Coroneos Brothers
A Bella Vista Buildings We Love Monthly Feature
by Ralph Marano, for the BVNA Preservation Committee
According to property deeds from 1834, this building is located on the previous site of four separate three-story brick houses. Those houses were purchased between 1912 and 1916 by George Coroneos, a Greek businessman. Along with two of his brothers, he planned to build a warehouse for their import and bakery equipment business. They hired architect Max Bernardt who designed the four-story building in the Industrial Beaux Arts style. The three-bay yellow brick building features triple light bays and a molded terra cotta cornice, which can be seen above the company name.
The new building, however, brought misfortune to the Coroneos brothers. In 1920, they were found to be in violation of the Food and Drug Act for mislabeling olive oil and were fined $100. Then on Thursday, February 17, 1921 disaster struck. During construction on the fourth floor, too many bricks were removed from an old wall, causing it to collapse, sending bricks and debris crashing down to the first floor. George Coroneos and an unidentified worker were killed. Harry Coroneos and four other men were injured. At 1:00 p.m. that day, James Coroneos stepped into the store to call his brothers to dinner. At that moment, George called “watch out” as James saw the walls fall and bury his two brothers and the five workmen. The injured were taken to Pennsylvania Hospital. After treatment Harry gave this account of the incident:
“My brother George and I were moving some olive oil from the old building into the new one. We had just set down a barrel and he went to the rear of the store. As it was one o’clock, I told him dinner was ready and walked out front ready to leave. I heard him call ‘watch out’ and then I heard a crash. I saw the wall fall in and bury him and some workmen. I was hit by a timber.”
In later years, the first floor of the building was used as a showroom and the upper floors as a factory to manufacture ceramic tile. Once home to the Gemini Equipment Company, Leonard Borton and Ned Stein owned the building into the 1980’s. By then, it had been vacant for many years. The Pennsylvania Historical Commission evaluated the property in August 1980, concluding that the historic building “would contribute to a district.”
In 1981 Sandy Ward, an interior designer, and Thomas Baldwin, an accountant, purchased the building and began a total rehab, which involved demolishing the entire interior. The renovated building served as the home of Sandy Ward’s design and real estate companies, Thomas Baldwin’s accounting firm, as well as the Tony Ward photography studio.
Since 2001, the building has been repurposed into four condominiums.
Sources
- Hidden City, 24 March 2020 Stacia Friedman
- The Builder’s Guide, Volume 36, 1921
- Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 February 1921
- Pennsylvania Office of Historic Preservation, 26 August 1980
Interested in learning more about Bella Vista’s historical buildings? The BVNA Preservation Committee currently holds their virtual meetings on the third Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. For more information contact info@bellavistaneighbors.org
All are welcome.