Julius Garfinckel

Who was Julius Garfinckel?

Julius Garfinckel was a prominent American merchant, business executive and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Washington, D.C., department store Garfinckel's.

He was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of Harris Garfinkel and Hannah Rachel Harrzon. His siblings were Nathan Gabriel Garfinkel; Suzanne Rebecca Garfinkel; Anna Esther Garfinkel; Susan Garfinkel; and Usher Garfinkel. His parents were both born in Bavaria, and immigrated to the United States. Their native language was German. His father was a peddler/dry goods merchant. Before Julius was born, the Garfinkel family lived in New Orleans, where his elder siblings were born. They also lived in Texas, where his younger brother was born. Although he was Unitarian, his parents are buried in a Jewish cemetery in Texas. It is not clear when or why he added the letter "c" into his surname.

In 1899, he removed from Denver, to Washington, where he opened a mercantile business named Julius Garfinckel & Co., employing 10 clerks. In 1910, he lived at the Burlington Hotel, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW. In 1918, his store was locatated at 13th and F Streets. He was still living at the Burlington in 1920. In the late 1920s, Garfinckel had an eight-story department store building erected at the northwest corner of 14th and F Streets for $2,000,000. The new location was opened in 1929. By 1936, there were more than 500 employees.