More Info

Designed by William Steele and Sons, the Quaker City Dye Works buildings date to around 1873. The business was part of the thriving textile industry that once inhabited Kensington, Philadelphia. It is part of the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Quaker City Dye Works

This tour includes a few of the more than 40 contributing structures listed on the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This is a tour of exteriors, as these buildings are no longer factories or mills.

Built in 1908, this factory was part of the textile industry that flourished in the Kensington area of Philadelphia from the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century. It is one of the contributing structures to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property site recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Standard Hosiery Company

William Steele and Sons was the architect for this building, whose origins date to 1907 and 1922. The Drueding Brothers Company produced leather as part of the textile industry that flourished in the Kensington area of Philadelphia from the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century. It is one of the contributing structures to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property site recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Drueding Brothers Company

Built in 1875, this structure housed Joseph Johnson and Company, which produced morocco leather. The business was part of the flourishing textile industry in Kensington, Philadelphia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This building is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Joseph Johnson and Company

Owned by Thomas Dolan, this mill was built around 1861. The mills produced textiles as part of the industry that flourished in the Kensington area of Philadelphia from the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century. It is one of the contributing structures to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property site recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Keystone Spinning/Weaving Mills

W. P. Uhlinger's Columbia Works factory produced power looms and other machinery for the textile industry that boomed in Kensington, Philadelphia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This building dates to 1867 and is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Columbia Works

This business provided a less prominent but vital service to Kensington's textile industry:  handling waste and shoddy, or reclaimed wool. The company primarily dealt with jute waste. This circa 1895 building is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Francis Kelly Company

This business handled curled hair and feathers from tanneries, leather factories, and slaughterhouses. The building, dating to 1891, is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Peter Woll and Sons later occupied the Nathan Schwab and Sons building on the same street as well.

Peter Woll and Sons

Built around 1880, this mill structure produced carpets and housed various textile-related tenants. The business was part of the flourishing textile industry in Kensington, Philadelphia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This building is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Clifton Mills

Built around 1920, this structure housed Superior Thread and Yarn Company. The business was part of the flourishing textile industry in Kensington, Philadelphia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This building is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Superior Thread and Yarn Company

Herbert Hosiery Mill, built around 1900, was part of the flourishing textile industry in Kensington, Philadelphia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This building is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Herbert Hosiery Mill

Built ca. 1900, this factory produced garnetted worsted waste, meaning it reduced textile waste back to fiber so that it could be reused in manufacturing. This building is a contributing structure to the Industrial and Commercial Buildings Related to the Textile Industry in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia multiple property listing recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Kensington Textile Industry

Quaker City Dye Works

Introduction

Sources

Additional Information