Sales sink as stores are submerged

The flooded anchor stores of State Street - Marshall Field & Co.and Carson Pirie, Scott & Co. - will remain closed today with noimmediate forecast on reopening.

Other retailers on the city's oldest shopping thoroughfare mayreopen today, depending on whether electrical power and water arerestored.

In any case, losses will continue to mount with the largeststores closed and few shoppers expected on the street.

A vault in Filene's Basement, in the old Wieboldt Building,reportedly collapsed under the water pressure. Officials of thestore couldn't be reached.

Field's put its loss estimate on merchandise at "hundreds ofthousands of dollars," though it says it's insured. Carson's had nocomment on losses.

The flooding and electrical shutdown that closed all StateStreet stores comes at a terrible time for retailers.

The week preceding Easter normally brings increased sales ofspring clothes and goodies to fill Easter baskets.

By late afternoon Monday, the water continued to rise in thesub-basements of Field's and Carson's. Crews there were movingmerchandise from storage to any space they could find on higherfloors.

They also were removing merchandise from display cases on thefirst basement levels in both stores - Down Under at Fields and theCorporate Level at Carson's.

Pumps were operating in Field's basement, where its wearypresident, Dan Skoda, explained the system with some frustration:"We're pumping water out into the street where it goes into thesewer, which then goes into the river and the tunnels and then backinto the store."

Actually, sewer water doesn't go into the Chicago River. Butthere were reports of sewer overflows, and the flooded Loop tunnelshave continued to pour into Field's and Carson's basements.

Skoda said that at the rate water continued to rise late Mondayafternoon, Field's expected water to approach the Down Under level -the lowest shopping level in the store - by 9 p.m. Monday.

Field's has two sub-basements, and water rose through thoselower levels first.

The most expensive merchandise in Down Under - fancy Mont Blancpens and premium wines - was being moved upstairs, and less-expensiveitems, such as Easter baskets, were being set on higher stands andcounters.

Frozen food was moved to a locker set up on the courtyardloading dock.

Skoda and Carson's officials said late Monday that they didn'tknow when the stores would reopen.

It depends on when the water can be pumped out or recedes on itsown, and when fresh water can be brought into the buildings. Thefresh-water pumps were submerged in the third, or lowest, basementsin both stores.