223 East Girard Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19125
© Stuart Paul Dixon,
Workshop of the
World (Oliver Evans Press, 1990).
The building at 223 East
Girard Avenue survives as an example of the mixed use of
residential properties along Fishtown's major
transportation arteries. Constructed before 1850, the
three-story brick dwelling, two bays wide on the upper
stories, has a lobbied storefront with side entrance and
a rear frame ell. The topmost portion of the storefront
window proclaims "The Van Aken Printing Co." An
elaborate, decorative metal cornice caps the main
elevation. Another ornamented cornice crowns the
storefront and is supported by wooden pilasters capped
with metal brackets. A covered alley on the east side of
the building leads to a rear yard.
The first record of a printing shop at 223 East Girard
Avenue appears in the 1893 annual report of the William
Cramp & Sons Engine and Shipbuilding Company. The
report gives the name of the firm that printed it -
"Moyer & Lesher Steam-Power Printers" - and the
firm's address. In 1883, Moyer & Lesher was located
at 242 Richmond Street in Fishtown and employed three
men. In 1916, an industrial census listed Moyer &
Lesher as printers and publishers employing three men at
223 East Girard Avenue. A printing shop has operated at
this address for most of this century. In 1969, the
property was purchased by William Van Aken, who sold it
to the present owners in 1973. They continue to operate a
printing shop.
Update May
2007 (by
Torben Jenk):
Now
Bella Vista Printing.