You can still see the faded sign (1st photo) for Leas and McVitty Incorporated Oak Tanners on the side of the building on Vine St., just east of Orianna St. Built in 1901 as their offices, this Georgian Revival style building has since been restored into 51 apartments.
Leas and McVitty started in Philadelphia in the mid 1880's and had a tannery at 301 - 307 N 3rd St during that time (3rd photo). The tanning moved to Salem, VA and other areas in the S.E. due to the local availablity of tree barks used as tanning agents. Leas and McVitty was in operation from the 1880's all the way to the early 1970's, when their Salem tannery burned down. Before being converted to apartments, at least some of the building was used as offices for businesses including Travel Network Inc., whose painted sign (4th photo) is quite visible below the faded sign of the original building tenants.
1964
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