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Lighting the Way to Energy Efficiency

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

The city of Philadelphia has long led the way in street lighting, from 18th-century oil lamps to today’s energy-saving LED lights. To better understand the financial, health, and environmental advancements in our City’s public lighting, we need to go back to the future.

Burning the Midnight Oil

If you’ve ever relied on lighting candles during a PECO blackout, you know it’s more hassle than romantic. Imagine living in Colonial Philadelphia when lanterns with candles were the only source of light. Since candles were expensive back then, much of the City was shrouded in darkness. Then, as now, where there was darkness, there was crime. John Clifton is credited with placing the first oil lamp in front of his house at 2nd and Race Streets in 1751. Shortly after this historic lighting event, Philadelphia became the first city in America to provide its streets with public lighting. 

Fueled by whale oil, early street lamps were an improvement on candles, especially after Ben Franklin invented a four-sided, ventilated oil lamp that used replaceable flat glass panes. His design was easier to clean, maintain, and less costly than rounded glass globes. 

The Gaslight Era

Gaslight was introduced to Philadelphia in 1816 with the illumination of the Chestnut Street Theatre, designed by Henry Latrobe at Sixth and Chestnut. By the early 1800s, Philadelphia had over 1,100 oil lamps, though they were often spaced far apart, leaving pedestrians to move between pools of light and deep shadow. 

Gas lamp lighter. Image: Philadelphia Department of Records.

 The new technology was not without critics. Some denounced gas as a danger to health and safety, much the way data centers are debated today. They claimed that gas plants would emit an unpleasant, unhealthy stench. Plus, they feared gaslight would use up oxygen and affect the lungs of those in the theater. Worst-case scenario? An explosion. However, their fears did not stop Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) from installing 46 gas lights along Second Street in 1836 or the founding of Pennsylvania Gas Globe Company in the late 19th century. 

Interior view of Warner Miskey & Merrill’s showroom, 718 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA, 1860. Image: Library Company of Philadelphia, Print Department. McAllister, John A. 1822-1896, collector.

Philly’s elite quickly embraced gas lighting, illuminating their townhouses with opulent, gas-fueled chandeliers. But nothing could compare with the 5,000-pound crystal chandelier, containing 240 gas jets, created for the opening of the Academy of Music in 1857. This spectacular light fixture was designed by Cornelius and Baker, whose factories were located at 181 Cherry St and 5th & Columbia, with a showroom at 176 Chestnut.

Cornelius & Baker, 181 Cherry Street, Philadelphia. Manufacturers of lamps and gas fixtures. Image: Library Company of Philadelphia, Print Department: Wainwright Philadelphia Lithographs. Rease, W. H., lithographer. Printer: Wagner & M’Guigan.

Philly Goes Electric 

In 1880, inventor Charles F. Brush pioneered the manufacture of electric street lighting systems and the generator to run them at Brush Electric Light Company in Cleveland. After lighting up his department store with Brush’s electric lights, John Wanamaker partnered with a Philadelphia textile baron and a banker to buy the rights to manufacture electric street light equipment from Brush, forming the Brush Electric Light Company of Philadelphia. 

In 1881, they installed 49 electric streetlights along Chestnut Street, one at each intersection, making the streets safer for shoppers and businessmen. Each light produced the light equivalent of 4,000 candles.

Between 1881 and 1895, more than twenty rival electric companies were established in Philadelphia. By 1902, they had all been consolidated into the Philadelphia Electric Company, known today as  PECO Energy.

Transitioning to LED

Since 2023, Philadelphia has invested in a $91 million in the Philly Street Light Improvement Project (PSIP), our City’s largest energy conservation project, installing 130,000 LED lights.  In October 2025, Mayor Parker announced, “I am thrilled to announce that Philadelphia has achieved our goal of replacing every neighborhood streetlight.” 

As a result, our street lights are 30% brighter and 50% more energy-efficient than previous high-pressure sodium lights, reducing carbon emissions and annual energy savings of $8 million. Installation prioritized areas with higher nighttime crime, safety needs, and traffic crashes. 

Philadelphia home with a modern lamp post. Image: Stephanie Aviles

The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) and City leadership announced findings from a University of Pennsylvania Crime and Justice Policy Lab study showing a 21% reduction in nighttime outdoor gun crimes in areas where new lighting was installed. The new network allows for immediate, automated reporting and repair of broken lights. This is a key strategy in the City’s Municipal Energy Master Plan.

Recreating the Past

Tourists come to Philly in search of history. They flock to Society Hill, where electric lamps mimic Colonial lanterns. Although the last city-operated gas lamp was extinguished in 1959 by Mayor Richardson Dilworth at 45th & Osage, many of the old, ornamental fixtures remain throughout the City. 

Mayor Richardson Dilworth extinguished the last gas lamp in 1959. Location: 45th Street and Osage Avenue. Image: Philadelphia Department of Records.

Historic cast-iron lamp posts can be found outside the Union League at South Broad and Sansom. Vestiges of old lamps, including some from the Penn Gas Globe Light Company, are still visible in parts of the Old City.

Perhaps the most romantic nod to the past is the flickering lanterns outside the Academy of Music. A replica of the gaslights that welcomed people to the Academy’s 1857 opening, they create the illusion of stepping into the past, even while Philly continues to move boldly toward a more sustainable future. 

Philadelphia’s streetlights have always done more than illuminate the road ahead. From oil lamps to LEDs, they reflect how the City responds to change, balancing innovation, safety, and a deep respect for its past. However, the technology evolves, that mission remains the same: to light the way forward.

Philadelphia Rowhomes: Where Women’s Businesses Took Root

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

Philadelphia loves a rowhome. Or is it rowhouse? Disciples of each term, which describe the same kind of building style, interconnected houses lining a street or alley, fiercely debate which they prefer. But the original phrasing is even more specific and dates back to the 1800s, when “Philadelphia Row” became a catchall for the kinds of houses many Philadelphians lived in, and still live in today.

These houses haven’t just been domestic retreats from the busy streets of our city, however. For many female Philadelphians through history, rowhomes have also been the spaces in which the domestic combined with the economic, as women began to run businesses out of these neatly organized homes, entering the workforce without leaving their living rooms. 

As a female-owned business proud of its commitment to gender equality, and as a real estate company, Solo Real Estate is doubly interested in the history of these row-home-based industries and the women who ran them. Exploring the past use of these buildings adds fascinating layers to both our understanding of our city’s past and our experiences as owners and renters. 

Philadelphia rowhomes with a flowering tree. Image: Leah Franqui

Why run a business out of a house, you might ask? The answer lies in necessity and respectability, both in equal measure, more often than not. We talk a lot about women entering the workforce, but the truth is, women throughout history have always worked and contributed to, or were the sole breadwinners for, their families’ incomes. But for most women, that work was safest, most available, and easiest to access in the home. Jobs like mending, cleaning, dressmaking, paid childcare, accountancy, clerkship, and even writing and translating work would often be jobs that women would perform from their own homes. Selling baked goods, sewing up ball gowns, copying out documents, these were largely respectable labors and represent some of the early businesses run by women out of Philadelphia row homes. Tutoring, music lessons, and private instruction were also ways women made money and supported themselves from the security and comfort of their own living rooms. The writer of this blog post used to take private acting lessons in a row home on South Broad Street in the 1990’s!

Historic Homes on Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia, PA. Image: Stephanie Aviles

Some of these businesses even predate the American Revolution. In 1762, Mary Smith and Sarah Melton purchased what is now 126 Elfreth’s Alley and used it both as a residence and as their dressmaking shop. Melton ran this business, then known as a mantua maker, mantua being the term for the dress style popularized in the 1600’s, with Smith for four years until her death and then for 28 years, both on her own and with Elizabeth Carr, a divorcee who ran the business herself after Melton’s own passing. More information on this rare but not-unheard-of women-run business at the time can be found here: https://www.elfrethsalley.org/podcast/2020/6/23/episode-1-the-dressmakers

Eliza Sprout Turner (1826-1903), Philadelphia educator, writer, and progressive women’s activist. Founder of the New Century Guild. Image: Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Not only did women run businesses out of Philadelphia row homes, but one row home actually became the center of Philadelphia’s struggle for women’s rights. When the New Century Club was founded in Philadelphia in 1878, it was one of the first women’s clubs in the country. Founded to give women a space to discuss science, literature, and the arts, it quickly became a space of organization, offering educational resources to women, serving as a meeting space for ideas, and turning towards social reform, civil rights, and women’s liberation. By 1882, Elizabeth Sproat Turner,  a Philadelphia-born abolitionist and suffragette, along with other club members, founded the New Century Guild, an offshoot of the club dedicated to women’s labor, specifically. The goal of this club was to support working women, providing education and opportunities for women to turn their labor into a more stable and long-term vocation. Soon, this new organization demanded a headquarters. Where else but a Philadelphia row home? In 1906, the Guild purchased 1307 Locust Street, transforming it into a space that could meet the needs of the organization, which included bookbinders, nurses, secretaries, lawyers, artists, writers, and so many more professional women looking to help others professionalize. Offering classes, community, and support, the Guild was the center of social reform and women’s issues, and by the time it moved into 1307 Locust, it had over a thousand members. Today, this building is still a business run out of a rowhome, as it has been renovated and preserved, and functions as a boutique hotel now called Guild House Hotel. 

As you walk down the majority of the streets of Philadelphia, you’ll encounter row home after row home. As you do, consider the women who lived and worked in these spaces, and the many stories we don’t know because these businesses often functioned outside of the official ideas of incorporation or professionalism, spheres often barred to women in the past. 

The work done in living rooms and kitchens remains an essential part of the city’s social and economic history. Unearthing these stories teaches us more about Philadelphia’s past and the human experience and adds to the layers of time, painting our many historic row homes. Maybe even the one you live in today. 

The Secret Life Of Buildings: Philly’s Marble Stoops

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

Although marble steps, or “stoops,” are associated today with modest rowhouses built in the late 19th century, they first appeared in the grand Georgian homes of Philly’s 18th-century elite. A prime example is the Hill-Physick House at 321 S. Fourth St., built in 1786. A stroll along Spruce Street and its side alleys, from Second St. to Broad, reveals a variety of early- and late-19th-century marble stairs on homes of all sizes, from trinities to townhouses and mansions.

When working-class immigrants flooded into the city from the 1890s through the 1930s, the marble steps of newly built rowhouses in South, West, and North Philly conveyed a sense of pride and community. They also provided a place to cool off when summer temperatures turned rowhouses, without cross ventilation, into ovens before the advent of air conditioning. Because family members spent so much time on their steps, they became a social hub where neighbors of all ages, nationalities, and languages mingled, courted, and showed off new babies. They also provided “eyes on the street,” creating a sense of safety. Ultimately, these marble steps were a basic building block of the community.

Two women with infant sitting on stoop, 1922, Philadelphia, PA. Image: Keith, John Frank, 1883-1947, photographer.
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department, John Frank Keith Photograph Collection
Two men in suits and their workman’s caps sitting on a marble stoop in Philadelphia, PA. 1920. Image: Keith, John Frank, 1883-1947, photographer.
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department, John Frank Keith Photograph Collection

The word stoop comes from the Dutch word stoep, meaning the raised platform at the entrance of a house. In Philadelphia, they range from a single slab of marble to four stairs, sometimes accented with wrought iron or brass railings. So where did all this marble come from? From 1790 to 1860, prized Pennsylvania Blue, or “Clouded,” Marble was quarried in Montgomery and Chester Counties, just 30 miles outside the city. It formed from limestone 450 million years ago and metamorphosed 50 million years ago. Traces of minerals such as magnesium give Pennsylvania marble its blue hue, while graphite produces gray tones.

Keystone Marble Works. 1856 Advertisement containing a montage of 5 views of the marble works established in 1855 at 2025 Market Street. Image: Herline & Co., lithographer. Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department

It was used primarily for monumental public building projects and Greek Revival architecture, including the First Bank of the United States at 120 S. Third St. and the Merchants’ Exchange Building at 143 S. Third St., but it was also a durable regional stone used for rowhouse steps. By the late 1850s, Philadelphia supported about 60 marble-cutting establishments, including large yards and manufacturers near Ridge Avenue. Today, restorations often reuse salvaged slabs from demolished homes.

Steps at 8th and Callowhill. Image: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records.

From 1910 through the 1940s, amateur photographer John Frank Keith focused his lens on working-class men, women, and children posing on marble stoops in South Philly and Kensington. His collection of 250 portraits, held by the Library Company of Philadelphia, reveals a sepia-toned cross-section of people in their Sunday best, cavorting for the camera and documenting everyday life. Some images show up to 24 family members gathered on one set of stairs. Others capture the once-a-week ritual, usually on Saturdays, of women and children cleaning their steps and sidewalks with pride. Known as “cleaning down the block,” it was a communal effort, often accompanied by neighbors chatting and children playing in water from open fire hydrants.

Marble steps in Fishtown, Philadelphia. Image: Stephanie Aviles

While “cleaning down the block” may no longer be a weekly ritual, you can still keep your marble steps looking their best. Here are some tips on cleaning your marble steps:

Do:

  • Use a soft broom to clear away dust and debris.
  • Mix 1½ cups distilled water, ⅓ cup rubbing alcohol, and ½ teaspoon mild dish soap.
  • Use a microfiber cloth or soft sponge to gently wipe, don’t scrub.
  • Rinse with clean water to remove any residue.
  • Dry with a clean towel; water spots can stain if left to air dry.
  • If your marble looks dull, apply a small amount of marble polishing powder.

Don’t:

  • Use “multi-surface” cleaners.
  • Don’t scrub with steel wool or hard brushes.
  • Use vinegar, lemon juice, bleach, ammonia, and harsh bathroom cleaners.

Sadly, neighborhoods that once held life’s daily moments on front steps can now feel quieter. People retreat into cars, offices, and behind closed doors. Perhaps that’s because many never experienced a block where everyone knew your name, where conversations stretched across stoops, and where community was something you stepped into, not pre-scheduled. These days, unfortunately, the most reliable visitor might sometimes be an Amazon delivery.

However, the stoop is still there, waiting. And it doesn’t take much to bring it back to life. A chair. A conversation. A few minutes at the end of the day. If space allows, add a ceramic or stone planter with seasonal plantings—tulips in spring, geraniums in summer, mums in fall, winter kale in the colder months. Small gestures, maybe, but they signal something bigger: presence.

Marble steps were never just an architectural detail. They were an invitation to gather, to linger, to belong. And they still can be.

This article is part of a series titled “The Secret Life of Buildings” where we cover the history and architecture behind Philadelphia’s storied buildings. We’ve written about row house styles, courtyards, and star bolts, among other topics. What else would you like to learn about? Follow us and message us on Facebook or Instagram to let us know!

From Fashion to Foundations: Before Solo Real Estate, There Was Lousols Dept Store

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Solo Real Estate, a company founded by Stanley Solo in 1951 and taken over by Deborah Solo in 1990. In 2025, Alejandro Franqui, Deborah’s son, joined her as a partner in the company, while I, her daughter, Leah Franqui, also contributes to the family business as a writer. While we at Solo are thrilled to reach this important milestone and plan to celebrate our company history with some exciting announcements later this year, we also thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to talk about the first Solo family business – Lousols Department Store. 

Real estate photograph from 1940 commissioned by the Jackson-Cross Company depicting the Hale Building at the southwest corner of Chestnut and Juniper Streets. Built in 1887 for Keystone National Bank after designs by Willis Gaylord Hale and altered by him from 1890 to 1892. Lousols’ women’s clothing store occupies the Art Deco addition at the street level. Image: Library Company of Philadelphia, Print Department

Growing up, I was aware that our family had had a department store named Lousols, named by my great-grandfather, Louis Solo. This choice implied to me that my creative writing impulses had come from, perhaps, a different ancestor. However, it wasn’t until we decided to write this post that I realized how little I really knew about this story, and how many gaps there were in it. What follows is, if you’ll excuse the metaphor, patched and stitched together from research, interviewing Deborah, attempts at a memoir Stanley Solo wrote at various times in his life, and family lore. We’re lucky to have all that and to realize that the Solo family has been a part of Philadelphia and its business community for over a century, a fact that makes us all very proud.

Louis Solo registration card, 1953.

Around 1905, Deborah’s grandmother, Rebecca Solo nee Muchnick, moved to Philadelphia when she was about fourteen years old, dusting the New Jersey farm soil of her childhood off her shoes, determined to leave her origins, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, John “Zevulon” and Matilda “Tillie” Muchnick, who had settled into American agricultural life. Along with her older sister Charlotte, Rebecca came to Philadelphia armed with little, at most a middle school education, and sheer determination. Luckily, Charlotte had sewing and embroidery skills as well, which would stand the sisters in good stead in the life they quickly started building for themselves in Philadelphia. Within the next few years, Rebecca quickly met and married Louis C. Solo, a jovial contrast to her steely determination (family legend is he gave himself the middle initial C, standing for nothing at all, in an attempt to seem more professional, although in his draft card from World War II, he listed his name as Louis Carl Solo). 

Together, Louis and Rebecca, with Charlotte’s help, created a dry goods store. By 1920, the store exclusively sold women’s clothing and was located at 133 South 13th Street, where an ad from 1921 proclaims “Lousol’s have originated a number of chic new modes at a specialized price”. Here, Charlotte’s sewing and embroidery skills were put to good use while Rebecca was the engine behind the business. By 1932, the Solos decided to expand, and they bought a building at 1318-1320 Chestnut Street, right at Chestnut and Juniper. An announcement in the Philadelphia Inquirer proudly announced that “the deep windows and interior space for an excellent setting in which the smartest of autumn fashions will be displayed to please the fashion taste of discriminating Philadelphia women.” The new store competed directly with other major local department stories like Strawbridge and Clothier, The Lit Brothers, Gimbels, and John Wanamaker’s, sold the latest styles in women’s and children’s fashions, and clothed Philadelphia residents in elegant garments, with its products regularly listed in the Inquirer’s style section of the period.

In the late 1930’s, Louis and his business partner, Harry Bernbaum, decided to renovate their store, including the façade. They hired Thalheimer and Weitz, an architecture firm established in 1924 by Clarence S. Thalheimer and David D. Weitz, local architects who had grown up in Strawberry Mansion, to create a new deco-style façade for the building, a radical change from its existing Victorian aesthetic. The firm made quite a mark on Philadelphia over its decades of work, including at least 46 projects, which you can check out here, and itself was a family business, with Jack Thalheimer becoming a partner and taking over the company, creating Thalheimer Associates. When the new façade and store renovations debuted in 1939, ads in the Philadelphia Inquirer described the store as “The Greater Lousols of Tomorrow” and a “castle in the air”, and the paper itself gushed over the work, describing “this attractive shop” with “veined Alabama marble boarding on light greys and whites. Glass brick is used profusely. Stainless steel forms the base facia and slash molds and gives the store a sparkling appearance. The façade is further beautified by a bronze awning hood.” In 1940, as the business expanded, the firm of Toll and Barkan did more internal renovations, and at this point, the store encompassed at least four floors in two buildings. 

The store in its heyday employed dozens, including Doris Hillebrand Ashley, a local fashion illustrator, needlepoint designer, and textile conservationist, who was hired by Louis as art director for the store. It’s nice to think that Louis, who worked with his wife and sister-in-law, and was Deborah’s grandfather, was egalitarian and pro-women, and we don’t have much evidence to the contrary, so why not! That said, tensions between Bernbaum and the Solos (blamed afterwards on Rebecca betraying Louis’s allyship!) eventually came to a head and resulted in Bernbaum buying the Solos out of the business. Louis Solo opened up a fur shop at 1704 Walnut, a building he owned in the 1940s. This building would eventually become offices for the real estate business that his son, Stanley Solo, would eventually create in 1951. Stanley would move his offices around Rittenhouse Square a few times, ending up in 1704 Walnut sometime in the 1970s. Outside of hawking furs, Louis Solo spent the rest of his life buying up other real estate in the area, including 2017 Chancellor Street, our current offices, and his longtime home. 

Aunt Lottie’s sewing bag. Image: Leah Franqui.
Deborah Solo with a Lousols blazer.
Lousols blazer tag.

Growing up, Deborah did have pieces of Lousols’ inventory, but the family didn’t think to preserve them. As Deborah puts it, “We did have furs from his store and probably clothes with the label, which were given away over the years. It was only as an adult that I wanted to know more, and I wish I had pressed my father more on the story of our family, which I didn’t, and wanted an article of clothing with the label.” At that point, Deborah often looked for her family company’s label in thrift stores but never found it. For decades, we thought we’d never reclaim something from Lousols and made our peace with that. But when I started sewing (perhaps inheriting my interest from Charlotte, “Aunt Lottie”, whose sewing bag I still have), taking classes at Spool (now closed, though its sister company, Loop, remains), I also created a sewing blog, and I put out a call to vintage-loving collectors to keep their eye out for the Lousols label. Years later, someone actually contacted me, and we were able to secure an item, a gorgeous 1940’s blazer that fits Deborah beautifully, finally getting our hands on a Lousols original. 

As a family, we realize how lucky we are to know this much about our history. It is an honor and a privilege to have been part of Philadelphia’s history in so many ways, and to know some of that legacy and to have the material objects that speak to it. For decades, the Solo family clothed Philadelphians. Now, Deborah, Alejandro, and Leah contribute to housing them. We are lucky to be able to help Philadelphians feel comfortable and housed, and we are so honored that we can, and have long been, a part of people in Philadelphia loving where they live, be it in how they look, or what building they call home. From Lousols to Solo, we are part of the fabric and bricks of this city, and we are so happy to share our story with you in the 75th year of Solo Real Estate. 

Meet Solo Agent Leon “Mr. Brickhouse” Aksman

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

There are over 1,000 realtors in Philly; only one goes by “Mr. Brickhouse.” Solo agent Leon Aksman didn’t get that moniker by accident. “Nothing is better than combining a vintage brick house with modern style,” he said. “I like to restore brick facades, expose brick interiors, add contemporary kitchens, and reclaim original flooring.” Given that 70% of Philly housing stock is brick, Aksman’s is in his element. But his journey started 5,000 miles away.

“I was born in Russia and came to the US with my parents in 1981,” said Aksman. After earning a degree in Journalism and Philosophy at the University of Delaware, he worked for the Philadelphia Labor Department. Successful in that environment, Aksman might have stayed in that industry had it not been for a chance encounter. “I was at a real estate expo and met someone who offered to sponsor my real estate license. This is not what I had envisioned. It was spontaneous.” 

A high-energy, charismatic individual with an analytical mind, Aksman approached real estate with passion and determination. Since obtaining his license in 2007, he has gained expertise in the investment property market, worked with Philadelphia’s most respected real estate firms, and established a reputation as one of the city’s top agents. 

Leon inspects an antique warehouse property that features original beams, antique wood posts, and exposed brick.

Ironically, the year Aksman attained his license was the same year the national housing bubble collapsed, causing the 2008 recession and the subprime mortgage crisis, which lasted until 2010. Meanwhile, Aksman, who lived in South Philly at the time, focused on the urban landscape from Rittenhouse Square to East Passyunk. “I built my reputation in the Queen Village and Graduate Hospital areas,” he said. “Then came the pandemic, resulting in urban flight. City residents were fleeing to Montgomery County, and area realtors were following them. I decided I wasn’t going to reinvent what I do.” That meant sticking with what he knew and loved best, the South Philly and Center City housing market, and making the transition from larger, national real estate companies like Berkshire Hathaway to a smaller independent brokerage like Solo Real Estate.

“I’ve known Deborah Solo and Alex Franqui for several years. When I expressed interest in joining their team, they welcomed me onboard in 2024,” said Aksman. A Philadelphia resident for 25 years, Leon is a specialist in urban property, focusing on multi-family, investment, and redevelopment. He has successfully negotiated millions of dollars in property sales, both acquisitions and listings, involving highly complex transactions. His experience in redevelopment and project management offers his clients solid investment opportunities.

“I’ve always been active in emerging markets,” said Aksman. “You need to see where the development is and take a few steps in another direction.” These days, Mr. Brickhouse’s sweet spot is Point Breeze, Greys Ferry, and Newbold.

When he’s not carving a path through the local real estate market, Aksman is a world traveler. His favorite destinations include San Francisco, Vancouver, Milan, and Barcelona. Fluent in English, Russian, and Spanish, he is also a soccer fan. His pick for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Philly? “I like the Spanish leagues. Brazil, Argentina, and Spain,” he said.

Leon is on the terrace of his summer rental in Rehoboth Beach, DE, where his family has spent summers since he was a boy. Images: Leon Aksman.

Whether you are looking to invest, find a larger space that accommodates your growing family or business, you’ll find Leon Aksman to be a seasoned, knowledgeable resource. Interested in investing in real estate? Reach out to Leon.

Featured Business: Mural City Cellars, Small-Batch Urban Winemaking in Philadelphia

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

Just a few generations back, wine was made in the homes of Italian Americans in South Philly. It wasn’t for sale, but for personal consumption. Today, that tradition is getting a 21st-century reboot at Mural City Cellars, 1831 Frankford Ave., a boutique winery and wine bar that’s creating a lot of buzz.

Launched in 2021 by life and business partners Francesca Galarus and Nicholas Ducos, Mural City Cellars reflects the couple’s journey in the food and beverage industry and their mutual passion for wine.

“I worked at Morimoto and Continental while attending Drexel University from 2004–2009, and also at Makoto in Miami. My time with Starr taught me the essentials of great hospitality that I have carried throughout my career,” said Galarus, who grew up in the Philly suburbs.

Francesca Galarus. Image courtesy of Mural City Cellars. Photo: Gab Bonghi.

Ducos is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and discovered his passion for wine while managing beverage service at some of Miami’s top restaurants, where the couple met.

A Certified Sommelier, Ducos’ fascination with wine motivated him to learn the winemaking process at Truchard Vineyards in Napa, followed by time at New Zealand’s Lawson’s Dry Hills, before relocating to Philadelphia.

“I started my career as a sommelier,” said Ducos. “Eventually, I got into winemaking and ended up working for three different wineries. The idea of starting my own winery began in 2016, when I was working for a winery in Napa Valley.”

Mural City Cellars exterior in Fishtown. Image courtesy of Mural City Cellars. Photo: Gab Bonghi.

“When we came up with the idea for Mural City Cellars, I knew it needed to be in Philly. I love this city,” said Galarus. “My grandmother grew up in South Philly. My parents now live in Phoenixville, and we actually made our first vintage in my mom’s garage. It’s been so special returning to my roots and starting our business here. Nicholas’ family is in New York, so we’re close to them as well.”

Mural City Cellars started small, moving four times while maintaining production out of their first warehouse space on Amber Street, before landing a 3,000-square-foot production space and tasting room.

Interior of winery. Image courtesy of Mural City Cellars. Photo: Gab Bonghi.

“We specialize in minimal-intervention wines using locally grown varietals, which signifies our deep commitment to showcasing and promoting local produce,” said Ducos. “Our grapes are sourced within a 300-mile radius of Philadelphia.”

In case you didn’t know, southeastern Pennsylvania has the geography, climate, and growing conditions of the Bordeaux region in France. The region is home to more than 270 wineries and produces 2.25 million gallons of wine per year, making it a force in American winemaking. But while vineyards are plentiful, the vast majority of wineries that actually make and bottle wine are located well outside city limits. This is what makes Mural City Cellars a pioneer.

“Nicholas runs our winemaking, and I handle most of the other business aspects, including finances, growth, and our charitable giving program,” said Galarus. “We collaborate with Mural Arts every year and donate 15% of the sale of each bottle back to Mural Arts Philadelphia. We also donate $1 from the sale of each of our House Wine bottles to local initiatives.”

Some of Mural City Cellars’ bottles of wine. Image courtesy of Mural City Cellars. Photo: Gab Bonghi.

So how do local vineyards measure up to Napa?

“This has been a long-undervalued wine region,” said Galarus. “You can find some really great wineries from New York down to Maryland. Our best-selling wine is our House White. It’s a crisp, easy-drinking white made from Vidal Blanc,” she said. “If you enjoy Prosecco, we typically recommend our House Bubbles. It’s produced using the same method as Prosecco and features fresh, bright fruit and lively bubbles.”

Prices at Mural City Cellars won’t melt your credit cards. “Our bottles range from $20 to $40. Our House Wines are all $20,” said Galarus. Which means, after a wine tasting, you can still hit one of Fishtown’s BYOBs, like Bastia, featuring Corsican cuisine.

Some visit Mural City Cellars for the wine; others come to socialize and celebrate special events. “Our winery can accommodate up to 100 guests,” said Galarus. “In the summer, we also operate a wine garden on Fridays and Saturdays just across the street at the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) Garden Center. There, we can accommodate well over 100 people.”

“We have a wonderfully loyal following of guests who live in Fishtown. We live in this neighborhood as well,” said Galarus. “A lot of our visibility now comes from being right on Frankford Avenue, but we’ve also been lucky to receive some great press, including Philadelphia Magazine. We have a very active social media presence and definitely benefit from word-of-mouth recommendations.”

But you don’t have to go to Fishtown to sample Mural City Cellars’ wines. They’re sold at restaurants and breweries around the city, including Enswell in Center City; Emmett in Northern Liberties; Wissahickon Brewing in East Falls; and Cartesian Brewing in East Passyunk. The wines are also exclusive to both The Arden Theatre Company and InterAct Theatre. Bottles-to-go are available at Riverwards locations and The Richmond Shops in Fishtown.

Do I hear a cork popping?

The Secret Life of Buildings: The Wanamaker Building

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

Everyone has their own memories of the Wanamaker Building: riding the monorail above the toy department, meeting friends at the Eagle, dining in the Crystal Tea Room, or gazing up in awe at the Christmas Light Show in the Grand Court. While many of Philadelphia’s department stores have come and gone, the City still holds an unusually deep emotional stake in the future of Wanamaker’s. To understand why, we traveled back in time.

Wanamaker interior, 1917. Image: Library of Congress, Public Domain.

Rags to Riches

John Wanamaker (1838–1922) was born into a family of brick makers in the Gray’s Ferry section of South Philadelphia. He left school at 14 to work as an errand boy, eventually earning a higher-paying position at a men’s clothing store. His talent for retail quickly became apparent. At 22, newly married, he went into business with his older brother, opening Oak Hall at 6th and Market Streets. Within a decade, the store was generating $2,085,528 annually, over $54 million today, an extraordinary fortune in the Gilded Age.

The home John Wanamaker grew up in. Image: Public Domain.

After his brother’s death, Wanamaker used his profits to purchase the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Depot at 13th & Market. He transformed the two-story Byzantine-style terminal into the John Wanamaker Grand Depot, initially dedicated to menswear. Within a year, he expanded into women’s clothing and dry goods, creating Philadelphia’s first true department store and one of the earliest in the nation.

Wanamaker Grand Depot Postcard. Image: Public Domain

A Retail Revolutionary

Wanamaker changed American retail forever. His store was the first to guarantee quality in print, introduce cash-refund returns, and offer a full-service restaurant inside a department store. He pioneered the modern price tag, making haggling obsolete, and became the first major retailer to provide employee benefits such as free medical care, recreational facilities, profit-sharing, and pension plans. The Grand Depot was also the first department store with electric lights, a telephone, and pneumatic tubes to transport cash and receipts.

Etching of the Wanamaker building, 1876. Image: Public Domain.

In 1902, he commissioned Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham, known for Philadelphia’s Land Title Building and a leading proponent of the Beaux-Arts style, to design the largest department store in America. Completed in 1911, the Wanamaker Building spanned an entire city block from Market to Chestnut Streets, with twelve stories above ground, three below, and more than 100 specialized departments. Its majestic central court rivaled Parisian retail palaces like Galeries Lafayette. That was intentional: Wanamaker sought to introduce Philadelphians to the European concept of le grand magasin, sending his buyers abroad to bring back the latest fashions.

The Eagle and the Organ

Among the building’s most iconic features are the 2,500-pound bronze eagle and the massive pipe organ, both purchased from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The Wanamaker Organ debuted in 1911 and soon became a cultural phenomenon. After-hours concerts featuring Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra drew crowds of up to 15,000. With 10,000 pipes at the time, later expanded to more than 28,000, it was the largest organ in the world. Beginning in 1922, the store even broadcast organ concerts on the radio.

The Eagle featured in a postcard. Image: Public Domain

Reinvention and Resilience

Wanamaker’s branch stores of the 1950s and ’60s never matched the splendor of the Philadelphia flagship and were quickly forgotten, converted into chain retailers after the brand’s decline. Yet Philadelphians’ devotion to the original building never wavered, through its transitions to Strawbridge, Hecht’s, Lord & Taylor, and then Macy’s, through decades of reconfigured retail floors and added office space. No matter the name, people still “met at the Eagle,” watched the Holiday Light Show, and referred to the building simply as Wanamaker’s.

The organ’s future has always been safeguarded: as a National Historic Landmark, it cannot be removed or dismantled. Most recently, the Philadelphia Visitor Center, TF Cornerstone (the building’s new owner), and the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ raised $350,000 to ensure the return of the beloved Holiday Light Show.

Wanamaker Organ. Image: Public Domain

TF Cornerstone plans to transform the Wanamaker Building into 600 apartments with updated retail, office space, and dining. Whatever the future brings, two constants remain: the Eagle and the Wanamaker Light Show, featuring the legendary organ. The free show runs every hour on the half-hour from Nov. 28 to Dec. 24.

Families watching the Wanamaker light show. Image: G. Widman for Visit Philly

This article is part of a series titled “The Secret Life of Buildings” where we write about the history and architecture behind Philadelphia’s buildings. We’ve covered common Philadelphia brick styles, trinity homes, and star bolts, among other topics. What else would you like to learn about? Follow us and DM us on Facebook or Instagram to let us know!

The Oldest Building on Broad Street Reopens as the Village of Industry & Art

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

The sudden closure of the University of the Arts (UArts) in May 2024 rattled Philadelphia. As students scrambled to find new programs, local historians and preservationists worried about the fate of the iconic Greek Revival building on the northwest corner of Broad and Pine Streets.

Originally designed in 1826 by John Haviland and William Strickland for The Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb (the period’s terminology for what is now known as the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf), with a later addition in 1875 by Frank Furness, it has one of the finest architectural pedigrees in the City and is the oldest original structure on South Broad Street. In 1893, it became the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (affiliated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art) and, in 1964, it ended that affiliation and was renamed Philadelphia College of Art (PCA). When PCA merged with Philadelphia College of Performing Arts in 1987, it became University of the Arts (UArts).

As UArts, the building shaped the city’s cultural history, and it was a shock for many to see it close. Distinguished alumni include architect Julian Francis Abele, craftsman Wharton Esherick, photographer Irving Penn; figurative painter Sidney Goodman; choreographer Judith Jamison;  actor/musician Jared Leto; and pianist Andre Watts. 

Fortunately, less than one year following UArts’s closure, the city breathed a sigh of relief when Hamilton Hall and the Furness Building were acquired by Scout/Urban Design, a nationally certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) development and design company headquartered in the Bok. Managing partner Lindsey Scannapieco plans to duplicate the adaptive reuse her company successfully achieved at The Bok, 1901 S 9th St., for which Scout won the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philadelphia Vision Award for adaptive reuse, mix of uses, and catalytic economic development. Bok is now home to 200 creative tenants with over 60% women or minority-owned businesses. Scannapieco visualizes VIA’s future as “…A mix of creative studios, cultural spaces, dining, and public programming that makes it a true creative village for Philadelphia.”  

The former UArts buildings at Broad & Pine have been renamed the Village of Industry & Art (VIA), converting over 110,000 sqft and 1.9 acres into maker studios and spaces, plus affordable housing for artists and a potential residency program. That housing program realigns with Furness Hall’s original purpose as a dormitory. In addition, there are ceramic, woodworking, plaster, and metal shops available for leasing. 

VIA Atrium. mage by Mike Persico courtesy of Scout.
Furness Hall. mage by Mike Persico courtesy of Scout.

Scout intends to preserve the existing infrastructure for its tenants, instead of major renovations, other than safety and HVAC investments. They are seeking tenants who could fit the pre-existing spaces, such as a ceramicist in a room that already has a kiln. Like the Bok, most of the former classrooms feature good lighting and an open floor plan. 

In May 2025, VIA hosted a UArts Celebration of Life, held in the building’s courtyard to commemorate the first anniversary of the school’s closure with performances, speakers, artwork, dance and theater. Rather than erasing the building’s history as a launching pad for the arts, VIA seeks to serve and support Philly’s creative community.

UArts Celebration of Life. Image by Shoshanna Isaacs courtesy of Scout.

VIA’s soft launch this fall welcomes on board the following organizations: AIA Philadelphia, BlackStar Projects, Community Design Collaborative, DesignPhiladelphia, Monument Lab, and The Stained Glass Project. The inclusion of AIA (American Institute of Architects) is significant. Founded in 1869 on the third floor of the Athenaeum, it moved in 1966 to the Architects Building (now the Hotel Palomar) at 17th & Sansom, where it had a popular bookstore and charmingly quirky gift shop. Its subsequent move in 2008 to 1218 Arch St. took AIA off the path of many City residents and pedestrians, which ultimately led to the closing of its bookstore in 2018. By returning to the heart of Center City on the Avenue of the Arts, AIA reconnects with Philadelphia’s architectural and cultural community. AIA also kicked off their move to VIA on October 3, 2025, with its DesignPhiladelphia Festival, which honored 11 outstanding designers and firms who are making a lasting impact. 

South Kensington-based Interface Studio Architects (ISA) designed VIA’s first public space, converting the 6,500 sqft courtyard between the Hamilton and Furness buildings into “Frankie’s Summer Club”, a secret garden serving wine and ice cream. Opening in June 2025, this welcoming garden was the setting for events introducing VIA to new tenants, the public, and UArts alumni.

Last March, Scannapieco launched a link where people could share information about how they want to be involved, whether they want to collaborate, lease space, or if they wished to offer their expertise to the project. To date, almost 600 people have responded, including former UArts alumni and faculty! 

Want to see what it’s all about? The Village of Industry & Art invites the public to visit their Visioning Workshop room Wednesdays & Thursdays 4:00-6:00 pm; Sundays 2:00-6:00 pm until Nov. 3rd.

Philly’s Bookish Side: Independent Bookstores for the Fall Reading Season

Posted on by Stephanie Aviles

It may have been a while since you had a real “back to school” fall experience, but that feeling of Fall and books in tandem is a forever one. As the weather cools and the days darken, curling up with a good book is all the more appealing, so it’s no coincidence that come autumn, our thoughts turn to Philadelphia’s many amazing Independent book stores as a way to celebrate the season, celebrate books, and celebrate our city through the lens of its literary spaces.

As the city that was home to the country’s very first subscription library service, courtesy of, who else, Benjamin Franklin, in 1731, Philadelphia has had a long history of being a book-lover’s town, and that history lives on today in our many wonderful historic and recently opened book stores. 

At Solo, we are big fans of bookstores, not only because many of our employees and agents are avid readers, but also because we know how vital Philadelphia’s literary scene is in the lives of Philadelphia residents. While we are huge library fans and supporters, we also know that some books need to come home with us to stay. That’s why we have decided to share this extensive list of the historic book stores we’re proud to patronize, along with newer additions to Philadelphia’s book-selling community.

The Old Guard 

Giovanni’s Room

A Philadelphia institution since 1973 and a vital part of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ Civil Rights history, this bookstore bridges the gap between historic space and contemporary community center by providing thousands of works of Queer and Feminist literature to book lovers, history seekers, and any who walks in as part of their exploration of self, gender, sexual identity, and literature. While the original bookstore closed in 2014, in 2018, Philly Aids Thrift officially revived the organization, and today PhillyAidsThrift@Giovanni’s room continues to supply Philadelphians and visitors with literature, both used and new, as well as other pre-loved objects as part of Philly Aids Thrift’s mission to serve and support local institutions fighting HIV/AIDS. 

Hakim’s Bookstore

Founded by scholar, publisher, author, and lecturer Dawud Hakim in 1958, Hakim’s is one of the oldest Black bookstores in America. At a time when books by Black authors and Scholars were difficult, if not impossible, to find, Mr. Hakim created a space for Black literature and writing to thrive and for Philadelphians to pursue and access these vital texts. His work lives on today in his store, now owned and operated by Mr. Hakim’s daughters and granddaughter. In addition to serving as a bookstore and community space, Hakim’s Bookstore also offers a program that allows customers to send books to incarcerated individuals.

The Book Trader

Established in 1975 and in its current location in Old City since 2004, The Book Trader is a critical element of the Philadelphia bookstore community. A used bookstore with a trade-based policy, customers can bring in books which, if accepted, earn them discounts on their trades. This bookstore is the classic “get lost in a world of paper” experience with hidden gems and wonderful discoveries around every corner. 

Baldwin’s Book Barn

Founded by the current owner’s parents in 1946 and housed in a building from 1822, this cozy West Chester bookstore is a step into the past filled with all the literature you could want for your future reading sessions. With five floors of books and endless nooks and crannies to explore, it would be surprising if this bookstore wasn’t haunted, but the ghosts are friendly fellow readers, and it’s well worth a trip out into West Chester for the spirits and the stories. 

Julia de Burgos Bookstore

Named after the famed Puerto Rican Poet and housed within Taller Puertoriqueno, this gem is the only Spanish/English bookstore in Philadelphia. Specializing in Puerto Rican cultural representation, but also stocks books and materials from across Latin American cultures. With books on Latin American indigenous languages, a plethora of children’s books, and hard-to-find print runs on history and culture, it’s a treasure trove of literature and culture. 

Wooden Shoe Books

No bookstore embodies the historic spirit of South Street more than Wooden Shoe, a volunteer-run anarchist and social justice-oriented bookstore founded in 1976. Originally located on Sansom and 20th, following a devastating fire in the 1990s, the shop relocated to 7th and South, fitting right in Philadelphia’s most punk rock-friendly neighborhood, where it has been ever since. For customers, volunteers, and individuals who identify as both, this bookstore is more than a shop; it’s a movement. It’s a place to learn how to unionize, pick up some radical writings, and remember that reading is always an act of resistance. 

New Kids on the Block (relatively)

Is anything truly new in our historic city? Blink and something has been here a decade. But here are some of the more recently opened favorites we love: 

Binding Agents

A truly new offering and Philadelphia’s first and only cookbook bookstore, this new shop in the Italian market holds events with local and international chefs, potlucks, and classes, as well as providing a cookbook lover’s dream of classic and contemporary cookbooks to browse and buy. Feed your stomach, and your cookbook addition, then pick up ingredients at the market on your way home! 

Uncle Bobby’s Coffee and Books

A bookstore, market, community space, and coffee shop in the heart of Germantown, Uncle Bobby’s Coffee and Books works to serve the community around it by providing a literary-themed gathering place. With author talks, story sessions, and community benefit drives, this is a bookstore with a mission that no book lover and Philadelphia lover can fail to support. 

A Novel Idea

Bringing books to East Passyunk, this cosy community-oriented bookstore focuses on local authors and small press options amidst their larger spectrum of offerings. This small, couple-owned business is the perfect place for writing workshops, craft collectives, and your next novel selection. 

Harriet’s Bookstore

Named in honor of Harriet Tubman and Black female-owned, this Fishtown-based bookstore features Black authors, both local and national, and women’s stories among their larger fiction and non-fiction catalogue. Brimming with Black joy and diverse offerings, it’s the place to pick up bestsellers, obscure scholars, and all the female-authored narratives your arms can hold. 

Bindlestaff Books

Volunteer-run and housed in an adorable Victorian-era building, this West Philadelphia shop overflows with books, giving it that wonderful “I could encounter something amazing in here” feeling with every visit. A community staple since 2005, and always worth a visit. 

Brickbat Books

A new and used bookstore with a spectacular selection of children’s fiction, rare books and art books, this is a shop built for browsing. With events and book-buying opportunities, it’s the perfect place to while away time in between browsing boutiques and fabric shopping on Fabric Row. 

Big Blue Marble Bookstore

Founded in Mount Airy in 2005 with the direct aim to support the diverse artistic community of the neighborhood, this bright and airy (pun intended) bookstore includes a beautifully comfortable tearoom for reading and quiet conversation. Eager to point out lesser-known writers, inclusive and community-oriented, the bookstore hosts readings and fairs, signings and writers-in-conversation to highlight the notion of collective literary culture. 

The Head and The Hand Bookstore in Fishtown, Philadelphia. Image: Leah Franqui.

The Head and the Hand

A bookstore you can rent out for a date night? Is there anything more romantic than that? This Fishtown-based shop is full of local authors, tempting zines, and wonderful events, but more than that, as a non-profit, this organization is itself a publisher as well as a shop, so no one knows Philadelphia authors better than editorial director Linda Gallant and creative director Claire Moncla, and their staff. For book people, by book people. 

We’re also proud to note that Solo Real Estate agent Jeff Carpineta helped The Head and the Hand find and lease their current Fishtown space, a perfect fit for a community-minded bookstore that continues to inspire Philadelphia readers and writers alike.

Headhouse Books

A reader’s paradise, Headhouse Books, established in 2005, sits right on Headhouse Square, and is filled with a fiercely curated stock and staff who stand by every one of their literary choices. Beyond hosting readings and events, Headhouse works with local book clubs to stock monthly picks as well, so if you are interested in working with them, they are open to inquiries.

In every corner of Philadelphia, a bookstore waits to welcome you in from the chill—a reminder that the stories we read, and the ones we live, are what make this city endlessly inspiring. At Solo Real Estate, we’re proud to be part of that story, helping Philadelphians find the spaces where their next chapters begin.