Rich’s mystique endures through mural found in Macon antique shop

The familiar Rich’s logo disappeared for good in 2005, after the beloved store limped through several lackluster changes in management and in ownership.

The Rich’s chain was at one time the largest family-owned company in the United States, started by an optimistic Hungarian immigrant, Mauritius Reich, who changed his name to Morris Rich before opening a dry goods store in 1867 on Whitehall Street in downtown Atlanta.

Although the South was barely beginning reconstruction two years after the Civil War ended, the store rapidly expanded during the last half of the 19th century, moving to ever larger quarters on Whitehall until a new building was built in 1907 on Peachtree Street.

With the addition of his brothers to the newly organized department store during the late 1800s, the name was changed to M. Rich and Brothers and Company, the name by which the building is known today.

By the mid 20th century, Rich’s, the name adopted in 1929, had expanded to other locations in the burgeoning suburbs and in adjoining counties. However, the downtown Atlanta store, which had moved to the Broad Street location, remained the flagship and was enlarged several times. The Store for Homes was completed by 1948 on Forsyth Street, connected to the main store by a glass sky bridge, and was considered state-of-the-art, modern, urban architecture.

Rich’s demise can be attributed to several factors — the quality of merchandise in the stores after the sale to the Federated chain in 1976 was noticeable. The new owners were not as interested in the popular amenities for which Rich’s was known and gradually eliminated many of the most profitable departments, the antique furniture gallery and the ladies’ designer fashions among them. By 1991 Rich’s had been merged with arch retail rival Macy’s by Federated and was renamed Rich’s-Macy, at which time most Macy’s stores were closed in the Atlanta area.

Magical Memories of Rich’s

By 2005, all of the magic that the Rich’s name engendered was gone. For fiercely loyal customers, the long goodbye, beginning in 1976, was as painful as losing a dear friend.

The mere mention of Rich’s to former patrons elicits nostalgic reverie about trips on the Nancy Hanks from Macon’s Terminal Station, for a day of shopping at the conveniently located main store across the street from Atlanta’s terminal, and the return trip that left Atlanta promptly at 6 p.m. Other accounts from misty-eyed former customers include favorite desserts in the tea room, riding the Pink Pig or shopping for fine antiques in the Connoisseur’s Gallery.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Florida State University, Bonnie Dowling landed a position as a designer trainee in the Store for Homes, a coveted job for a new designer, for Rich’s interior design department was renowned for its rigorous and disciplined approach to familiarizing designers with a full range of services and products.

Dowling moved to Macon after two years at Rich’s, but remembers taking breaks in the afternoon in the legendary Magnolia Room, to have strawberry shortcake while her best friend had the fudge cake. She has been in Macon since the late 1960s but still remembers the slightly sweet biscuit, made in the tea room’s kitchen and topped with strawberries and whipped cream. When she married her husband, Hamp Dowling, Rich’s made the wedding cake.

Fashionata, the yearly fashion show produced by the late Sol Kent, head of the fashion design department at Rich’s, was initially staged at the Fox Theatre, later moving to the High Museum. Dowling said she remembers seeing the elegant theater for the first time when she attended the annual fashion show. Kent, father of local physician David Kent, was honored with a lavish retirement party at the Fox, and, according to some of his former Atlanta clients, it was an event for which many women, — who treasured the designer labels they had purchased from Kent — hoped to receive invitations.

Rich’s had something for every age group. When Priscilla the Pink Pig, a child sized train, was added to the children’s department in 1953, she was such a hit with the children that Percival was added to the train schedule. The annual tree-lighting tradition started in 1948 when a 70-foot, live tree was mounted on the roof.

With the popularity of the Pink Pig, the tree was moved to street level and the trains were moved outside to circle the tree during the Christmas season. After Rich’s closed, the tradition was maintained for years by Lenox Mall in north Atlanta.

Rich’s Tangible History

Recorded memories of Rich’s include the book, “Dear Store,” written by former Atlanta Constitution columnist, the late Celestine Sibley, a collection of letters received by the store over the years from children and adults, correspondence that reflects the affection many customers felt for Rich’s and the respect they in turn received from an institution that was as much a part of their lives as church and school.

Linda Kirby owned Lady & Son Antiques in Marietta before moving with her husband to Macon in 2014 where she continues to search for unique European furniture and accessories for her booth at the Antique Center on Ingleside Avenue.

In 2008, while attending an auction in Bremen, a 10-by-40-foot mural, painted in the baroque style of old Italian masters, was being sold and, according to Kirby, “I had to have it!” She did not know at the time that the mural was commissioned for the Magnolia Room at Rich’s and had hung there until the early 1940s when the tea room was refurbished.

Research by local and national experts confirmed the authenticity of the mural as part of the Rich’s folklore. However, the mural is not signed and the artists who painted it have not been identified. In 2010, Kirby took the mural to a live appearance of the Antiques Road Show at a convention center in College Park.

Alan Fausel, an appraiser from Bonham’s Gallery in New York, determined the mural is about 70 years old and suggested it had been painted by several artists on staff or recommended by a fine arts museum in Italy. The nuanced colors of the women’s faces and the romantic scenery is reminiscent of the work of Titian, a 16th century Italian painter whose works include “The Rape of Europa” and “The Abduction of Europa.”

Cathy Brantley, manager of the Antique Center in Ingleside Village, owns the last identifying and directional sign used for the Magnolia Room, which she displays in the shop. The mural from the Magnolia Room has been mounted on the walls of Kirby’s booth at the Antique Center and has attracted a lot of attention from Rich’s fans on social media, inspiring “remember when” conversations about Rich’s influence on the Southern way of life, and about the careers launched through the training programs in every department.

Who can forget that Nathalie Dupree, the famous Georgia chef and television personality, taught cooking classes at Rich’s from 1975-1985, or that the prestigious Phipps Plaza salon, Carter Barnes Hair, was started by Carey Carter and Mitchell Barnes, who trained in the salons at Rich’s.

Everyone has a Rich’s story to share. Kirby is keeping the mural on display to encourage Rich’s devotees or art aficionados to authenticate its painters and to find the ideal permanent place for the mural in someone’s home or in a large public or commercial environment where the classical painting will continue to inspire dialogue and to foster appreciation for art history.

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Rich’s mystique endures through mural found in Macon antique shop."