Lit Brothers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lit Brothers Department Store
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(HABS, 1972-73)
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 Location in Philadelphia
Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
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| Location | Market St. between N. 7th and 8th Sts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Built | 1859-1918 |
| Architect | Collins & Autenreith; Simon & Bassett |
| Architectural style | Renaissance revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002322 |
| Added to NRHP | May 15, 1979 |
Lit Brothers was a popular department store in Philadelphia. It was known for offering good prices. Samuel and Jacob Lit opened the first store in 1891. It was a more affordable choice compared to other big stores like Strawbridge and Clothier, John Wanamaker, and Gimbels. Lit Brothers' famous saying was "A Great Store in A Great City." Many people also loved its hat department.
The main Lit Brothers building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This means it's a special historical building. It is part of the East Center City Commercial Historic District.
Contents
Store History and Design
In 1891, Rachel P. Lit opened a women's clothing shop. It was on the corner of Market and N. 8th Streets. Her brothers, Samuel David Lit and Jacob David Lit, helped run the store. They were very good at advertising. Soon, their small shop became one of the biggest retail stores in Philadelphia.
From 1895 to 1907, the store kept growing. The company bought more buildings on the block. These included the J. M. Maris Dry Goods Store and the Bailey Store. They also bought the J. B. Lippincott & Co. Building. New buildings were added at both ends of the block. These new parts were designed to match the older buildings.
The Lit Brothers Store became the only full block of Victorian architecture in Philadelphia. It was made up of 33 buildings. These were built between 1859 and 1918. All the buildings shared a common inside area. Charles M. Autenrieth and Edward Collins designed the new parts and changes.
People often called the store on Market Street the "cast-iron building." But only two of the original building's fronts were actually made of cast iron. The other buildings were made of brick. They were covered with marble or granite. The two buildings at the ends were brick and terra-cotta. They had metal trim and eight-sided towers. The whole front of the store looked the same. This was because of the classical arch windows used in all buildings. They were also painted the same color. This style is called Renaissance Revival.
In 1928, a company called Bankers Securities Corporation bought Lit Brothers. It later became part of City Stores Company. This company owned many stores in cities across the south and east. Lit Brothers closed its doors in 1977.
The Enchanted Colonial Village
Lit Brothers, like other big stores, had a special Christmas display. In 1961, they opened the Enchanted Colonial Village. This display cost about $1 million to create. It was built by a German toy maker.
The Village showed a colonial-era Christmas scene, room by room. It ran every year from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. The last time it was shown at Lit Brothers was in 1976. After the store closed, the exhibit was sold. The Sun Oil Company bought it for $35,000. They later gave it to the Atwater Kent Museum.
Since 2001, parts of the Village have been shown at the Please Touch Museum during the holidays. The Please Touch Museum later gave the entire display to the American Treasure Tour Museum in Oaks, PA. As of December 2019, this museum is rebuilding the display. It will be a permanent part of their collection.
Store Growth and Competition
Lit Brothers saw that more people were moving to the suburbs. So, they started opening stores in shopping malls. These were in the greater Philadelphia area and southern New Jersey. Lit Brothers also had a store in downtown Camden, New Jersey.
It was the only Philadelphia department store to have a branch at the New Jersey Shore. They bought the Blatt Department Store in downtown Atlantic City. They changed its name to Lits. More suburban stores were added when they bought Snellenburg's in 1962.
The world of shopping was changing. Lit Brothers faced more competition. So, they closed their doors in 1977. One of their big competitors, Gimbels, opened a new store in Center City. This was part of The Gallery Mall in 1977. Lit Brothers was only one block away. But not being directly inside the popular new mall hurt their sales. This was especially true for their main store.
Suburban Locations
Lit Brothers had several stores in the suburbs. These included locations in Plymouth Township, Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, and Voorhees Township, New Jersey.
What Happened to the Main Store?
After the store chain closed in 1977, the large main building was empty for many years. In the late 1980s, it was turned into offices and shops. This project was designed by Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates and John Milner Associates.
The building reopened in 1989. It was named Mellon Independence Center. This was because Mellon Bank was its main tenant. The building had shops on the street level. It also had a food court on the lower level. Today, you can still see the old sign on the building. It says "Hats Trimmed Free of Charge."
The historic building is very large, about 720,000 square feet. It was put up for sale in 2007. The asking price was $70 million. By 2013, the main entrance to the building was called "Market Place East."
Notes
Images for kids
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Share of the Lit Brothers company, issued 9 December 1905
