Levy, Hannah, 1905-1984
Biography
Hannah Levy became a nationally known fashion expert, traveling extensively to New York, Europe, and Asia to buy clothes for Fashion Bar, which was started by her brother Jack in 1933. Fashion Bar became the largest privately owned chain in Colorado. Hannah was born in the town of Haigerloch, near Stuttgart in Southern Germany, on May 19, 1918, to Raphael and Bertha Hilb Levy. Hannah's uncle, Isidore Hilb, came to Denver in the early 1900s and founded Hilb and Company, a wholesale clothing supply business. Jack Levy came to Denver in 1923 to work at his uncle's company as a salesman. Hannah Levy reached New York in 1925, working at menial jobs for 20 months to earn enough money for a train ticket to Denver. She worked as a cleaner, a nanny, a manicurist, and a delicatessen worker. Hannah Levy supported many Jewish, civic, and cultural causes, including Temple Emanuel, Rose Hospital, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Denver Symphony, Jewish Community Center, and the University of Denver's Holocaust Awareness Institute.After a 50-year career at Fashion Bar, Hannah Levy died December 1, 1984.
Citation
Not found in LCNAF or VIAF. mmata 2016-10-26
Sources: https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=268 (article by Jeanne Abrams (2016).
Tales of a Little Trunk by Hannah Shwayder Berry.
Obituaries.
Found in 6 Collections and/or Records:
Box 8, 1950-1990
(1) file folder of Hannah Levy achievement awards; (1) bound master copy of Hannah's awards (1976-1985); news magazines, news clippings, and articles.
Box 11, 1980-1990
(1) framed interview with Hannah Levy; (1) framed governor's proclomation of Jack Levy day; (1) news article honoring Jack Levy at Rose Celebration, mounted on wood.
Box 12, 1900-1993
(1) framed photo of Denver Street James Hotel, future site of first Fashion Bar store (c. 1900); (1) framed photo portrait of Jack Levy (c. 1970).
Box 13, c. 1880 - 2002
Box contains eleven (11) file folders, six (6) of which are from the photographs, scrapbooks, and clippings series. File folders contain portrait photos of Weil ancestors; Levy family photos; photos of Bill and Elise Weil; scrapbook pages; newspaper clippings about William Weil; and a VHS of family photos entitled "Weil: Reflections 1944-1990".
Hannah Levy as a Young Woman, between 1930-1939
Hannah Levy sits in an outdoor setting in the early 1930s. Hannah and brother Jack Levy are the founders of several women's clothing retail stores, in Colorado: the Hosiery Bar, Fashion Bar, and Hannah. She also became a leading Colorado philanthropist and helped support numerous community institutions, including the Rose Hospital and the University of Denver.
Oral History Interview with Siblings Hannah and Jack Levy, 1983 October 18
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- Jewish women 2
- Awards 1
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- Clothing and dress 1
- Colorado 1
- Department stores 1
- Fashion 1
- Haigerloch (Germany) 1
- Jewish businesspeople -- Colorado 1
- Jewish businesspeople -- Colorado -- Denver 1
- Jewish families -- Colorado 1
- Jewish merchants 1
- Oral histories 1
- Photograph albums 1
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