Woodward & Lothrop - W&L in The Community

W&L in The Community

Both Woodward and Lothrop became active in civic life. Woodward, for instance, became president of the Washington City YMCA in 1898, and donated significant sums of money for the renovation of its facilities. In addition, Woodward's daughter and heir, Helen, and her husband Luke Ingalls Wilson later donated the bulk of the acreage of their Bethesda estate for the formation of the National Institutes of Health. After Wilson's death from cancer, Helen was instrumental in the creation of the National Cancer Institute. The store they founded itself became a fixture. In the 1920s it boasted at least 67 retail departments, as well as a travel agency, theater, infirmary, merry-go-round, and traveling art exhibits. According to one customer, Woodies was truly part of the social fabric; part department store, restaurant, and showcase for talent shows. Proper young ladies from schools like Bryn Mawr, Stephens, Vassar, Radcliffe, Mt. Holyoke would troop into Woodies for their spring and summer frocks to wear at weekend dances.

The W&L toy department introduced two phenomena to the American public. Harold and John Porter, who comprised the Porter Chemical Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, began manufacturing chemistry sets in 1916. Woodward & Lothrop became the first major retailer to offer them for sale, and "Chemcraft" kits soon appeared at other retailers in the country. In the 1950s, the wife of a W&L buyer saw a demonstration of Play-Doh modeling clay at an educational convention. This led to a successful in-store demo, and the sale of Play-Doh in W&L stores, and soon in toy departments throughout the United States.