The august Scarborough Building at 522 Congress Avenue is no stranger to retail apparel, as it was occupied for generations by E.M. Scarborough’s & Sons, one of Austin’s first fine dry goods establishments.

Well, now that purveyor of men’s elan, Brooks Brothers, will soon open a 9,000-square-foot store there, no doubt rattling the measuring tape of the ghosts of tailors past.

Built in 1931, the first two floors of the building were created to house “the finest department store in central Texas”, and so Scarborough’s became the first retail store west of the Mississippi with “manufactured weather”, or air-conditioning. The Scarbroughs left their downtown location in 1983, so it’s been awhile since anyone was measured for shirts there. Scheduled to open this fall, this Brooks Brothers location will the latest addition to the 200-year old clothier that operates more than 300 stores around the world.

This article appears in July 8 • 2011.

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