Founded in 1906 by Frank Grad (1882–1968),[1] the company was later run by his sons, Bernard (d. August 4, 2000)[2] and Howard (d.

Grad was capable of working in many styles, from the Beaux-Arts, YMHA on MLK Boulevard, to the Spanish colonial Stanley Theater and Beth Israel Hospital, to the Neo-Classical Newark Symphony Hall, to the Art Deco 1180 Raymond Boulevard (aka, the Lefcourt Building).

Several of Grad's greatest commissions, the YMHA, the Stanley Theater, Beth Israel, and the Lefcourt Building, were for Jewish patrons.

Grad Associates peaked in the 1980s when there were over 130 architects working there, but closed in the winter of 2010, a victim of the Great Recession.

Grad was one of the first large firms in the New York region to invest in extensive computer-aided design facilities.