Share Your Memories

I worked in downtown Hartford for many years and loved shopping in the beautiful G. Fox building. The woodwork and the displays were always so amazing.
I lived in Waterbury and shopped at the G.Fox in our local mall on occasion but it just wasn't the same. While chatting with my mother I mentioned how much I loved walking into G.Fox. She then told me she bought her wedding dress there. I never knew that!!

She and my Dad were married in 1947. My mother, my aunt and my grandmother took the train from Waterbury to Hartford to G.Fox. There was no I84 back then and they never had a car anyway so it would't have mattered, It was a day trip to the big city to shop for a wedding dress. They found the dress at Foxes ( as they liked to call it). The dress cost $50.00 which was a lot of money back then. The dress was gorgeous. It sat in a box in their attic unpreserved for many years and fell apart when we opened it. I was sad about not having that piece of family history, but the pictures tell the story.
Today my parents are 86 and 91 and just celebrated 66 years of marriage.
I miss G. Fox and that glorious building.

Nancy Comeau on August 25, 2013

G. Fox is part of my childhood memories. My Grandma was very interested in style and fashion and made it clear that G Fox was "the" store and would take me shopping there as a treat.
But my fondest memories are the Christmas window displays at Constitution Plaza. Every year (as early as 6 or7 years old), I would coordinate a family outing because I was so anticipant of that year's window displays. To me it was enchanting, exquisite and fascinating.
G. Fox represented excellence, leadership and quality that I understood at a very young age and I am sad to learn that it has closed.

by Christi on July 18, 2013

My Grandmother worked at G.Fox when I was growing up in Hartford. When school was out and we were bored, my mother would give my sister and I a quarter to take the city bus to downtown. We would go see my Grandmother at work. She worked in the department of day time dresses. She would be so proud of us. She had to announce to her co-workers that her Grandchildren were here to visit her. She would than give us money to get ourselves a hot dog, at the stop and go grill area. It was on the Market street entrance one level up overlooking the basement department. I too remember when the store was closing...one of the sadder moments in Hartford's history...My wife and I were just married. We bought and still have, after 25 years of being married, china platters we bought for $5.00 and less....Shopping at G. Fox and Company was truly an event. Noting will be like that again. You would have to dress in your Sunday best, just in case you saw someone you knew. LOL!

by Peter A. Ciotto on June 21, 2013

I was just presented via Ann Nyberg this wonderful website to share memories of G-Fox. I will always remember how my grandfather worked there in the shoe department. My grandmother taking me there on the City Bus. How my mother took me to the Connecticut Room for Lunch. Where you would see people and some of them where the Who's Who of Connecticut at that time. I even remember see Gail King when she 1st started at WFSB shopping for perfume at the perfume counter. I would love the 11th floor for my times of Christmas and of course looked forward to the outside windows to look into and the top of the building the way it was decorated. My memories of the times we had elevator people who worked them and announed which floor you were arriving too. Thank you for letting me share these memories. I miss those times and especially when you dressed up to go there. It was a place to shop, be seen and run into people. It would be nice if a place like this exsisted again. Even The Connecticut Room was the place to eat.

by Donna S on February 24, 2013

We moved from Long Island (Valley Stream) to Niantic and my NYC-raised mother was at loose ends. Until she discovered G.Fox. The blue truck was often at our door, bearing magical gifts. And, even more magical were the days she would load up her '57 Chevy, gas up at Sunoco and head up I-95 to I-91 to the Hartford store. Even driving into the parking garage -- a long winding loop up -- was magical -- as though we were Alice on our way to Wonderland. We always stopped at the Tea Room for date bread sandwiches (Mom) and BLT (me, but often "hold the LT")! If Dad were with us, he would get chili. We always ended our visit by stopping at the desk in the basement of the garage to pick up our packages (unless she was having it delivered). If we were very good she would take us up to "window shop" in the toy department where she took close note of what we pined for and it magically showed up under the Christmas tree or in an Easter basket. One last stop before we got in the car... out the door and across the street to Mr. Peanut for a bag of Spanish Peanuts. Then we'd walk back in smelling of hot peanuts and scoot to the car to head home. Later, 1967 my sister worked Christmas at the Hartford store. Assigned to shoes she encountered none other than Mrs. A. herself! (Who told her to polish her shoes!) It was not held against her as she was allowed to come back and work another holiday season. I too worked at G.Fox but in Meriden in 1975-77. My first real job -- I overheard my Dad tell a relative -- proudly -- "she works at G.Fox!" I did the holiday season in Jr. World but then was offered permanent part-time in Domestics. (Probably b/c I could sew -- we sold fabrics/notions, towels, linens, sheets, and curtains.)There, Kathy and Vinnie (ladies who were in their 50's) took me under their wings and it was a great job. One of my favorite memories was unloading the transit boxes -- like mini freight train cars -- for sales. Everything was perfect and ready to be put out. And, you never knew what treasure you'd find in there. Best part was the 20% employee discount. (I had the best towels and sheets in college!)

by Sandy No VA on December 30, 2012

When I was growing up in Manchester, my mother would take me into Hartford on the bus to shop at G. Fox. I thought it was the most wonderful store in the world. I especially loved the book department on the mezzanine. We would go there last, after we finished buying clothes and shoes, and I would get a special book to take home. Then we'd take the bus back to Manchester, loaded down with packages.
-Nancy from Unionville, CT

by  Nancy on January 06, 2009  

Growing up in West Hartford in the ‘50s and ‘60s, taking the bus “downtown” was always a treat. The first floor of G. Fox always glistened, the snap of the elevator captain rang out and I was in enthralled! Seeing Mrs. Auerbach in her sensible black shoes and white gloves was as close to royalty as I could imagine.

Mother and I didn’t go for one particular errand, but coursed through the entire store from the basement notions, to clothes and shoes for school and, of course, the luncheonette (sandwiches on date nut bread!). G. Fox is where I learned about fashion (black watch plaid shirtwaist dresses with peter pan collars), about makeup (less is more) and where I registered for wedding gifts (Royal Doulton china and Lunt Sterling). It also where I learned to knit in a class held on the 4th floor when I was a pre-teen!

G. Fox was an important part of my growing up years. When my children and I went to the Hartford store for the very last time, buying some “marked down” dishes and cookware, I saved the shopping bag, wrote the date on it and packed it away as a tangible memory of what Hartford used to be.

by  Lynn from Glastonbury on January 10, 2009  

When my mother said "We are going to G. Fox today" it had a number meanings. That is where she would be, and that was good news. It meant Mom was having a good time, and there was enough money for her to buy clothes for herself. It meant the children were not going, and we had to find something to do all day by ourselves. It meant the house would be quiet and somewhat cold until she got back. It mean that this was a long shopping trip, not just a visit to the grocery. Darkness would begin to fall before she returned. It meant when she finally returned, the door would open, a light would go on, and she could be heard all over the house shouting "Hi! I'm home!" followed by the rustling of bags much fancier than grocery bags. Then after a pause less than a minute, "I told you three times to turn the oven on at 3 o'clock. Now we won't have anything for dinner. Daddy will be furious. What can't you do one thing I ask you to do?" Then after a furious rattling, "that will have to do" Then "Come see what I bought..."followed by a blow by blow description of everything they did all day.
Sarah H. Gordon
Hamden, CT 06517
Sarah H. Gordon, Hamden CT 06517

by  shgordon127 on January 15, 2009  

I was born in Hartford in 1959. My grandmother worked at G Fox and I remember going to see Sants Clause at the store with my moyher. We would go to the store, see my grandmother, visit santa, and then go to the cafaterria for pie! I always remember this fondly. Just decided to look up G Fox because of this memory.

by  Wayne on June11 2009 on June 11, 2009