The old Fox Factory in Philadelphia

[Soldat222]

Hello, I am a firearms enthusiast and a photographer from Philadelphia. Years ago I took some photos of the old Fox Factory. I figured you may be interested in them.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskohRqMY

[abner]

Thank you for the photos--very interesting. Sad to see a nice building go to ruin. Sad to see what Corporate America has done to all the factories and jobs in this country.

[Researcher]

The original factory that was built for Philadelphia Arms Co. in 1903, acquired by the A.H. Fox Gun Co. in late 1906, shown here in the 1907 "Campfire" catalogue --



Here is what the factory looked like in 1913 when the grade of North 18th Street was being lowered --



Here is the building in when I drove up there in 1986 --



It was occupied by Keystone Cable at that time.

[ROMAC]

I have gone over the train trestle in the last picture 2 times a day, every workday for the last 30 years. Wayne Junction station is a couple of hundred yards to the south (to the left).

[MARSHFELLOW]

Soldat222, thanks for the great pics. So very very similar to the Savage Arms grounds here in Utica.... or what are left of them I should say.
tjw

[Soldat222]

ROMAC, do you know what year they tore the larger part down? These were from June of 2009 and when I went back in few years ago, probably around 2012 it had been all demolished but the original two story section.

And I do hope the pictures are interesting to you guys. I was not great at photography back then.

[jolly bill]

Soldat222 and Reseacher;

Thanks for the photo's of where it all happened. Was probably a very bustling place 100 years ago.

Jolly

[ROMAC]

See the attached thread from March of 2011.

Surprisingly, the link still works.

http://foxcollectors.com/My%20Forum/php ... f=2&t=3109

[Soldat222]

Here is some interesting information about the factory.

I found this in "Fibre & Fabric: A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton and Woolen Trade, Volume 50" from 1909.



So it would seem the larger reinforced concrete building was built in 1909 or so for Freidberger Aaron Mfg Co, which was a textile mill.

And then on the 1942 land use map they are still listed as the owner of the building, and you will notice the smaller original Fox building is shaded to indicate it is a separare parcel. Perhaps the A.H. Fox company leased the space in the larger building from the textile company?

[spyder]

So the city lowered the street after the plant was built, and AHF was able to "add" a floor underneath?

[Soldat222]

So the city lowered the street after the plant was built, and AHF was able to "add" a floor underneath?

Sort of. The street was lowered in 1913 by the City and the Reading Railroad in order to eliminate road crossings on the railroad line. So they dug out the street and regraded it, so the floors that were once the basement were exposed. If you look you can see the first floor in those photos have no windows, it is because they were underground originally.

[TOOL MAN]

What history.....thanks for sharing. I often wonder who snagged that factory sign and the over-sized shotgun replica affixed on top? Rumor has it that "Eightbore" has incorporated them into a stunning, Xmas Light Fantasia salute to ol' Ansley Herman. True or False?

[Soldat222]

The original factory that was built for Philadelphia Arms Co. in 1903, acquired by the A.H. Fox Gun Co. in late 1906, shown here in the 1907 "Campfire" catalogue --

I believe this is a stylized photo. It gets the gist of the building but it is drawn to look larger than it really was. Compare how many windows each floor has in the drawing vs the 1913 photo.

The train line is also not running the correct direction, it should be running perpendicular to the buildings smaller front office section, not parallel to the building. Another reason I think it is stylized.

[ROMAC]

Definately styleized. The tracks do not run in the direction shown.

They run perpidicular as stated above and as evidenced in the actual photos above as well.

[Researcher]

Apparently, at least some of those buildings that were originally built in 1909 all around the A.H. Fox Gun Co. plant for Friedberger - Aaron & Co. were taken over by A.H. Fox Gun Co. for war production for The Great War, and were later used for auto accessories, fishing reels, etc. that the company made in the 1920s and for decades later after they unloaded the gun business on Savage Arms Corp.