Economy of Milwaukee

Gimbel Brothers, commonly known as Gimbels, was an American department store corporation that operated from 1842 until 1987. The company was founded by Adam Gimbel who, in 1842, opened his first general store in Vincennes, Indiana. In 1887, the company moved its operations to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, establishing the first Gimbel Brothers Department Store. It became a chain in 1894 when it opened a second, larger location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which also served as its headquarters for several years. At the urging of future company president Bernard Gimbel, grandson of the founder, the co