Lit Brothers

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Lit Brothers
company_
fate = Liquidation
foundation = 1893
defunct = 1977
location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
industry = Retail
key_people =
products = General Merchandise
num_employees =
parent = City Stores, Inc.
subsid =

Lit Brothers was a moderate priced department store based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Samuel and Jacob Lit opened the first store at Eight and Market Streets in 1893.

Lit's positioned itself well as a more affordable alternate to competitors, Strawbridge and Clothier, John Wanamaker, and Gimbels. The stores tag line was "A Great Store in A Great City", and it was noted for its millinery department. It was purchased in 1951, and operated as a division of City Stores Company (now CSS Industries, Inc.), along with the W & J Sloane furniture store, and the Washington, D.C. based department store chain Lansburgh's. [ [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/CSS-Industries-Inc-Company-History.html CSS Industries Inc. - Company History (accessed Aug 29, 2008).] ] In 1962, they purchased the suburban locations of Snellenburg's, a chain owned by Bankers Securities Corporation, which also owned City Stores. The chain closed in 1977.

Flagship Store

The flagship store opened in 1907 and occupied a full city block bounded by Market Street, 7th Street, Arch Street, and 8th Street. Like many department stores of its time the flagship store was a combination of several buildings built over time, but were joined so the interior appeared to be one building. The unique facade of this buildings front on Market Street resulted in the title the "cast iron" building. The architects were Charles M. Autenrieth and his partner Edward Collins.

After the chain closed in 1977, the store was vacant until redeveloped as office and commercial space in the late 1980's. The building reopened as Mellon Independence Center, after its principal occupant Mellon Bank. The statement "Hats Trimmed Free of Charge" can still be viewed today on the facade of the redeveloped flagship. The historic 720,000 square foot building was recently on the market for $70 million. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2007/12/10/newscolumn1.html?jst=s_cn_hl "Landmark Lit Brothers building for sale; might go for $70M," "Philadelphia Business Journal," by Natalie Kostelni, Dec 7, 2007.] ]

The Enchanted Colonial Village

Lit's also joined its fellow Center City department stores in presenting a Christmas Season exhibit when, in 1961, it opened The Enchanted Colonial Village. The Village cost approximately $1 million and was designed by Philadelphia display designer Thomas Comerford. It was built by German toy manufacturer Christian Hofmann of Bad Rodach, West Germany. This room by room display of a colonial era Christmas ran each year from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve, and remained until the final Christmas season in 1976. The exhibit itself was bought by the Sun Oil Company from liquidators for $35,000, and later donated to the Atwater Kent Museum. It has since been restored, and (since 2001) sections are displayed around the holiday season at the Please Touch Museum. [ [http://members.aol.com/robotweb/villagehistory.html History of the Enchanted Colonial Village (accessed Aug 29, 2008).] ]

uburban Growth

Lit's saw the growing demand for suburban locations, and started building stores in mall locations around the greater Philadelphia market, including southern New Jersey. Lit's also operated a store in nearby downtown Camden, and Lit's was the only one of Philadelphia's department stores to maintain a branch along the New Jersey Shore, when it acquired the Blatt Department Store in downtown Atlantic City, and re-branded this location as Lit's. Additional suburban locations were added with the acquisition of Snellenburg's in 1962.

Changing Marketplace

Faced with growing competition in a changing retail landscape, Lit's closed its doors in 1977. One of Lit's larger competitors, Gimbels, built a new store in Center City as part of The Gallery Mall in 1977, and while Lit's was only one block away from The Gallery, not being a direct part of the popular new complex hurt sales at its important flagship location. The famous flagship location sat vacant for a number of years, and was rescued and redeveloped as a regional headquarters for Mellon Bank, with retail stores on the Street Floor, and a Food Court on the Lower Level. For a few years after the building reopened in the mid-1980s, sections of the Enchanted Colonial Village were displayed in the retail section during the Holiday Shopping Season.

Former Locations

(all former locations closed in 1977, unless noted).

Pennsylvania

* Philadelphia, Market Street East, former flagship, now mixed use building.
* Philadelphia, 23rd Street & Oregon Avenue (South Philadelphia) (Former Snellenburg's, acquired 1962, now ShopRite supermarket)
* Philadelphia, Castor and Cottman Avenue (NE Philadelphia) (Built 1950, later Clover (Discount Division of Strawbridge & Clothier), then JC Penney, now vacant (2008), possible future site of Boscov's)
* Plymouth Meeting, Plymouth Meeting Mall (later Hess's, now Boscov's)
* Bensalem, Neshaminy Mall (Built 1974, later Pomeroy's, then Bon Ton, now Boscov's)
* Upper Darby, 69th Street & Ludlow Street, now mixed use building
* Lawrence Park, Lawrence Park & Sproul (Former Snellenburg's, acquired 1962))
* Willow Grove, York & Easton (Former Snellenburg's, acquired 1962)
* Morrisville, North Pennsylvania & East Trenton (Later Dunham's)
* Berkshire Mall, Reading, replaced by Bon Tonu

New Jersey

* Camden, Broadway and Market Street (Downtown) (Built 1955, closed 1976, now Camden County Office Building)
* Voorhees, Echelon Mall (later Gimbels, then Stern's, now Boscov's)
* Atlantic City, Atlantic & Carolina (Downtown) (Former Blatt's, then Snellenburg's, acquired 1962, now "CitiCenter" mixed use offices)
* Trenton, South Broad and Front (Closed 1970)

Maryland

* Rockville, Rockville Mall, former Lansburgh's, later subdivided retail place; demolished 1995. ["Rockville Mall Struggles On," by Claudia Levy, May 5, 1974, "The Washington Post", p. G1.]

Virginia

* Arlington, Shirlington Shopping Center, former Lansburgh's

Lit's Tire Stores

* Philadelphia, PA, 7th & Arch (Now Federal Courthouse's Jail)
* Philadelphia, PA , Cottman & Castor (added to Lit's store on site 1961)
* Philadelphia, PA, 23rd Street & Oregon Avenue (added to Lit's store on site)
* Ellisburg, NJ, Route 70 & Brace Road
* Audubon, NJ, Route 168
* Willow Grove, PA, Easton & Moreland Road
* Lawrence Park, PA, Lawrence Park & Sproul Road (added to Lit's store on site)
* Trenton, NJ, 167 North Olden Road (Opened 1965)
* Upper Darby, PA, 69th Street & Walnut Street (Opened 1965)

References