a year later of 71-year-old CEO Sol Polk sent it spiraling downward. The 1990-91 recession and the arrival of new competitors such as Best Buy sealed Polk Bros.' fate. The chain officially closed its doors on July 8, 1992, in a grand "going out of business" sale. A Menards occupied the rebuilt Polk Brothers store in Melrose Park until the mid-2010s when it moved out of that store to build a store of its own further west on North Avenue (Chicago) just east of the Navistar plant. Polk Bros. Foundation The company's assets were rolled over into the Polk Bros. Foundation, today one of the Chicago area's largest charitable organizations. With assets of $385 million, the foundation in one year dispensed 350 grants totaling $15.7 million to organizations. The foundation has funded organizations such as the Chicago Children's Choir, The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts), and the University of Chicago. The Polks also had a vast investment portfolio that included stock in such bygone Chicago retailers as Wieboldt's and Goldblatt's. They also held thousands of acres of real estate around the country, most of it divested over the past 15 years. One of the last parcels, prime in the Malibu Hills north of Los Angeles, has a sale pending. References External links Polk Bros. Foundation Retail companies established in 1935 Defunct companies based in Chicago Consumer electronics retailers in the United States Defunct retail companies of the United States Defunct consumer electronics retailers in the United States Defunct companies based in Illinois 1935 establishments in Illinois Retail companies disestablished in 1992 1992 disestablishments in Illinois