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Marshall Field's Park Forest Store: A Brief History 
by Jane Nicoll, Archivist, Park Forest Historical Society
Marshall Field's & Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois is 1852. It began as a dry goods store opened at 137 Lake Street by Potter Palmer.* The first branch of Marshall Field's opened at Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois in May 1928. A branch opened in Evanston, Illinois in September 1928, and one in Oak Park, Illinois opened in September, 1929. Park Forest, Illinois, the first fully planned, post-World War II suburb began in 1946, with construction started in 1947, and first occupancy in August 1948. The shopping center opened in November 1949 with the first store, Park Forest Liquors, operated by George and Irving Taradash. The shopping center was the first or second in the country, making the Marshall Field's in Park Forest the first to be in a shopping center. This store was the first built in a long association between one of Park Forest's developers, Philip M. Klutznick, and the owners of Field's. Groundbreaking for the Marshall Field's in Park Forest took place on April 15, 1954. The doors opened on March 28, 1955. The store became one of the star anchors of the Park Forest Plaza, along with Goldblatt's and, later, Sears. See a full-page ad from "The Reporter" for opening day.
"In 1956, Klutznick and Field's jointly opened Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Illinois, a center Klutznick developed on land that Field's already owned; the development included a new Field's store. This was followed by the 1959 opening of a Field's store in the Mayfair mall in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and stores at later Klutznick-led shopping centers opened at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Illinois in 1962 and River Oaks Center in Calumet City, Illinois in 1966." (Wikipedia) Water Tower Place in Chicago opened in 1975.
In January 1987 Field's announced it would close the Park Forest store. Park Forest residents organized and demonstrated in front of the Chicago State Street store. Field's was offered a deal, and in February of 1987 committed to remain for the last ten years of their original lease. The Frango Frolic was held to celebrate this news. In 1988, the store was renovated.
Marshall Fields Park Forest store closed its doors on March 29, 1997, almost 42 years and one day after they had opened.
In October 2004, Rich Township High School 50th Anniversary committee used the main floor of the Field's store for its dinner celebration. The main floor was decorated in grand style with real photographs, memorabilia and clothing from each decade.
Over the years, a number of innovative ideas were attempted to get occupants into the Field's building. The Village of Park Forest took over ownership, aggressively marketing the store. As the wiring and plumbing, escalators and elevators, roof and HVAC systems aged, with each passing year, it became a more expensive project to rehabilitate the building. The Village of Park Forest expended a great deal of money in maintaining it so that it would not become an eyesore in the heart of the new Downtown Park Forest. The Village had to make the decision to apply $1.25 million in grant funds to take the building down. With heavy hearts, the Village, residents and former shoppers bid farewell to Marshall Field's when demolition began in November 2010.
The Park Forest Historical Society received a generous donation from the Village and the demolition firm, Environmental Cleansing Corporation, of a limited number of bricks from the building to sell as a fundraiser to help support their vision to keep Park Forest history alive and give it a permanent home in the village.
*A history of Marshall Field's in Chicago is available on Wikipedia. Confirm dates found in that article and quoted here. That article gives the wrong year for the start of the Park Forest store.