district in the 1970s, a vision that is still apparent today despite the demise of both Gimbels and Strawbridge's. He once said that his goal was to transform fading east Market Street into "the Champs-Élysées of Philadelphia." Late 20th-century demise After successfully fighting off a hostile takeover attempt by Ronald S. Baron in 1986, Strawbridge & Clothier survived as an independent, locally owned department store into the 1990s. In 1995, in an attempt to become the dominant retailer in the Philadelphia region, S&C partnered with Federated Department Stores, Pomeroys, and the Rubin Brothers real estate development company to acquire their rival Wanamaker's, but were outbid in bankruptcy court by May Department Stores Company. Subsequently, the 13 Strawbridge & Clothier department stores were themselves bought by May in 1996, when the Strawbridge & Clothier directors (mostly members of the Strawbridge and Clothier families) elected to liquidate operations over the vehement objections of patriarch Stockton Strawbridge. Strawbridge died not long after the sale. "He was the store, and the store was him," said his attorney Peter Hearn to the Philadelphia Daily News. Store employees and the public-at-large felt a sense of loss as well: many employees rushed to pay off their credit card accounts in full before the sale was finalized, "hoping that the proceeds would go to the founding families rather than [the new buyers]." After the sale, the stores operated simply as "Strawbridge's", although exterior signage reading "Strawbridge & Clothier" remained in place at many locations until the stores became Macy's in 2006. May had merged the former John Wanamaker into its Hecht's banner, but converted them to Strawbridge's as well (except for Wanamaker's former flagship on Market Street, which eventually became a Lord & Taylor and is now Macy's). However, the Strawbridge & Clothier head office was closed and its operations were consolidated with Hecht's in Arlington, Virginia. Cultural significance Radio station For 13 years, from 1922 to 1935, the store operated WFI, an AM radio station. In 1935, the station merged with WLIT, owned by the Lit Brothers store across the street, to form WFIL, an NBC Blue network affiliate. WFIL remains on the air today on its original frequency, AM 560. Dickens Village In November 1985, Strawbridge's unveiled Dickens Village on the fourth floor of their flagship store. This Christmas display featured animatronic figures in a 6,000 sq. ft walk-through of 26 scenes from Charles Dickens's classic