After Closure Announcement, a Look at Macy’s Heyday…and Union Square’s Future

Alexis Madrigal

Mar 1 at

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Banners hang from the top of Macy's Union Square during the Chinese New Festival and Parade in San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2024. After activists dropped two banners, shouts of "Free Free Palestine" could be heard from the rooftop. (Kathryn Styer Martinez/KQED)

Macy’s announced this week it would be closing its flagship Union Square store, among 150 other underperforming stores across the country. The news is just the latest blow to the city’s beleaguered shopping district. We’ll talk about the store’s iconic history and imagine other futures for downtown and Union Square. And we want to hear from you. What are your Macy’s memories? And what would you like to see happen in that building and in Union Square?

Guests:

Amy Campbell, building transformation and adaptive reuse leader, Gensler

Peter Hartlaub, culture critic, San Francisco Chronicle

Annie Appleby, her parents met while working at Macy's

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