Clothed in Tradition - 50-Year-Old Frieden's Is a Holdout as One of City's Last Independently Owned Department Stores

The corridor of small clothing stores, furniture shops and movie theaters on North Broadway has disappeared, taken over by discount markets. Latino families have replaced the mostly Italian American community that lived in the neighborhood in 1947.

But for all the changes the face of North Broadway has undergone since Frieden's Department Store opened 50 years ago, the oldfangled philosophy of clothes-selling remains steady inside this aging brick building--unmoved by the press of time.

Like Zelman's Men's Shop in Boyle Heights, Frieden's is one of the few left of a dying breed. Here in one of Los Angeles' last independent family department stores, most every customer can open a credit account. A recommendation from a friend and your word of honor are enough to buy you trust and a sturdy pair of jeans.

The pace in Frieden's is slow, the air tinged with the mustiness of leather shoes. There's still a metal dime scale outside the doors to the store. And Leon Frieden is still inside, welcoming customers with unflagging optimism.

"I'm the last of the Mohicans," said Frieden, 80. "You don't see stores like this anymore. We treat our customers the old-fashioned way. We trust them."

Construction workers, factory hands and local business people all browse the racks at Frieden's. It's a place where neighbors chat by the shoe display and new immigrants get their first taste of the ultimate American currency--credit.

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Frieden's is a holdout on a block struggling to stay afloat after a rash of closures. The store sits next to a shuttered bank and across the street from several discount stores and zapaterias, small shoe repair shops.

"It's the last of its kind," said Steve Kasten, president of the Lincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce. "Used to be, most downtown areas had a store like Frieden's. It's the standard we'd like to see here." Inside, the clothing selection is Frieden's own handpicked mix of trendy labels and sensible outfits. Nike gear and Levi's jeans hang next to racks of plain blazers, velvet girls' dresses and plaid men's work shirts.

"We sell high quality clothes here--not junk," Frieden said proudly.

Frieden helped his father, Harry, open the store in August 1947 when the family moved to Lincoln Heights from McCamey, a small oil town in West Texas. The father-son team quickly built a strong customer base by offering open credit accounts.