You're First at G. Fox, So Come to G. Fox First!!!

The slogans, they are all around us today. That familiar jingle that keeps you humming while you shop. Most everyone over 40 who shopped in these grand emporiums can recall the stores' slogan. Macy's - We're a part of your life!, Feeling Filene's, Bloomingdale's - Like no other store in the world, Jordan Marsh - This is the place! There's more for your life at Sears! Alexander's - How lucky can you get?! A&S...Terrific!, Caldor!, We Make Shopping a Pleasure (For Nick) and of course my favorite above in the title.

Growing up in New Haven, G. Fox was the store you went to on special shopping occasions. Having Hartford roots, the closest one I can recall at the time was in the Meriden Square Mall, while working at Macy's in New Haven, I would venture there more often then I could recall. Whether to browse or to purchase, I found that the service I received from Fox's was far more outstanding than what I got from my employer.

The art-deco masterpiece downtown flagship store was a gem. Eleven floors of luxury and wonderment. Two beauty salons, a fur salon, bridal salon, travel agency, pharmacy, postal office, both Men's and Women's personal shoppers, 2 full-service restaurants, a coffee shop, and a liquor store as well as thousands of items from spools of thread to records, stamps and coins, to the most luxurious furs, linens and designer clothing. From it's earliest days it catered to the CT public graciously and with the grandeur of New York City's emporiums, but managed to keep its hometown New England roots alive. Known for "Serving Connecticut since 1847" it was a marvel of sophistication, offering everything under one roof. G. Fox was to me MANY steps above Macy's and the epitome of style.

Founded in 1847 by Issac & Gershon Fox, the first store in America to sell the first pair of Nylon stockings, and one of the first stores to make home deliveries by wheelbarrow of all things! After a devastating fire in 1917, an 11 floor store was built and was known locally as "Fox's Folly." The new store eventually contained a fully equipped hospital, theatre for community events and invisible glass display windows with full lighting. Stainless steel deco moulded escalators whisked guests up to the upper floors. In the 1940's they opened a "home wares/garden center store" in South Windsor know as FoxMart which sold everything from flower seeds to rose bushes, refrigerators to tractors. The location eventually became one of the merchandise warehouses for Filene's.

Gershon's granddaughter, Beatrice Fox-Auerbach succeeded her father Moses as president of G. Fox in 1938-becoming the first ever woman president of an American department store - and continued in this capacity until her retirement in 1967. Two days prior, the company was affiliated with the May Department Store Company, but still maintained its management and buying offices. It wasn't until the Filene's merger in 1993 that the store lost its glory, business offices and landmark downtown location. In many ways, the May Company both saved and destroyed a CT icon.

The G. Fox building however was given to the city of Hartford by MayCo in 1994 and has been converted into a mixed-use center. Capital Community College has moved in as well as various shops and restaurants. The art-deco interior has been painstakingly restored. Known now as 960 Main, it lacks the hustle and bustle of the retail rush, but still manages to thrill the senses with its beauty.

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