National Register of Historic Places

Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden

Camden City, Camden County, New Jersey
Listed
July 26, 2000
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
00000795

About this property

The Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store Building in Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States, was built in 1927 and housed a Sears department store until 1971, when the store relocated to Moorestown Mall. It was South Jersey's first free-standing department store. It was also among the first department stores to be built with its own parking lot, a precursor to the modern shopping mall. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 2000. After Sears relocated, the building was home at different times to a nightclub, a car dealership, a day care center, and a housing authority office, before becoming vacant for several years. In 2007, it was purchased by Ilan Zaken, owner of the hip-hop clothing company Miskeen Originals, for $2.7 million (~$3.92 million in 2024). Zaken spent more than $1 million on a plan to transform it into his company's headquarters as well as a culinary school and restaurant supply mall, but the project was not completed. In February 2011, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that the city could acquire the building through eminent domain. On June 11, 2012, Campbell Soup Company, whose corporate headquarters is nearby, purchased the building for about $3.5 million, with plans to demolish it. Campbell contended that uncertainty surrounding the building impeded its development of an adjacent office park. The purchase effectively ended the ongoing legal battle to preserve the building. Demolition of the building began on June 5, 2013. It was completed on August 23, 2013.

Location

1300 Admiral Wilson Blvd.
Camden City, Camden County, New Jersey
39.94383, -75.11000

Categories

ARCHITECTURECOMMERCECOMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL HISTORY
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Newton Friends' Meetinghouse
Industrial
0.4 mi
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Industrial
0.5 mi
Camden Safe Deposit & Trust Company
Industrial
0.5 mi
Wilson Building
Industrial
0.5 mi
First Camden National Bank & Trust
Industrial
0.5 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Gloucester (NJ) 1777
1777Revolutionary War
3.6 mi
Fort Mercer siege Oct-Nov 1777
1777Revolutionary War
4.5 mi
Battle of Germantown Oct 4 1777
1777Revolutionary War
5.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden listed on the National Register?

Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 26, 2000.

What type of historic resource is Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden?

Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden?

The period of significance for Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Sears, Roebuck and Company Retail Department Store-Camden?

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