So, did you grow up pronouncing it "FI-leens" (accent on first syllable) or "Fah-LEENS" (accent on second syllable)? My grandmother uttered the latter, when she would make plans with Beattie or Gittie (her sisters) to, "Meet me under clock at Fahleen's." This little box (pictured) came from Gram's house. (Why she needed white chalk is anyone's guess). It was in a pile of garbage where I luckily found it and snatched it. Though it's hard to see, it's got the old logo, the one I remember as a little boy. I can recall the scary in-store elevators (with the operators), all the herky-jerkiness of those old things and how you could see out the glass doors in-between floors . It was on those doors that I recall that circular logo, either on a handle or maybe it was a decal on the glass.
The last time I was in Filene's was the later 1980s. I was amazed and thrilled when I rode the escalator down into the basement and found it to be the same as it ever was. Sure, the upstairs had been remodeled/updated countless times (or maybe just once, I don't know) but the basement was weirdly stuck in time....like 1948. It hadn't been painted, the floors were OLD, the fixtures were OLD....I didn't want to leave. And wasn't it Filene's Automatic Bargain Basement? I still have the goofy shoes I bought that day.
