Beall's 100-year anniversary

Bradenton-based Beall's Inc., corporate parent of Beall's Department Stores and Beall's and Burke's Outlet Stores, turns 100 years old in 2015.The milestone has been marked with multiple celebrations and ceremonies. That includes a 100-year documentary, four years in the making, that premiered in May at the Manatee Performing Arts Center; a mural of the first day at the first store painted on the wall of the downtown building that housed the original Beall's; a proclamation of a Beall's Day from Manatee County commissioners; and a new historical marker, near the first Beall's on Old Main Street, that details the founding and anniversary.

Here's a glance at the company's past, present and future:

PAST
Robert Beall opened the first Beall's in 1915 in what was then Bradentown, on the banks of the Manatee River. He called the store the Five Dollar Limit, reflecting the maximum price of goods. Beall spent his entire $2,500 investment on stock, so he turned over the wood crates that held products for display tables.
Robert Beall's son, E.R., joined the business in the 1940s. In 1946 the father-son duo changed the name to Beall's Department Stores.
The first Beall's Outlet store opened in 1987. The first outlet store outside Florida opened in 1992, in Arizona.
E.R. Beall's son, Bob Beall, joined the company in 1968. All three Bealls worked at the company until 1979, when Robert Beall died.