The G. Fox & Co. Building is significant for its architecture and history. This retail establishment, founded in 1847 by Gershon Fox, grew to become the city’s largest department store in the twentieth century. Gershon’s son Moses hired noted NewYork architect Cass Gilbert (1858-1934) to rebuild the store on a grand scale after a devastating fire. The eleven story, steel frame and masonry structure on Main Street was completed in 1918. Ornate architectural features of this Neo-Classical Revival style building include monumental Corinthian order marble columns and pilasters as well as an elaborate denticulated cornice with carved lion-heads.

In 1927, Gershon’s granddaughter Beatrice Fox Auerbach (1887-1968) took over the management of the store. As a woman business leader she was without peer in the city. Auerbach actively ran the store for several decades and was responsible for both its success and for the development of an extensive program of philanthropy, which benefited local hospitals, colleges, and arts organizations. During Auerbach’s tenure in 1935, certain features of the building were modernized in a highly sophisticated rendering of the Art Deco style. Entrances, elevators, escalators, and interior spaces were redesigned by Taussig-Flesch Associates in stainless steel, light-colored woods, and fine Italian marble to reflect the urban sensibilities of the era. A sleek, rounded-cornered stainless steel marquis was added to the front of the building at this time.

We are honored to dedicate this room to its founder Gershon Fox