Local History: Gentzel's Was Town's Finest Store

In its heyday, Gentzel's store, formerly at the northeast corner of Millburn Avenue and Spring Street, was the finest store in the area.

It was built by William Gentzel, who owned a small store on the north side of Taylor Street, near Main Street. The building in the early photo here is at 387 Millburn Ave., between the Red Cross building and Millburn's town hall. It was most recently occupied by the dancewear and active wear store Bodyforms and is now vacant.

Among the items in the collection of the Millburn-Short Hills HIstorical Society collection is a store ledger that once belonged to Gentzel and in which he recorded his customer's purchases."

Members of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society write a weekly column highlighting items in the collection, which can be seen at the museum located at the Short Hills Train Station on the Hobart Avenue side.