D.M. Read Company (1925)

Founded in 1857 by D.M. Read, Read’s Department Store in Bridgeport became a retail landmark, evolving into a chain of stores that provided upscale merchandise for over a century. In 1869, the D.M. Read Company moved into a grand Second Empire-style building at the corner of Main Street and Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport. The store moved again in 1925-1926 into a Neoclassical building at the corner of John and Broad Streets. It was designed by Monks and Johnson of Boston. The downtown Bridgeport store was closed in 1981. In the 1990s, the building, now called Read’s Artspace or Sterling Market Lofts, was converted into apartments for artists as live-work spaces.