Wells & Coverly's

Wells & Coverly's Wells-made AI. Courtesy Meta Platforms, Inc.

    Wells & Coverly's were a mens department store dating back to the Victorian period which had been in downtown Syracuse since the Edwardian one, yet I only just learned that they were actually from Rensselaer County in the Capital District, despite my family's decades-long ties to that area (they may have known this). Near home, the painted sign remains as a reminder of when people dressed posh to go into town to shop (especially around the festive period). In and even more so outside Onondaga County, there is little information if the stores closed generations ago and/or I haven't been to those areas in some time, although Wells & Coverly still existed in my lifetime, details don't always get preserved by posterity or I'd really have to become the Lucy Worsley of retail (she finds everything)!

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina St; now Sky Armory (top two floors) and Champs and Scholars (lower floor)

Syracuse (Fairmount) - W Genesee St, Fairmount Fair Mall; now several chains

deWitt - NY 5, Shoppingtown Mall; TBD (you know the rest)

Oswego (1) - W 1st St?

Oswego (2) - US (now NY) 104?

Troy (1) - 336-338 River St and 13-17 4th St (now US 4 South and North); flagship store; various

Troy (2) - 70-72 State St; TBD

Hoosick Falls - NY 22

Walkill - The Galleria at Crystal Run

Worcester, MA - Ware-Pratt