Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Photo by Suzanne Spellen

Smith, Gray & Company or later, Smith-Gray, was one of the largest manufacturers and retailers of boys and men’s clothing in New York. Today, we think nothing of going to a department store and choosing from a wide range of clothing for boys and men, but this was not always so.

I’ve been doing some research and photography in Williamsburg lately, and the Smith, Gray Company was an important part of the development of the Broadway area of Williamsburg, as well as downtown Brooklyn. The men who started, and ran the company, and the story of their successes, hardships and business are a great Brooklyn tale, all connected by some impressive commercial architecture.

It’s a story of a great idea, some fine business acumen, cast iron and clock towers, devastating fires, investigations, insurance, witty ad campaigns, fashion and bankruptcy.

Smith, Gray & Company was the largest manufacturer of ready-to-wear men’s and boy’s clothing in Brooklyn, in the late 19th century. The company was founded by Edward Smith, a tailor with his own shop in lower Manhattan, in 1833.

Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Image via the Brooklyn Eagle

He joined with his brother-in-law, Allen Gray, also a patternmaker, to form a company devoted to making clothing for boys and children. They went bust during the Civil War, but afterwards, opened a store on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, in 1864.

The next year, they opened a factory on Broadway, then a retail store in that building, and then were so successful that they were able to have their first name building built for them in 1870. The now- landmarked cast iron fronted Smith-Gray building at 103 Broadway had a retail store on the ground floor and factory and office space on the upper four floors.

But that was not enough for long. Within three years, the company had outgrown that space, and was renting half of the Kings County Fire Insurance Building next door, as well as other space. They spread from there to the now demolished Lyceum Building on South 8th Street, and later to a space on Greenpoint Avenue.

During this time, Smith and Gray picked up two more partners, (& Company), and saw their business expand even more, with salesmen out on the road all over the United States, taking orders. To add to the Williamsburg real estate, another factory building was built at 138 Broadway, a large four story factory built in 1884.

Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Image via eBay

This building, like their first cast-iron faced building, was designed by William H. Gaylor, an architect who did most of his work in the Williamsburg area, then called the Eastern District. He was ably assisted by Thomas and William Lamb, builders, and the William H. Jackson Ironworks.

The former Lyceum Building, burned down in 1888, and its rebuilding, renamed the Smith Building, was taken on by Peter J. Lauritzen, another talented architect, who would go on to design two other Smith-Gray buildings for the company: their store in downtown Brooklyn, at Fulton and Nevins, designed in 1888, and another store in 1889 at Third Avenue and East 123rd St.

Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Photo via Property Shark

A History of Brooklyn, written by Henry Stiles, in 1884, states that the Smith, Gray line of boys and children’s clothes was the largest and best in the United States. Edward Smith, himself, also stated that they were the largest manufacturer of boys’ clothes in the world.

He went on to say that that their production was probably greater than any other manufacturing firm in Brooklyn, except for the sugar factories and petroleum plants. Their stores carried clothing for men and boys, along with accessories and shoes, and as the 20th century approached, there seemed to be no end to their prosperity and success.

There were more stores in Manhattan. Their store on Fulton and Nevins, the one designed by PJ Lauritzen, was one of the landmarks of downtown Brooklyn. It had two tall towers, one with clock faces, and the store front curved around the awkward corner formed by the meeting of Flatbush Avenue, Fulton and Nevins Streets. It was all a hugely successful business except for the fires.

The first fire was in 1888, which destroyed the Lyceum Building factory in Williamsburg. The fire started in a nearby store, and when it was done, 15 buildings had been involved at one point, 8 buildings were heavily damaged, including two belonging to Smith.

The Lyceum was a total loss, and their other factory had all of its goods damaged by smoke and water. One of the nearby stores was a business selling paint and oil, which made fighting the fire much more difficult. Fortunately, they were insured for the damages, and no one was hurt. The next fire was a different story.

In 1892, spontaneous combustion amongst piles of cotton scraps in the basement started the fire that destroyed the Smith-Gray store on Fulton and Nevins. During the height of the fire, the 210 foot tall clock tower fell over and destroyed the El tracks on Fulton St. Several other nearby buildings also were damaged, as the fire raged.

After the fire was put out, an investigation found that the fire department had royally messed up putting out the fire, and had actually made it worse. The headline in the New York Times on Feb. 29, 1892 read, A Big Fire in Brooklyn: Smith, Gray & Co’s and one other building burned up, an adjoining structure crushed – a falling tower half a million of loss elevated trains stopped stupid firemen. Here’s what happened:

Then Fire Commissioner Ennis was well-known for being under the thumb of his Chief Engineer, Thomas Nevins, to whom he owed his job. Nevins always took at least a month off in the winter to stay in Florida, and take care of his orange groves, and sail in his yacht. While he was vacationing, this fire happened.

Apparently Ennis did not really know how to fight fires, and although it was obvious that the fire was confined to the basement, when the fire department got there, the first thing he had them do was to break all the windows on the upper stories of the building, before concentrating their hoses on the basement fire.

Well, as most people know, a good fire only needs a steady stream of fresh air, and before you know it, the whole building was a blazing conflagration, and the resulting inferno would be one of Brooklyn’s most spectacular and damaging fires, that the leaderless firemen were unable to put out.

In the aftermath, Smith, Gray & Co. and their architect PJ Lauritzen would totally rebuild, but there was always some suspicion about the fire, as it turned out that the company had over-insured the building, and made out quite well in spite of the damage, and damages to nearby businesses.

The stores would continue as a success for another ten, or so years. Founders Allen Gray had retired in 1884 and Edward Smith in 1889. Smith died in 1892, the same year as the Nevins St. fire, leaving an estate of over $2 million.

His son, Millard Fillmore Smith became president of the company, which incorporated in 1894. He opened more stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but the company would soon be in deep trouble. In late 1913 Millard died, and by early 1914, his estate was putting pressure on the corporation to pay up, along with other creditors.

Smith-Gray asserted that a very bad winter had caused them to lose a lot of money in sales, from which they needed time to recover. They were not granted that time, and the company went bankrupt. The buildings were sold.

Today, the Williamsburg cast iron buildings are now quite popular, and apartments in both are now choice and expensive. Their former store in Manhattan at 326 5th Avenue is one of the more attractive buildings in the Flatiron district.

The once fabulous store on Nevins street was rebuilt after the fire, but lost its distinctive clock tower once again sometime in the 1940’s, and now stands a stubby reminder of better days, still hugging that odd corner, and under all the cheap signage and ill use, still an attractive building, once more waiting for glory.

Advertisements in the Brooklyn Eagle and the NY Times in the late 1890’s show a witty ad campaign, and the latest in menswear and clothing for boys; today so easy to obtain, back then, the makings of several fortunes.

Research sources: LPC Designation report for 103 Broadway, Brooklyn Eagle, NY Times, including Christopher Gray’s “Streetscape” article on the Nevins St. store, 2/20/2005.

Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Photo by Suzanne Spellen
Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Image via The New York Times
Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Smith-Gray tower being demolished, 1940. Photo via New York Public Library
Smith-Gray -- Brooklyn History
Photo by Suzanne Spellen

What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. 138 Broadway was a Scarano conversion – and pretty much the earliest condo conversion in that area. Scarano has done a number of historic properties, most of them done well.

    103 Broadway (the lime green one we keep talking about this week) is up for sale – the whole building, I think.

  2. Another great story, MM! The clock tower was amazing. The Smith-Gray in Williamsburg is a little treasure. I love finding out all of these stories about particular buildings. The whole boom and bust cycle- the more things change, the more they stay the same. 🙂