Mrs. Eugene Gray

Mrs. Eugene Gray was another early arrival on the “ladies’ furnishings” scene. Mabel Gray opened her first store in the Emporium building at 12-16 N. High Street in 1917. By 1920, however, she had relocated to 118 E. Broad Street; one of a few pioneers who began a trend that resulted in Broad Street’s becoming the premier location for both men’s and women’s specialty apparel. While her husband was a successful stockbroker in Columbus, she was able to sell upscale dresses and suits, some with designer labels. One dress in HCTC, whose Paris designer label had been removed according to donor Ann Barry, was bought from Mrs. Eugene Gray’s store by her grandfather, S.S. Jackson (the tailor) following the stock market crash in 1929. Mrs. Gray’s store was across the street from Jackson’s tailoring establishment and Mr. Jackson wanted to purchase a nice dress for his daughter-in-law when she accompanied him and his son to a tailoring convention in Chicago. Mrs. Gray sold him the dress at a steep discount, but removed the Paris label before doing so, and her store label as well. Mrs. Eugene Gray finally closed her store in 1952, only to have Milgrim open in that location in 1953. The store Milgrim’s moved into Mrs. Gray’s location on Broad Street from 1953 to 1961 and assumed her clientele. Following Milgrim’s came Adelaide’s, which would eventually move farther east on Broad Street to a location in Park Towers across from Franklin Park