This discount department store, located on State Street in Chicago's Loop, was established in 1887 by Henry Siegel, Frank H. Cooper, and Isaac Keim. In 1891, the company moved into the Siegel, Cooper & Co. Building on State and Van Buren Streets. The eight-story building, designed by William Le Baron Jenney and internationally recognized as one of the early “Chicago School” skyscrapers, was however not nearly as opulent as the company's New York store, designed by DeLemos & Cordes and located on Sixth Avenue on what was known as the “Ladies' Mile.” By 1900, the “Big Store,” as Siegel was popularly known, employed about 2,000 people. In 1913–14 Siegel's stores, along with those of other merchants, were reorganized into the Associated Dry Goods Corp. with the help of J. P. Morgan. The Chicago store closed around 1930, its building soon occupied by Sears & Roebuck's flagship store.

This entry is part of the Encyclopedia's Dictionary of Leading Chicago Businesses (1820-2000) that was prepared by Mark R. Wilson, with additional contributions from Stephen R. Porter and Janice L. Reiff.