The Many Faces of a Store: Store to Museum
Like in many towns anywhere in the world, buildings can take on different faces throughout their lives.
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LOCATION: LAFAYETTE, LAFAYETTE PARISH, LA
COORDINATES: 30.225685, -92.018216 (433 JEFFERSON ST.)
STATUS: REPLACED
Like in many towns anywhere in the world, buildings can take on different faces throughout their lives. Lafayette is no exception and one such building built by three Mouton brothers, was one of the first general stores in Lafayette. It was aptly named “Mouton Bros.: General Merchandise,” and what made them unique was that they billed their customers on an annual basis. In 1916 Maurice Heymann bought the general store and changed it into the largest department store in Lafayette until 1937. Heymann was an extremely influential businessman from New Orleans and many stores he bought or built in Lafayette still bear the Heymann name. Heymann is most known for the development of the Heymann Oil Center in 1952, which turned the city of Lafayette into a booming place. Today the building takes on the face of the Lafayette Science Museum.
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Mouton Brothers: General Merchandise Store
Front view of Mouton Brothers: General Merchandise Store | Source: Lafayette History: One Moment in Time. "Mouton Brothers store billed customers annually." The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette), February 13, 1991.
Advertisement for Mouton Bros: General Merchandise
Advertisement for Mouton Bros: General Merchandise for the “lowest prices consistent with quality of goods.” | Source: Mouton Bros: General Merchandise. "Mouton Bros Dealers of General of Merchandise." The Lafayette Gazette (Lafayette), October 5, 1895, 1. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88064111/1895-10-05/ed-1/seq-1/.
Heymann Department Store
Heymann Department Store in the 1920s | Source: "Heymann Buildings - Downtown Lafayette Field Trip." Google Sites. n.d. https://sites.google.com/site/downtownlafayetteft/home/heymann-buildings.
Escalator in Heymann's Department Store
Heymann’s department store was the first store to have an escalator and even an elevator with an operator in Lafayette | Source: "Heymann Buildings - Downtown Lafayette Field Trip." Google Sites. n.d. https://sites.google.com/site/downtownlafayetteft/home/heymann-buildings.
Lafayette Science Museum
The Lafayette Science Museum current as of 2016, street view | Source: "Heymann Buildings - Downtown Lafayette Field Trip." Google Sites. n.d. https://sites.google.com/site/downtownlafayetteft/home/heymann-buildings.