Workshop of the World

stories of industry in & around Philadelphia

Bromley Mills, c.1910
1200-1300 Adams Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19124

© Barbara M. Auwarter and Joyce Halley, Workshop of the World (Oliver Evans Press, 1990).

James Bromley's sprawling mill complex bordering Frankford Creek and encompassing two city blocks on Adams Avenue first appears in the Philadelphia City Atlas of 1910. 1 In subsequent Atlases of 1920 and 1929, 2 the name of the mill is Alirene Mills and is still owned by James Bromley. During those two decades, the mill grew from one large building to the size it is today.
 
As is the case with many large mills and mill complexes in Frankford, the premises are shared today by a diverse group of manufacturers: the Anchor Dyeing & Finishing Company, the R.F. Loeb Company, Yankee Chemical, the Silva Company, Amicale Industries, the Woonsocket Spinning Company, J. S. Vila, and the I. Rice & Company (Manufacturers of Flavors, Syrups, Sundae Toppings, and Bakery Specialties Established in 1884).

1   Philadelphia City Atlas, 1910, 23rd Ward, Plate 3
2   Philadelphia City Atlas, 1920, 23rd Ward, Plate 3; also, Philadelphia City Atlas, 1929, 3rd Ward, Plate 3.


Update May 2007 (by Torben Jenk):
Advertised as the "1300 Adams Avenue Industrial Complex," this multi-tenant space seems mostly vacant. Many windows survive and the interior glows when the sun shines through the building.