The time-honored tradition of window shopping truly comes alive during the holiday season, when retailers pull out all of the stops to make their window displays ever more eye-catching, festive and uplifting. Countless visitors and New Yorkers alike participate in this yearly ritual, which has its roots in the Gilded Age. That era of rapid economic growth and industrialization, which began in the 1870s and lasted until around 1900, generated the building technology that made window shopping in the city possible.

"Sixth Avenue, north from and across West 18th Street, showing mainly the west side of this Avenue, 1939. The corner building with the A. Shulte store was formerly part of Altman's Department Store. This bears No. 615-9 Sixth Avenue and is at the N.W. corner of W. 18th Street. The store covered the entire block front from 18th to 19th Streets. The New York Times of March 7, 1939 reports the 1st transfer of this holding since 1817 when it was acquired as farmlands by John Tonnele." (text from the photographer P.L. Speer) The neo-Grec structure was opened in 1877 as the B. Altman store and within the next decade additions were added on 18th and 19th Streets to house the expanding department store. This store was a mainstay of the Ladies' Mile, a section of the Flatiron neighborhood that became a prime shopping district (with most of the larger stores on 6th Avenue) during the late 19th and early 20th century. Interesting features of the building when it opened included an ornate cast iron facade, pneumatic tubes for the movement of money and paperwork, and electric lights.

"6th Avenue between 18th and 19th Street. Westerly block front, looking S.W., B. Altman store, cast iron architecture, 1948"

Listen to the Gotham Center and Sharon Zukin's podcast on the history on the B. Altman Department Store, once a premier department store of New York, while examining these related archival images!