High up on the east side of 309-13 Arch St you can see the faintly visible ad for Klosfit Petticoat painted on the building. Below it says "Fits without wrinkles".
The Queen Anne-style structure w/Chicago influences was built c. 1895 and replaced a factory that was destroyed in an 1888 fire. The building's ground floor tenant was John Maneely Co, who sold wrought iron pipes and fittings. John Maneely Co. began in 1877 & still exists today.
The principal tenant was clothing manufacturer Greenwald Brothers, Inc., operated by Max, Theodore & twin brother Jacob Greenwald. Their business took off with the 1909 launch of Jacob's patented Klosfit petticoats — accompanied by an aggressive ad campaign by N.W. Ayer (a Philadelphia ad agency whose building anchors Washington Square, now a condo) — the firm doubled its sales. The Klosfit petticoat eliminated the customary drawstrings & replaced them with elastic for a more comfortable fit. Jacob also applied this approach to other apparel. Renovated into apartments in 1980 & later into 43 loft condos, it was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, 12 April, 1979.
1899 1976 1910 ad
"ghost" sign Today
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