Man using adding machine at Strayer’s Business College
The Grandeur of Bullock’s Wilshire Tea Room
Bullock’s Wilshire was the showpiece, the jewel in the crown, the “cathedral of commerce” of the Bullock’s department store chain. Opened in 1929, this green copper-accented, art deco wonder was an innovative masterpiece, both inside and out. Built in the shape of a grand church, the store was the first to cater to automobile culture. Guests drove through a wrought iron gate into a painted porte-cochere, where valets whisked their cars away to be parked. One particularly eccentric customer, legendary entertainer Mae West, preferred to shop from her car, causing busy shop girls to run to and fro with big-busted dresses and long minks …
… A Miss Larson oversaw the tea room, and made sure it lived up to the “Bullock’s ideal” of excellence in service and presentation. The menu was light and refreshing, perfect for active shoppers and a welcome respite from heavy mid-century food. It featured such tea-time fare as finger sandwiches, pecan rolls, an assortment of fresh bread, including orange, date and nut, and cheese, and its famous Cantonese chicken salad with strawberry dressing. For dessert, fluffy coconut cream pie was a specialty, as was French chocolate layer cake, and a cream cheese ring with assorted fruit.
Minneapolis Park Board girls rifle team, circa 1920.
