Know Your Neighborhood: Penn's View Apartments  

You can still see the faded sign for Leas and McVitty Incorporated Oak Tanners on the side of the building on Vine St., just east of Orianna St.  Designed by the famed architectural team of Kean & Mead in the Colonial Revival style, its was erected in 1901.   Built as their offices, this Georgian Revival style building has since been restored into 51 apartments.  Leas and McVitty started in Philadelphia in the mid 1880's and had a tannery at 301 - 307 N 3rd St during that time (see B & W photo). The tanning moved to Salem, VA and other areas in the S.E. due to the local availablity of tree barks used as tanning agents. Leas and McVitty was in operation from the 1880's all the way to the early 1970's, when their Salem tannery burned down. Before being converted to apartments, at least some of the building was used as offices for businesses including Travel Network Inc., whose painted sign is quite visible below the faded sign of the original building tenants.

Like so many others in Old City, the 5-story building is faced with Flemish bond brick with glazed headers and articulated with a brick watertable with marble base and corner blocks; small-paned wood windows; limestone impost blocks and keystones; arched limestone panels above the second-story windows; brick and limestone string and belt courses; and a broad modillioned cornice.  

1964