History of the City of Paris Department Store--San Francisco

History of the City of Paris Department Store--San Francisco. The site is now home to the Neiman Marcus flagship on Union Square.

The story of City of Paris began on a ship in 1850. Felix Verdier arrived in San Francisco on a vessel called Ville de Paris, carrying with him such luxury goods as lace, silk, Champagne, Cognac, and fine wines. Before Verdier could take his cargo off of the ship, he sold it to locals on rowboats. In 1851, after a trip back to France to restock, Verdier opened a storefront at 152 Kearny Street; he later moved to the Beaux-Arts building, designed by Clinton Day and built in 1896, at Geary and Stockton. This building survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, although it was damaged. In 1909, the store was reopened with its trademark stained-glass dome. Each year, City of Paris' towering Christmas tree would draw shoppers in for first-rate dry goods and wines such as Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, 1928 and Château Latour Haut Brion 1925. Sold to Neiman Marcus in 1971, the building was demolished in 1980, despite public efforts to preserve it. But the glorious dome was preserved and now plays host to fashionable ladies dining on bubbly and popovers in Neiman's beloved Rotunda.

Reference: http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=The_City_of_Paris

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