The first store, at 7th and E Streets, NW, in Washington, D.C.'s downtown shopping district, opened on October 30, 1860.

At the time of its final liquidation in June 1973, the chain ranked eighth in the Washington D.C. retail market, with sales of $28.5 million.

[1] The initial Seventh Street flagship downtown store was located on and constructed in 1882, and was a work of architect Adolf Cluss.

The former flagship store on 7th Street was at the forefront of the revitalized Penn Quarter section of downtown Washington, D.C.[3] In 1955, Lansburgh's opened its first suburban branch at Langley Park, Maryland followed in 1959, with a $2.5 million, 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) branch at Shirlington Shopping Center in Arlington, Virginia.

The 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m2) store at Tysons Corner Center opened on October 19, 1969, after protracted battles regarding leases dating back to 1962.