New York department store. The company was founded in 1865 in Brooklyn and was originally known as Wechsler and Abraham, after founders Joseph Wechsler and Abraham Abraham. The name was changed to Abraham and Straus in 1893 when the company acquired new partners, Isidor and Nathan Straus, who controlled R. H. Macy and Co. In September of 1950, Abraham and Straus hired Breuer as the “Consulting Architect for Exterior Design” for a new branch to be located in Hempstead, Long Island.