6. Lord & Taylor Was the First Retail Store to Relocate onto 5th Avenue

What Fifth Avenue (north of 51st St.) looked like in 1908. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Built in 1826, New York City’s Lord & Taylor is the oldest retail department store in the United States. It was the very first retail store to move onto Fifth Avenue, notorious for its upscale shops. The Fifth Avenue Lord & Taylor was also the first retail store to install elevators in the building, and the first to employ the idea of a personal shopper.

Today, Lord & Taylor has over 40 stores across the nation, focusing on displaying products by American designers like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Marc Jacobs. It remains one of the most successful and notable upscale department stores in the country.