From Hotel, to Newspaper Office to Senior Housing: The Story of Gray Foundation Apartments

From Hotel, to Newspaper Office to Senior Housing: The Story of Gray Foundation Apartments. . , [Photo captions, left to right, read] , . Hotel DuBois, built in 1900 , . Courier-Express offices for 65 years , . Demolition in 1991 , . Current Gray Foundation Apartments, When Edwin W. Gray walked into the offices of The DuBois Courier in July 1884, he was seeking help to print his newspaper in Driftwood which had been destroyed by fire. Instead of returning to Driftwood, he accepted an offer of employment. He had planned to stay just long enough to get reestablished, but in October of 1884 he and his brother Ezra purchased one-half interest in the newspaper from the publisher J. A. Johnston. The Gray brothers purchased the remaining interest in 1886 establishing the daily edition of the Morning Courier in 1888. Following their building's damage in the Great Fire of 1888, The Courier eventually reestablished a plant at 24 West Long Avenue where it remained until 1925. In the next year, The Courier moved to 58 West Long Avenue where they had purchased the Lowe Building previously located there., Ezra Gray sold his interest in 1914 and moved to California while Edwin Gray continued publication until his death in an automobile accident on September 16, 1923, leaving sons Harold T. Gray and Jason S. Gray, already involved in the family business, and daughter Rosanna Gray., May 16, 1927, the Gray Printing Company purchased The Daily Express, an afternoon newspaper published in DuBois since 1883. With this consolidation, the two newspapers continued to be published separately from the same building until 1944 when, due to war conditions of shortage of newsprint paper and labor personnel, the two publications were consolidated into The Courier-Express., By 1957, extensive renovations to the Courier building were necessary to accommodate new press equipment. In 1961, the Grays purchased the adjoining Hotel DuBois from John Harnett and converted the upper floors into apartments, utilizing the first floor for office space, and constructed a newsroom connecting the entire first level of the two buildings., Harold T. Gray was involved in both the newspaper publishing and commercial printing operations. Corporate Secretary-Treasurer Rosanna Gray Shields was involved in all the planning and policy decisions of the various companies. She devoted her management skills to the operation of the Gray Printing Company from 1935 until her death in 1978. Her interests in the companies passed to Jason Gray, Jr. on the death of her husband Athol V. Shields, who was also a corporate officer., Jason S. Gray, as Vice President and Chairman of the Board of the companies, was Editor of The Express from 1928 to 1941 when he became General Manager of the Tri-County Broadcasting Company. Upon the death of his brother in 1968, he focused on the publishing of the newspaper. He served as the Chairman of the Board from 1972 until his death in 1985., Jason S. Gray, Jr. joined the family business full time in 1968. On March 31, 1988, the newspaper was sold to McLean Publishing Company and The Courier-Express continued with Jason Gray, Jr. as Publisher until 1990 when The Courier-Express moved to the new building on Jeffers Street., Two Buildings Play A Very important Part In The Courier-Express Success. C. Luther Lowe arrived in DuBois shortly before the Great Fire of 1888 to open his Music Store. Construction of this building began in 1901. The original building, located at the corner of West Long Avenue and High Street, was built of three stories extending halfway back on High Street. After a few years, Lowe added two more stories on the front and a complete five stories in the rear with a dozen apartments on the upper floors. In 1925, Lowe sold his building to the Gray Publishing Company moving the newspaper business to this new location at 56-58 West Long Avenue in the next year., Construction of the four-story Hotel Dubois on West Long Avene began in August 1900 and opened for business in April of 1901 under management of the Hotel DuBois Company. On March 15, 1921, John Hartnett purchased the hotel and continued ownership of the Hotel DuBois until 1961 when it was purchased by The Courier Express., Gray Foundation Apartments. The buildings at 48-58 West Long Avene had housed the offices and production facilities of The Courier-Express Publishing Company and had been the headquarters of The Courier-Express for 65 years until it moved to new facilities on Jeffers Street. The Gray Investment Company acquired the buildings in 1988 and leased commercial space to The Courier Express as well as 40 rental units on the four upper floors. Rental operations were discontinued in October 1990 in anticipation of donating the properties to a non-profit organization. This donation included funds for demolition and related costs., This donation to the Housing Authority by the Gray Company was based upon the assurance that the recipient would proceed with development and funding plans for a viable project that would meet a community need. Demolition of the old buildings began in July 1991. The new building was financed with assistance from the Jason Gray family, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, HOMES, the Dallas Redevelopment Authority and the DuBois Limited Partnership., Construction of the six-story building was completed and the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Gray Foundation Apartments took place on January 23, 1993. This new 39-unit building, managed by the Housing Authority, was a welcomed addition to house senior citizens and handicapped residents in the downtown DuBois area, along with Gateway Towers and St. Michael Terrace., Information found in Courier-Express news articles., Panel design by Tom Schott, Dalles Area Historical Society and a previous managing editor of The Courier Express.