Business & brands
S. S. Kresge
1867–1966 · merchant, founder of the S. S. Kresge Company (Kmart), philanthropist
Pennsylvania salesman who opened a five-and-dime in downtown Detroit in 1897, built the Kresge chain that became Kmart and founded the Kresge Foundation.
- Born
Pennsylvania- Died
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
aged 99- Birth name
- Sebastian Spering Kresge
- Also known as
- Sebastian Spering Kresge
- Detroit years
- 1897–1920s
- Field
- Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Kresge, a former hardware clerk and traveling salesman from Pennsylvania, went into business in 1897 with J. G. McCrory, investing $8,000 in two five-and-ten-cent stores, one of them in downtown Detroit. He soon traded his share in the other store for sole control of the Detroit shop and made Detroit the base of his growing chain. In 1912 he incorporated the S. S. Kresge Company with 85 stores, and by the 1920s it was one of the nation's largest variety-store chains, with its headquarters in Detroit. In 1924 he founded the Kresge Foundation in Detroit with $1.6 million; now based in Troy, it has become one of the city's most important funders, helping build the Detroit RiverWalk and supporting local artists. In 1962 his company opened the first Kmart discount store in Garden City; the firm was renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977. Kresge lived to 99 and died in Pennsylvania in 1966.
Highlights
- Opened a five-and-dime store in downtown Detroit in 1897
- Incorporated the S. S. Kresge Company with 85 stores in 1912
- Founded the Kresge Foundation in Detroit in 1924
- First Kmart opened in Garden City, Michigan, in 1962
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Founded · 1924–
The Kresge Foundation
The foundation he started in Detroit in 1924, now headquartered in Troy and a major backer of the Detroit RiverWalk and local arts.
Related place · 2000s–
Detroit Riverwalk
The Kresge Foundation co-founded the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which built miles of riverfront promenade from Belle Isle westward.