Daniel Cromer, a Jewish immigrant from Scotland, came to Miami in 1913 and purchased a store from his brother-in-law David Afremow. Cromer and his partner, Irwin M. Cassel, sold merchandise ranging from straight pins to motor boats. In 1926, they built a new store full of the most modern of conveniences. Cromer-Cassel's $5.25 million department store opened to much fanfare on May 28, 1926. The festivities began at 6 p.m. when Herbert Hoover, then U.S. Secretary of Commerce, pressed a button in Washington, D.C. that, via Western Union, unlocked the store's main entrance.

The nine-story building featured escalators between the first and third floors, perhaps a first for Miami. Twenty-foot ceilings and Circassian walnut paneling graced the main floor. Upper floors were detailed in gray oak and mahogany. The store was severely damaged by the 1926 hurricane and was further crippled by the Depression. Unable to recover, Cromer-Cassel closed in the early 1930s. Today the building houses the Metromall.

Information courtesy of Florida Division of Historical Resources, a division of Florida Department of State and the Florida Memory Project.