Courtesy of Tyrone Tillson

Dr. William R. Gray was one of the Mason Block's first tenants. He moved in shortly after the building opened in 1890.
It is said that Dr. Gray enjoyed the opera so much that he would go without meals to save enough money to buy a ticket
at the Thistle Opera House in Fairhaven. However, by 1891 the boom in Fairhaven had ended and he could no longer make a living.
He moved to Iowa where he married. In July 1901 he returned to Bellingham and opened an office on 1617 McKenzie Street.
Dr. Gray became very involved in the community and became the president of the Silver Beach School Board.
His daughter Margaret continued the family tradition of community service by becoming a high school teacher.