[2] Between the Civil War and World War I, the district was the location of some of New York's most famous department stores and upscale retailers, including B. Altman, Best & Co., Arnold Constable, Bergdorf Goodman, Gorham Silver, Thurn, W. & J. Sloane, Lord & Taylor, and Tiffany & Co.[8][2] The Ladies' Mile also boasted upscale restaurants, booksellers and publishers, and offices and showrooms for piano manufacturers, such as in the Sohmer Piano Building.
Ethel Barrymore, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Lilly Langtry and Lillian Russell were among those who might be found in the opulent shopping district at its zenith.
[7] Residents of the area included Horace Greeley, Washington Irving, Samuel F. B. Morse, Emily Post, Edith Wharton and various members of the Roosevelt family.
[2] The majority of the buildings were not torn down, though, and by the 1980s they had started to be renovated and re-converted into large retail stores at street level, and sometimes above, so that the old shopping district is now one once again, albeit one which appeals to a very different clientele.
[7] The main opposers to this cause was the Real Estate Board of New York who thought the historic designation would make the lives of property owners too difficult.
Their book contained photographs and essays to share the forgotten history of Ladies' Mile which helped garner support for the cause.