GOLDEN ERA OF GEORGETOWN: Gold’s Department Store’s Legacy of Love

by Charlotte Kovalchuk

Tom Swift’s first introduction to Gold’s Department Store after moving to Georgetown at 14 years old was finding a shirt he needed at the Square staple. “From then on, I never bought clothes anywhere else. Even when I was away for 16 years, I still didn’t buy clothes until I came back to see my family.”

During a chapter in Georgetown’s history when I-35 was still being built and the city was home to just 4,500 people, everyone shopped for necessities at Gold’s. “You could literally buy everything there, from sheets and towels to clothes and shoes,” says Julie Savage, whose first job in high school was working in Gold’s shoe department. “I probably spent most of my paychecks there on shoes.”

First established on the west side of the Square in 1936, Gold’s moved to the north side in 1949 where Diva, The Ultimate Design Studio, Black Sugar Caffe, Red Bird Mercantile, and the Visitors Center are located today. Julie’s husband and long-time Georgetown resident Joe Savage remembers how he would get frequent visits from Gold’s owner, Harry Gold, after buying the nearby Café on the Square (now Goodfolks) in the ‘90s. “He was a visiting friend every day, literally. He would come down and share his pearls of wisdom. He talked to me about entrepreneurship and the Square, and I believe no person ever spent more time or money on learning what works and what does not in marketing the Square.”

Georgetown's Minuteman

For many years, Gold’s was the anchor and heart of not just the Square but in Georgetown in general — geographically, socially, and emotionally. “The Golds were Georgetown’s minutemen. They were there when someone needed help,” Tom says. When the women’s dorm at Southwestern University caught fire in the middle of the night in the wintertime, Harry and Rebecca grabbed blankets and robes from their store and passed them out to students. “It wouldn’t have occurred to them to think of the cost. To them the university had a crisis and so the Golds were there to do what they could.”

Joe adds that it was common knowledge that when a family needed funeral clothes after an unexpected family death, Harry would take care of it and let them pay when they could. “It was a community spirit of love and compassion that’s unparalleled,” Joe says.

Legacy of Love

Gold’s Department Store’s time on the Square came to an end after Harry’s death in 1996. “Gold’s was so significant that when we heard that they were going to sell it, it was heartbreaking,” Tom says. “The Golds helped create Georgetown. They gave everything they had to Georgetown. They loved the town. They weren’t just a thing in Georgetown, they were at the heart of Georgetown. Part of the reason Georgetown is so lovable is because of what the Golds created.”

IN ADDITION TO OWNING GOLD’S, HARRY SERVED ON CITY COUNCIL FOR 14 YEARS AND WAS INVOLVED IN LOCAL PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS. “THERE’S A REASON HE HAS A BUST ON THE SQUARE. HE WASN’T JUST A POLITICAL LEADER, HE WAS A SERVANT LEADER,” TOM SAYS.