Advertisement from the 1940 Rochester City Directory McCurdy's was a department store and mainstay of the Rochester downtown in its heyday. John C. McCurdy founded McCurdy's in 1901 and operated a department store at 285 East Main Street. His son, Gilbert J.C.
McCurdy, later took over the business, expanded it and attracted fame by co-developing the Midtown Plaza with Maurice Forman and making McCurdy's Department Store a key player in the plaza along with B. Forman's. Gilbert McCurdy, the grandson of the founder, managed the company after his father. McCurdy sold the store to May Departments Stores in 1994, but a federal judge temporarily prohibited them from acquiring it on anti-trust grounds in November of that year.
In 1995 the May Company sold the store along with three others to Bon-Ton to avoid the legal issues. See Wikipedia Article for more details. Notes and References May Co. to sell 4 McCurdy's in Rochester, N.Y., to Bon-Ton from Daily News Record , March, 1995 (Brief Article) Federal judge put brakes on May's purchase of McCurdy's - Daily News Record , November, 1994 Tax Dispute Appeals Court Documents from a tax dispute argued in June 1971 and decided in 1972 contain information regarding Midtown, Forman and McCurdy.
WXXI.org Memories of Midtown