Ordinary Storefronts of the Twentieth Century: Clues to the Local Histories of Shopping and Retailing

If we learn their historical vocabulary, store windows tell us much more than what is for sale inside a building. Using examples from the Bay Area and from elsewhere in the U.S., Paul Groth outlines changing forms used in the design and remodeling of everyday shop windows—and how these changes provide visual clues to the history of local retail investment, shopping culture, gender roles, and the vitality of neighborhood and downtown shopping districts.