Rapid residential development around Porter Square in the early twentieth century made it an attractive location for Sears, Roebuck and Company. Chicago architect George C. Nimmons had established a company model that combined verticality with Art Deco–stylized classical details, also seen in Sears' Fenway store in Boston (now Landmark Center; FL30). A great square tower with recessed spandrels rising above the bulk of the buff brick store ensured that the building would be a prominent landmark. The Porter Square store closed in 1986 and, after a complicated history of varied development projects, Lesley College acquired the building in 1994, renovating the interior and building an addition to the west.