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Vince Gerasole
CHICAGO (CBS) ― It has always been much more than a department store. It's the magical place where parents brought their children to see the windows at Christmastime, where those children grew and did the same with their kids -- stopping, of course, to visit the one true Santa Claus.

It is Marshall Field's. Or simply "Field's" to everybody in Chicago.

For longer than anyone can remember, Marshall Field's has been one of the few constants in an ever-changing city. With its famous clock, the store that was built in stages between 1892 and 1914 is as much a part of the city's landscape as Wrigley Field and Sears Tower.

On Tuesday, Federated Department Stores Inc., said it is planning to change to Macy's the name of all 62 Marshall Field's, including the one on State Street that dates back to 1892. And if it seems like just another merger or name change that happens all the time with very little fuss -- even in Chicago, there wasn't much noise when the White Sox's Comiskey Park became U.S. Cellular Field -- to those who grew up with Marshall Field's this is different.

CBS 2's Sylvia Gomez reports that shoppers at the flagship State Street store in downtown Chicago are not happy that the store's new owner plans to change its name to Macy's by next fall.

They say the store has been part of their families' lives for generations. And many recall special gatherings in the Walnut Room and the family trips to see the window displays every Christmas season.

Jeanne Bedon of Park Ridge says she will no longer bring people from outside of the area to see the store -- as she has for years -- because it will no longer be so uniquely Chicago.

Tracy Kepler of Chicago says every ex-Chicagoan around the country that she's e-mailed with the news has been as outraged as she is.

The name Marshall Field's is sentimental to many customers in Chicago. But Federated Department Stores, Inc., which acquired Marshall Field's, says customers will benefit from an array of new choices when the store converts to Macy's a year from now.

The name change is expected to go in effect next summer for all 62 Marshall Field's stores in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Indiana, Ohio and South Dakota.

"We're losing tradition, we're losing a name, we're losing a family," said shopper Doreen Barber.

In fall 2006, the Marshall Field's name, the marker of State Street since 1881, will be no more. Though the sign stays, it will play second fiddle to a new sign and be born again as Macy's.

"What I would ask all the people of Chicago is just give us a chance," said Terry Lundgren, chief executive of Field's parent company, Federated Department Stores. "What I'd ask is to still meet under the clock, and you can call it the Marshall Field's clock or you can call it the Macy's clock. But still, meet under the clock."

Lundgren says he tried but failed to find a good reason to keep the Field's name. Market research and advertising expenses point to Macy's as good business.

But rest assured, State Street, like Macy's in New York and San Francisco, will be treated like a crown jewel.

"The crown, you know is Macy's, and the jewels are Herald Square, Union Square and State Street," Lundgren said.

The company has big plans for the store's famous State Street location. It will become Macy's regional flagship store, according to a press release. The Great Clock and "Marshall Field and Company" plaques will remain on the building, and Macy's and Federated will also support historic landmark designation for the location.

Does it wash on State Street?

"Macy's is New York, and this is Chicago," said one shopper.

Lundgren explains he even considered just changing the suburban stores to Macy's and keeping Field's a downtown tradition. But then you're talking about stores with different merchandise, different newspaper and broadcast advertising. It just didn't make sense to their bottom line, he said.

Some Marshall Field's traditions will live on despite the name change. Federated says it will continue and improve seasonal treats like the famous windows that delight people of all ages at holiday time.

The great Christmas tree will remain and so will the flower show and the Glamorama Fashion Spectacular.

Chocolate lovers endured the bitter change in the late 1990's when production of the famous Frango mints left Chicago. Macy's says it will explore bringing some or all of the manufacturing back to Chicago, either at the State Street store or an outside contractor.

On Tuesday, Mayor Richard Daley praised Macy's as a good corporate citizen and said the name change doesn't bother him.

"Things change in life. I guess people get disappointed that we don't keep living in the old way. Things change. If you're not willing to accept change, then you stay in the past, and we're never going to stay in the past in this city," Daley said.

Daley said he's especially pleased that the change will not cost Chicago any jobs, even though Federated plans to cut up to 6,200 jobs elsewhere.

In making the announcement, Macy's says all store management and sales associates will remain in place following the name change. Macy's management is promising better pricing and more choices.

In an $11 billion deal in late August, Federated officially acquired the May Department Store chain – and that included all 62 Marshall Field's stores in the Midwest.

Cincinnati-based Federated has a track record of changing the names of the regional department stores it purchases to Macy's.

Federated is the second owner in two years for Marshall Field's. In 2004, Minneapolis-based Target Corporation sold Field's to St. Louis-based May Company.

(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)