B. Dalton: A history
August 1966: Dayton's opens its first B. Dalton Bookseller at Southdale Center.
April 1968: Expands into California by acquiring Pickwick Books.
November 1973: Opens at 815 Nicollet Mall, the 114th store. (At right, in 1980Ø)
November 1986: Dayton Hudson sells B. Dalton stores to Barnes & Noble Inc., catapulting Barnes & Noble onto the national scene and making it the second-largest bookseller in the country.
January 2010: The last of the 50 stores will be shuttered by the end of the month. Its two remaining Minnesota stores, including the Southdale store, close Jan. 16.
about the writer
Financial woes continue to loom over downtown St. Paul’s largest property owner, currently embroiled in litigation for millions of dollars in debt. The company’s founder and longtime principal, Jim Crockarell, died early this year and left more than a dozen properties to his wife, Rosemary Kortgard.
