The Edw. Malley Co.
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| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | New Haven, Connecticut; 1852 |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Headquarters | New Haven, Connecticut |
| Products | Clothing, housewares, books, patio furniture |
The Edw. Malley Co., often abbreviated Malley's, was a prestigiousdepartment store in Downtown New Haven, Connecticut, from 1852 to 1982. Company produced postcards promoted the establishment as "The Metropolitan Store of Connecticut". In 2007, it was ranked among the "landmark consumer paradises" of New Haven's past, along with Macy's, Shartenberg's Department Store, and Grant's. The second site was regarded as "a crucial appendage" to the success of the Chapel Square Mall.
In 1848, Edward Malley started displaying merchandise in the front room of his aunt Rhoda Mallory's house on North Front Street in Fair Haven. He traveled throughout New England, opening up stores briefly and then moving on.
The business started out as Malley & Co., a dry goods store, in 1852. It was originally located directly across from the New Haven Green, at 65 Chapel Street. Malley rented a 15- by 20-foot (6.1 m) store for $75 a year, using $250 in cash and a credit line of $550 to stock his store. With such limited space, Malley hung goods from wires strung across the room and used barrels topped with planks as counters. The store made deliveries by way of a mule named Maude who pulled a cart through the streets of New Haven.
By 1856, the premises had been "greatly enlarged", which Malley attributed to liberal advertising without regard to expense. It was described that October as "the largest and busiest store of its kind in the state". At that time, it employed about 100 people, had four show windows, a 75-foot (23 m) front, 120-foot (37 m) depth, and was three stories tall. The building was further improved in 1866. Malley partnered with one William Neeley, and changed the store to William Neeley Co. in 1868.
The store caught fire in 1875, and was completely destroyed by a second fire in 1882, with a loss estimated at $175,000.
The store was rebuilt, and in 1893, renamed Malley-Neeley Co.. The name was changed a final time to The Edw. Malley Co. in 1898, and enlarged in 1899 as a nine-story Beaux-Arts style building. It continued to remodel and improve, adding New England's first self-leveling elevator in 1923, and escalators in 1958. A 1938 travel book said of Malley's, "Young shoppers are fascinated by the big cage of live birds in the children's department."
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