Remembering 'A Great Store in a Great City': Lit Brothers

"A Great Store in a Great City." 

The Lit Brothers were Samuel and Jacob 

and somehow they seem to get all the credit 

for a clothing store actually started by their sister, 

Rachel P. Lit Weddel Arnold 

Rachel started a woman's clothing store in 1891. 

But the brothers do deserve some credit 

because their vision helped her little corner shop 

become one of the largest retail stores in Philadelphia. 

As her store grew, 

the surrounding buildings were somehow 

cobbled together to create the structure of today. 

The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Rachel differentiated herself from the competition 

by trimming hats purchased in her shop at no charge. 

I love that the signage remains, mostly. 

 

And ghost signs still remain in the city 

but the store is long gone. 

The Lit Brothers chain of stores closed in 1977.

The building sat vacant for nearly a decade 

until it was purchased and repurposed into 

the office and commercial spaces of today. 

Lit Brothers, 1898: “Lit Brothers, Millinery, Cloaks” | Photo: Free Library of Philadelphia Historical Images of Philadelphia Collection

Thankfully the beautiful facade remains, 

except for the hideous (imo) 

large video billboards attached to the roof today 

which are a total misfit with the historic architecture. 

Yuck, I can't even bring myself to post a photo of it. 

The Lit Brothers Building is located at 

8th & Market Streets in Center City, Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia is located in the SE corner of Pennsylvania. 

Sources and more info: 

https://hiddencityphila.org/2015/01/lits-lights-lets-look/ 

http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2010/11/lit-brothers-philadelphia-pennsylvania.html

http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/litbros/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lit_Brothers

http://www.litsbuilding.com/

http://www.papergreat.com/2014/06/brighten-your-summer-with-vacation.html