Manufacturer: Syracuse China
User: Carson Pirie Scott
Date of plate: 1947

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The Carson Pirie Scott & Co. department store was founded in Chicago in 1854 by Samuel Carson and John Pirie. It eventually grew into a chain with 50 locations and was also known as Carson's.

Their flagship Chicago building in the Downtown Loop was designed by famous architect Louis Sullivan. It was originally built in 1899 for Schlesinger & Mayer, but was purchased by Carson Pirie Scott in 1904. At that time the building was expanded to 12 stories. A 1906 photograph shows their large restaurant on the 8th floor.

By 1928, there was a Men's Grill with service limited to men only, except on Saturdays when ladies could accompany them.

By the 1950s, there was a North Tea Room, an Afternoon Room-South, and a Pancake House. By 1961, one of the 8th floor dining areas had become Heather House. More recently, the Highland Room was in the basement and Carson's Grill had joined Heather House on the eighth floor.

After a series of diversifications, rebrandings and changes in ownership, Carson Pirie Scott ultimately was sold in 2006 to Bon-Ton, which went bankrupt and closed in 2018.

The plate's logo has the colors yellow, red, green and black, and there are yellow lines on the plate's rim and verge. The Y in the logo is the symbol for the city of Chicago and is known as the Municipal Device, representing the three branches of the Chicago River where they join at Wolf Point. It is incorporated into many Chicago things, from bridge ornamentation to club logos to hotels, such as the Hotel Sherman. In the center of the Y is a thistle flower and leaves below on either side of the ascending letter.

Based on the variety of items with this thistle logo, shown above, it is unlikely that this pattern saw use in only a single venue in the department store, as it seemed to have been ubiquitous across the company's branding.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Municipal Device of Chicago

For more info:
Carson Pirie Scott, by Homer Laughlin

Contributors:
Larry Paul: research
Roland Burritt: plate ID and research
Susan Phillips: plate photos