By Lauren Markoe
Abraham Lincoln wasn’t yet president when Porter’s of Racine was born. This year the high-end retailer celebrates something many countries have not achieved a sesquicentennial—or 150th anniversary.

That’s a lot of years in the furniture business for a family. Actually, a succession of three families have owned and run Porters since 1957, each building on a reputation for top-notch quality and maintaining the store’s particular traditions and ambiance. So even though the Porters sold to the Gottliebs and the company is now run by the Waters family, Porters on its 150th birthday is still, at heart, the Porters founded in downtown Racine, Wis., by cabinet maker Allen Porter in the years before the Civil War.


But it is with characteristic Midwestern modesty that Porters celebrates this year. Allen Porter actually started selling furniture before 1857, the year when his enterprising son William Allen Porter suggested that the family business expand into several Racine warehouses not far from the shores of Lake Michigan. H.R. Waters, Porters current president and chief executive officer, probably could but doesn’t claim to own the oldest furniture store in the Midwest. He’s done his research and there is one other contender for the title. But why compete? Porters, as Waters and his nephew, vice president Micah Waters, will tell you, doesn’t need that distinction. The store remains one of the most unique furniture shopping experiences in the nation. And to the Waters, the people who work for them, and the people who buy from them, it’s not how long they’ve been around, but why they’ve been around that matters.

“One of the special things about us that we’ve always been told by the industry, is that our uniqueness is the amount of high-end furniture we offer. We’re being told that it doesn’t exist elsewhere,” said Micah Waters. “It’s not how far you have to go to find this selection, it’s how many places you’d have to go to find this selection.”

But it’s not only the sheer volume of Stickley, Karges and Henredon that makes Porters unusual. First-time shoppers of the 80,000-square-foot store will encounter a one-of-a-kind showroom that modern construction can not duplicate. Porters, in addition to its more traditional showrooms, is a series of smaller galleries—arranged more like a rambling old house than a store or museum. This is thanks to Theodore Gottlieb, whose father bought from the Porters heirs in 1919. The younger Gottlieb moved the business to five connected but somewhat dilapidated old buildings on the corner of Wisconsin and Sixth Streets in the 1930s, and presided over a total refurbishment of the cobbled-together edifice. His interior designer, who would later become his wife, created “Porters House of Ideas”—a store-within-a-store that felt more like a home she could call her own. Today “Porters House of Ideas” is known as the “Guild Galleries.”

A Treasure Hunt

“You’ve got this maze of an experience where you’re going over the hill and through the dale and wandering,” said Micah Waters. The galleries are 11 rooms in all. A dining room leads to a bedroom and a grand stairway is interrupted by a landing that is home to a very grand Stickley Mission grandfather clock. “It’s more like a classical home than a showroom,” said Robin Kinney, Porters’ advertising director.

Unlike most homes, however, you might need a map to avoid getting lost in this one. The serpentine nature of much of Porters means that customers occasionally lose their bearings, so upon entering the store, a map is offered. If the map doesn’t help, there are telephones placed strategically around the galleries, with a sign that reassures: “Dial 274 for Help.” Tell the person at the other end of the line in which of the galleries you find yourself—they are all clearly marked by number—and you will be redirected toward your desired destination.

The remerchandising of the Guild Galleries this year was but one way that Porters is marking its big anniversary. There was also the unveiling in July of a new Web site, portersofracine.com, designed to convey the scope and sheer magnitude of the store’s selection. You can’t buy from the site, though, and Porters has no plans to make that a possibility. Their customers will use the site to educate themselves, Kinney said.

“The more confident people can be getting into their car and coming to see us, the better,” she said. “You can’t judge a sofa or a chair until you’ve sat in it.”

Wide Reaching Pull

And customers are often driving a distance to shop Porters. The store draws heavily from Chicago, 60 miles away, and Milwaukee, 20 miles away.

But perhaps the most fun part of the celebration is yet to come, in November, when Porters will give away a $25,000 furniture spree. No purchase is necessary to enter, and anyone may enter as many times as she or he likes. The only caveat is that entrants must come into Porters to place their names in the box.

Nearby, they will see a special exhibit on Porters history, including old photographs and a chair from Allen Porter’s original cabinet shop.

The 150th birthday of Porters also means year-round sales, on everything from special orders to floor samples. Though the business is suffering like most furniture retailers in today’s soft market, the celebratory events and sales have cushioned the store.

“It has certainly helped,” said Micah Waters. “It’s been a nice opportunity in a down market.” After the launch of the refurbished Guild Galleries, Porters enjoyed an upswing in sales.

But of course Porters—like its competitors—is coping with a customer base that has become somewhat accustomed in recent years to paying less for furniture. Whatever the solution is, said Micah Waters, it’s not to lower prices by compromising on the quality of the inventory.

“We’ve done quite a bit of remerchandising, but by no means a ratcheting down,” he said. “That doesn’t make sense for us at all. We’ve been at the high end of the industry. We’ve been watching the middle erode. So it doesn’t make sense to go toward the middle.”

Porters has adapted to these tough times by closing one of its three clearance centers in November. “One thing that is nice for us is that we have the ability to adjust as we need to,” said Micah Waters. “We’re very fortunate that we own our business and own our building.” The remaining clearance stores are each 25,000 square feet.

Virginia-born Micah Waters, who calls himself an overpaid delivery man, is relatively new to the furniture business. The 44-year-old former architect moved to Porters nine years ago. But his uncle, H.R. Waters, has spent nearly a lifetime in the store. H.R. Waters became a partner with interior designer Marie Crowley, the originator of the Guild Galleries, after her husband, Theodore Gottlieb, died in 1960. H.R. Waters had been the store’s manager.

Now 77, he has run Porters of Racine ever since. H.R. Waters began selling furniture in his native Virginia, working for others, but was only in his twenties when he bought a piece of Porters. Asked when he will retire, he said: “When I die.”

“When he falls over, that’s when he retires,” confirmed his nephew.

A Legend of a Career

Over the course of his career at Porters, H.R. Waters has weathered up and down markets. He also in past decades saw the deterioration of Racine. But Racine, during the past five years or so, has shown itself to be quite a resilient little city. Its downtown once again bustles with new shopping venues, museums and eateries. Racine is the world headquarters of SC Johnson, the global household cleaning product giant, which contributes heavily to downtown redevelopment efforts.

“It’s one of the best examples in the Midwest of a revitalized downtown area,” said Micah Waters. And Porters of Racine sits in the center of this revitalization. It takes part in further strengthening the downtown by participating in a “First Fridays,” program, in which businesses stay open late on the first Friday of the month during the summer. Porters’ doors, which normally close at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, are open past 8 p.m. on First Fridays.

So soft market aside, Porters has its location, overwhelming selection and its 150-year-old reputation going for it. And don’t forget free delivery, added Kinney, the advertising director. “We still have free delivery to most of our market,” she said. “That’s a rarity in the furniture world.”

That recipe for success, which has worked so well in the past, should carry Porters of Racine well into the future. Researching the company for its 150th birthday, Kinney said she found some old marketing materials, and was struck by their relevance in today’s market. An old Porters slogan she likes in particular: “A Place Not Too Far For People Who Love Beautiful Things.”