965-76
Box 2, Folder 8
Corporation Stock
1965-76
Box 3, Folder 5
Fitzgerald Stockholders' Agreement
Box 3, Folder 6
Fitzgerald Corporation Proceedings
1945-50
Box 3, Folder 7
Fitzgerald Corporation Proceedings
1945-50
Box 4, Folder 1
Fixture Agreement
1961-63
Box 4, Folder 5
Loan from E.F. Walker
1953
Box 4, Folder 6
Long Term Financing
1960-64
Box 5, Folder 2
Mira Mesa Opening
1974-75
Box 5, Folder 3
Mira Mesa Proposal and Investment
1974
Box 5, Folder 5
Notes and Correspondence
1976-85
Box 5, Folder 9
S.E. Economic Development
Box 5, Folder 11
Sperry-Hutchingson Contracts
Box 6, Folder 3
Whitney's Department Store
1963
Box 6, Folder 8
Commercial Value Analysis
1969
Box 7, Folder 2
Mission Bay Project
1935-70
Box 7, Folder 3
Mission Bay Project
1935-70
Box 7, Folder 9
Department Managers
1939-40
Box 8, Folder 6
Department Managers
1946-47
Box 8, Folder 7
Department Managers
1948-49
Box 8, Folder 8
Department Managers
1950-51
Box 8, Folder 9
Department Managers
1952-53
Box 9, Folder 1
Department Managers
1954-55
Box 9, Folder 2
Department Managers
1956-57
Box 9, Folder 3
Department Managers
1958-59
Box 9, Folder 4
Department Managers
1960-61
Box 9, Folder 5
Department Managers
1962-63
Box 9, Folder 7
Department Managers
1964-65
Box 10, Folder 5
Department Managers
1966,1968
Box 11, Folder 2
Department Managers
1969-70
Box 11, Folder 5
Department Managers
1971-72, 1974
Box 12, Folder 3
The Friendly Chatter
1943,1948
Box 12, Folder 4
Walker Scott News
1955, 1959
Box 12, Folder 5
Walker Scott News
1960-61, 1964
Box 12, Folder 7
Walker Scott News
1966-67
Box 12, Folder 8
Walker Scott News
1968-69
Box 13, Folder 1
Walker Scott News
1970-71
Box 13, Folder 2
Walker Scott News
1972-74
Box 13, Folder 3
Walker Scott News
1975-79
Box 13, Folder 4
Walker Scott News
1980-83
Box 13, Folder 5
Walker Scott News
1984-86
Box 14, Folder 2
College Grove Independent
1960
Box 16, Folder 4
Favorite Songs of Walkers
1946
Box 16, Folder 5
Friendly Store Booklet
1944
Box 19, Folder 5
Downtown Meeting Tape
6 January 1959
Box 19, Folder 6
Store Meeting Tape
15 September 1960
Box 19, Folder 7
Beginner's Luncheon Tape
3 October 1962
Box 19, Folder 8
College Grove 35th Anniversary Tape
7 October 1969
Box 19, Folder 9
Company Meeting Tape
21 January 1970
Box 19, Folder 10
Jobholder's Meeting Tape
13 January 1972
Box 19, Folder 11
Jobholder's Meeting Tape
2 October 1973
Box 19, Folder 12
Scott's Memorial Service Cassette
22 October 1993
Box 20, Folder 1
25th Anniversary Record
3 October 1960
Box 20, Folder 10
Walker's Silver Jubilee
1930
