Filene's at Downtown Crossing

Could someone tell me if Filene%26#39;s (and the Basement) have already ceased trading?

I understood it was closing next year?

Thanks

Filene's at Downtown Crossing

Hi,

No, both will be open until early next year. The Filene%26#39;s Basement is actually owned by an entirely different company, so it might still be in operation after the Filene%26#39;s closes upstairs.

Filene's at Downtown Crossing

What are they planning to open in its place? When we were in town this past summer, we saw on TV that, at the time, there was a discussion on whether to go upscale (Nordstrom%26#39;s) or downscale (Target). I do hope the basement stays open---it%26#39;s so downtown Boston! Can%26#39;t imagine the place without it!

Well, SueFee, that%26#39;s what we%26#39;re all waiting for! Personally I think this is the perfect time for Nordstrom%26#39;s to finally get the foot in the door. I am dying to have their shoe selection within easy reach! This has been a 20 year endeavor to get this store in Boston. The closest one to us is Providence.

Target wouldn%26#39;t be bad, but now that I%26#39;ve moved out of town it%26#39;s less of an attraction for me. I can get to one by car just as easy.

Filene%26#39;s Basement is such an institution here I can%26#39;t imagine it going elsewhere. But, with dressing rooms added recently it ain%26#39;t the place it used to be! LOL

BTW:It%26#39;s only been a couple of years since they finally got the bells working again. It would be a shame not to hear them anymore. If you are standing at the crossroads where Winter, Summer and Washington Streets come together and look up at the corner of the building, there is a bank of bells that play. I happened to walk through downtown one morning recently to hear a version of a Frank Sinatra tune being played. OK, not very high brow but pretty nonetheless.

Thanks for the update, beansandcod. I, too, like Nordstrom%26#39;s shoe department. They always seem to have my size, wide foot that I have LOL! Fortunately, we have a Nordstrom%26#39;s in town. So--the basement now has dressing rooms! Can%26#39;t imagine it but it%26#39;s sure better for privacy%26#39;s sake. I have memories of my mother dragging me there on a Saturday when I was a kid. I hated all the crowds! When I was in college, I used to go during the week when it wasn%26#39;t nearly as busy--much easier. Let%26#39;s hope they keep the place!

The latest information that I have received from a reliable source is that Filene%26#39;s downtown store will close in March unless there is a delay of some sort in the transition of the May Stores acqusition by Federated. Fillene%26#39;s Basement will remain until a new owner purchases the Filene%26#39;s building and then their status will be neogitiable when their lease expires.

Based on your userid, you may find this Boston hotel story of interest:

boston.com/business/鈥?/a>

Expect big sales at Filene%26#39;s between Christmas and March in order to clean out inventory.

That May Stores acquisition by Federated, is wreaking havoc in other parts of the country, too. Here, in the DC area (and I believe in Philadelphia, too) we have Hecht%26#39;s which originated in DC. That, too, will be gone--most will either become Lord and Taylor%26#39;s or Macy%26#39;s. In malls that already have both of those stores--well, no one knows what will happen to the vacant store. It%26#39;s a shame when cities lose stores that are unique to their area...

Hi Everyone,

Regarding Filene%26#39;s....it IS a shame that they%26#39;re doing away with it in New England! The quality will be gone, right out the window, in my book! Filene%26#39;s always had the ';quality'; compared to that ';other'; store, which we all know; which one that is! I really can NOT imagine them putting a Target in Downtown Boston. Unfortunately it sounds as if the game plan is either Target or one like it in a few months.

I%26#39;m actually working for Filene%26#39;s for the Holiday Season and it%26#39;s been quite enlightening! I have a seasonal job somewhere else that kicks in in the middle of January until the end of June, so this works out great with Filene%26#39;s! I wouldn%26#39;t work for another store again, that%26#39;s how wonderful the people are to work for there, I%26#39;m not kidding either. They have the most wonderful people in there stores. I wanted this job for the week before Christmas to take OFF (leave it to me) because I%26#39;m driving friends of mine, that bought a house down to South Carolina, so I figured this way, I%26#39;d see if they%26#39;d go along with my ';game plan';. There%26#39;s always always a method to my madness, trust me! Can you believe it, in retail that they went right along with my scheme. Probably because all these stores are so desperate for help to begin with!

The people that I feel really bad for in there company, are the ones of course with 15 to 20 years of service. It%26#39;s like walking on egg shells in the lounge, it%26#39;s going to be rough for a lot of people.

The great sales already have been incredible since I started there, never mind after Thanksgiving and the holidays! I%26#39;m having a field day just working there day to day!

They%26#39;re wonderful to there employees and from what I%26#39;m hearing the discount like they give them isn%26#39;t seen like this particular one in all the other department stores anywhere in New England. It%26#39;s been GREAT. So when Filene%26#39;s closes? Those days are over. It%26#39;s been lovely for Christmas shopping, I have to tell you!

They work really hard in retail, a lot of people don%26#39;t appreciate what they have to deal with and what they do! They have extremely devoted people working there.

Tomorrow, I have to be there by quarter of 6 in the AM for there big day! There%26#39;ll be people flying around that store shopping away at the crack of dawn as soon as it opens, you mark my word!

The Mall that I%26#39;m working at in NH? When the Filene%26#39;s there closes in March, the game plan is that it%26#39;ll be a Macy%26#39;s type ';Home Shop'; where they have all the kitchen gadgets etc., which is actually desperately needed at this particular Mall to give it a little more pizzazz! This Mall to me is extremely boring and dull compared to the Simon Malls all around New England, you should see it, no, you don%26#39;t want to see it, that%26#39;s how bad it is! So, it%26#39;ll be really good for it to get this home type store in it to give it the lift it desperately needs.

The talk in the store is either a Bloomingdale%26#39;s or Nordstrom%26#39;s at the Malls like North Shore and the South Shore Mall etc...I%26#39;m really crossing my fingers and hoping for either to tell you the truth! It would be fantastic. With us, we won%26#39;t have to buzz over to Chestnut Hill or The Providence Mall on the way back from Mohegan all the time!

As much as I%26#39;ll miss Filene%26#39;s, it%26#39;ll be interesting to see what happens...change is good though! Unfortunately, it%26#39;s upsetting for quite a lot of people that are real shoppers in New England! You guys have NO idea how many people have asked me about it right in the store I%26#39;m in! They%26#39;re very saddened and upset about this whole fiasco even happening. It%26#39;s really amazing to hear them, a lot of people will walk right up to us and start talking about the Downtown Boston Filene%26#39;s and how it used to be when they were kids and asking us how they could do such a terrible thing! Every time they hear there Filene%26#39;s music in the store? There%26#39;s people that will stop you in your tracks and start talking about the Boston store and how it will effect them when they close down! It%26#39;s just incredible how upset people are over this whole ordeal.

I just hope the retail world knows what they%26#39;re doing with this whole fiasco because if not, it%26#39;ll be payback time. Bostonians and New Englanders are pretty pretty savvy when it comes to their shopping. We%26#39;ll be watching this whole thing very close around here!

Thank you all so much for the updates - much appreciated and I%26#39;m re-assured that Filene%26#39;s will still be there this Christmas at least...

I%26#39;m so sad its closing - my OH and I have been coming to Boston for a pre-Christmas visit for 10 years - I really love the city - and Filenes the store (the basement too I guess) is such a landmark for us. The tree outside is lovely!

I%26#39;m very sorry that the employees who have always given us great service will be losing their jobs too - my heartfelt sympathies to them all.

Thank you also for the link to the story on Catie Copley - I have two dogs (as you say, going by my ';name'; it%26#39;s easy to tell I like dogs!!) and I miss them whenever we travel - I%26#39;ll make a point of trying to see her in a couple of weeks!

Thank you all once again - Happy Thanksgiving to you!

NoMo01...I am also living in New Hampshire and will very very sadly miss Filenes! It has been a long running tradition for me to take the Friday before Thanksgiving off from work to be at their doors at the Mall in Salem right at 7am. I am from the Providence area and had lived there for 35 years. I have shopped Filenes almost all of my adult life at the Emerald Mall in Attleboro and then the Providence Place Mall.

I consider myself a shopaholic because the day that I found out that Filene%26#39;s would be a thing of the past... I cried...really! I%26#39;ve been sad and rediculously collecting the shoppping bags and flyers. My husband thinks I%26#39;m nuts. He%26#39;s right! The Filene%26#39;s and the Basement in Boston, one or the other will hopefully turn into Nordstrom%26#39;s. They are the only store that I know of that carries wide width tall leather boots for my tree trunk legs. Wide width meaning wide in the ';legs'; LOL.

WEll, thank you for all your insight. It%26#39;s nice to see somewhere living up here in New Hampshire that likes to get to civilization often. I have only been living up here for three years now and it seems like everyone here is just very content with the backwoods life. It%26#39;s just not very lively. Great for vacationing, don%26#39;t get me wrong, but for any ';life'; and vitality, you need to head to Boston!

Take care!