Existing comment:
Philip Frankel & Co.
From 1858-1860, Philip Frankel & Co. sold ready-made clothing and accessories for men and boys in this building. Researchers used contemporary newspaper advertisements and pictures of clothing stores in larger cities to furnish this room like a typical 1850s storeroom.
As the middle class grew during the 19th century, manufacturers produced more garments in a wider range of sizes, prices, and quality. Since more men could afford to buy stylist clothes, it became harder to distinguish social classes by outward appearance.
"We have provided not alone abundant clothing at a moderate cost for all classes of citizens, but we have given them at the same time that style and character in dress that is essential to the self-respect of a free, democratic people."
-- William C. Browning, One Hundred Years of American Commerce, 1895
Prior to the advent of ready-made clothing, "respectable" men bought their clothing custom-made from a tailor. Poorer classes made their own garments or bought used clothing.
This building, originally a two-story stone structure with a Greek Revival portico, hurried during the Civil War and remained a gutted skeleton for almost 20 years. During a business revival in the early 1880s, the building was remodeled to its present exterior appearance. Form 1881-1940s, the building housed clothing stores, general stores, and a meat market. |