Pryor Furs

founded 1947

BiographyPryor Furs was established by William Andrew Pryor, Sr. (1913-2000) in 1947. He was born in Midland, Washington County to Eldora Booker and Sandy Pryor. He married Eleanor Mosley in 1933, and had three children. His son William Pryor, Jr., worked alongside his father and took over the business after his father’s death. Pryor, Sr. ran Pryor Furs out of his home in Washington, PA, and at Wylie Avenue in the Hill District until he moved the business to a building on Centre Avenue in 1954 due to the demolition of the lower Hill District. He was a member of the NAACP and a former member of Fur Pittsburgh and Melita Lodge 117. Pryor Furs was the only black owned and operated furrier on the East Coast and this garnered a lot of racial discrimination and tension for the family business. The business stayed strong despite animal rights activists protesting fur businesses. The store has been currently closed, however, but was in operation for more than 50 years.

Sources:
Jones, LaMont. “Master Furrier, Business Owner.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newspapers.com. p.50. 28 October 2000.

Sauer, Georgia. “A Furrier and His Family.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newspapers.com. p.43,50. 9 October 1997.