Overview of 1725 Market Street from 1786-1890
1727, 1725, and 1723 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA (left to right).
Watercolor by Taylor (1861). Image courtesy of Winterthur Library.
1725 Market Street was granted to John Fromberger, a merchant, in 1786 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fromberger does not appear to have occupied the site, which was sold to vinegar merchant Christian Haars in 1806. At that time, the lot was described as being 148 feet from the east side of 18th (or Schuylkill Fifth) Street, running twenty-five feet along Market or High Street, and stretching180-feet deep. The lot remained in the Haars family until 1851, when it was purchased by James McGee. McGee then sold the land to William Galloway in 1873. In 1889 Galloway sold the lot to John Wilson, who then granted the land to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company later that year.
As early as 1810, the lot seems to have been the site of a pottery. The
business changed hands several times between 1810 and 1873, and until
William Galloway of Galloway and Graff potters purchased the lot in 1873,
the pottery’s operators were primarily tenants, rather than owners,
of the lot. By 1874, Galloway had expanded the business, having rented
the eastward lot (1723 Market Street) from Richard Wistar as a stable
and kiln yard. The pottery building was destroyed sometime between 1889,
when William Galloway sold the building, and 1890, when the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company opened a new freight depot on the site.
The 1861 Taylor watercolor depicts the pottery when the lot was owned
by James McGee and the business operated by Owens and Tilton, Earthenware
Manufacturers (a version of the firm seems to have occupied the site from
approximately 1850 to sometime between 1865 and 1868). According to the
1860 Hexamer Atlas, the pottery was a frame building with brick exterior.
A three-story section fronted Market Street, and the building dropped
back to two stories, followed by an open court. On the other side of the
court was a three-story back section bordering on Jones Street.
Timeline of 1725 Market Street
Maps of 1700 Block of Market Street
Images from Businesses along the 1700 Block of Market Street
Images of Pennsylvania Railroad Development along the 1700 Block of Market Street