Macy's absorbed John Taylor's in 1947. The announcement of the name change from John Taylor's to Macy's was made on October 15, 1949, at a cornerstone-laying ceremony at the store. Macy's formally opened on October 17, 1949. The event marked the completion of two years of planning and actual construction that saw the expenditure of more than $7 million to produce a Macy's store more than double the old John Taylor's space, first established in 1881.