June 12, 2004
Pohlig Brothers Paper Box Factory
A. Pohlig Paper Box Factory
Pohlig Bros
Manufacturers of Paper Boxes of Every Description
Folding Box Dept.
North 25th and East Franklin Streets
For some reason, I keep getting hits from people searching for the Pohlig Brothers Paper Box Factory. I've mentioned this building exactly once and I suppose it's time to remedy that. This building is currently being converted to apartments. The factory was built in 1853 as a tobacco factory and was operated by various different tobacco companies, including Turpin which I'm only mentioning because the name always brings to mind shades of Sweeney Todd. During the Civil War it was used as a hospital, as were many of the buildings in the neighborhood. The Pohlig Paper Box Factory began operation here in 1909 and continued up until the 1990s (not under family ownership for the whole time). For a while after that, Showcase sold used store fixtures and furniture here. They had life-sized metal sculptures of the Blues Brothers sitting in chairs out front for months. When I walked past on my daily constitutional I used to knock on John Belushi. Bong! Once somebody purchased a twenty-foot long rococo painting that had once adorned the walls of an Express store. How do I know this? While on one of said constitutionals, I was walking on Richmond Hill overlooking Franklin Street. I saw this huge painting with, apparently, two sets of white-sneakered feet walking along Franklin.
238 words | June 12, 2004 03:01 PM | Ghost signs