The Shepard Stores , was a Boston shopping scene mainstay just upstairs at Park Street Station and housed in a collection of buildings that had frontage on Tremont, Winter Street and Temple Place. The business was always a family run company and John Shepard Jr. was mainly the one in charge of Boston since his father founded the original business back in a small storefront in 1865. John Jr.’s two sons were very much involved with the profitable company from the 1920’s on and instrumental in establishing a very early Boston radio station in the Tremont Street building in the early 1920’s.
The business originally called, Shepard Norwell & Company, grew steadily over the years. More buildings were added to its layout until it acquired the handsome building that is still standing at 132 Tremont Street  to St. Paul’s Cathedral Church in 1913(the lower floors at first and then the rest by 1915). The name changed to The Shepard Stores during the 1920’s. 

This department store was a store of “stores”…..the Shepard idea was to treat each department like a small specialty shop within the larger parent store. .

 

The early radio station venture that would come in 1922 (and remain in place until it relocated in 1929) and a very stylish multi-leveled restaurant were some of the highlights of the store once it fully occupied the Tremont Street building by 1915. 

The Shepard Stores buying up and taking over as much of its block was very reminiscent of the way Jordan Marsh Company was consuming its own neighbors just down the street during these same years. 


The Shepard Stores was still very successful when it ceased operations in Decemember 1937.