Remembering Great American Department Stores
G. Fox, Hartford
The 11-story flagship on Main Street in downtown Hartford was erected in 1918.
G. Fox, 1906
The G. Fox store, prior to the 1917 fire, at the far left, with Brown-Thomson in the center, and Sage-Allen at right.
Remembering G. Fox - G. Fox was Connecticut's department store. The first G. Fox store was a single-room storefront opened in Hartford in 1847 by Gerson Fox (nee Gershon Fuchs). Gerson's son, Moses, joined the business in 1863, and took over the store in 1880, upon Gerson's death. The early Fox store was famous for home delivery - by wheelbarrow. The store had grown to five floors when it burned to the ground in January 1917. Moses Fox, 66 at the time, announced that work would begin immediately on an 11-story replacement structure.
All of Fox's records were lost during the 1917 fire. In a legendary tale of retail, and an ultimate testimony of customer loyalty, most of Fox's charge account customers paid their Christmas bills based upon their recollection of amounts due. These receipts funded the new store, which opened about one year after the fire.
Moses' daughter, Beatrice Fox Auerbach, became the matriarch of G. Fox. She helped Moses run the store. Upon Moses' death in 1938, she assumed the role of president. Beatrice was the first woman president of an American retail company. She retained her position until 1967.
Some statistics on the G. Fox store from 1965: 45 experienced operators in the hair salon; 6 registered nurses to attend to sick customers, sick employees, new and expectant mothers and corset shoppers; 15 registered pharmacists filling 3,000 prescriptions per week; 147 delivery vans; 2,300 full-time and 1,200 part-time employees - all in a single downtown store!
May Department Stores acquired G. Fox in 1965, in a stock exchange valued at $41 million. At the time of May's purchase, Fox had no branches. Under May ownership, G. Fox branches were opened quickly - in Waterbury, Trumbull,, Enfield, Meriden, Warwick, Rhode Island, and eventually the largest store in the chain at Westfarms Mall in Farmington.
The Fox name disappeared in 1993, when May Department stores merged the operations of its two New England stores, Fox and Filene's. The operations of the merged division was centered in Filene's Boston HQ, and the G. Fox stores were promptly rebranded as Filene's. The original Fox flagship store on Main Street in downtown Hartford was shuttered shortly thereafter.
The Fox flagship has been renovated, and now goes by the name "960 Main". It is home to street level retail, offices, a college and a nightclub. Much of the original Art Dec decor has been maintained or restored.
G. Fox is one of the over 250 stores chronicled on this site.