Hesss Department Store was a unique department store that with a combination of style and showmanship became a shopping legend for almost 100 years. Hesss was founded in 1897 in Allentown by brothers Max and Charles Hess. From its start as a dry goods store, it became the downtown heart of Pennsylvanias third-largest city for much of the 20th century. Its reputation was further enhanced by Max Hesss son, a showman for merchandising. Through a series of photographs, many from private collections and seldom seen, Hesss Department Store brings the glory days of Hesss to life again.

The Schuylkill River got its name, meaning "hidden river," from Dutch settlers who discovered its mouth sequestered behind the Delaware River's League Island. It later became a river of revolutions. Along its banks Revolutionary War battles were fought, and George Washington's army famously camped at Valley Forge. Later the river helped fuel the Industrial Revolution with coal from Schuylkill County shipped to Philadelphia via the Schuylkill Canal. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad began here and grew into the largest corporation in the world. The iron and steel industry flourished along...