Browse Items · Learning From Cooper Street

A Lost Block of Cooper Street

Expansion of the Victor Talking Machine Company spelled the end for a block of houses on Cooper Street between Front Street and Delaware Avenue.

Tags: 00 Block, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, Boarding House, Clergy, Demolition, Grocers, Printing, Victor Talking Machine Company, Weddings, Widows

John Hanmore, a Philadelphia manufacturer, moved his family to a new home on Cooper Street during the 1880s. His death changed the family's fortunes.

Tags: 00 Block, 1880s, 65 Cooper Street, Adult, Death, Interiors, Male, Manufacturers, Philadelphia, Renovations

Margaret Chambers, a boarding house operator and entrepreneur, was a fixture at 59 Cooper Street for two decades beginning in 1893.

Tags: 00 Block, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 57 Cooper Street, 59 Cooper Street, 61 Cooper Street, Adult, Boarding House Operator, Female, Philadelphia, Saloons, Widows

Once a janitor, James Battle may be the only African American to advance from a position of service on Cooper Street to heading his own household.

Tags: 00 Block, 1890s, 1900s, 300 Block, 312 Cooper Street, 63 Cooper Street, Adult, African Americans, Alumni House, Janitor, Male, Southern Migration, Steward, Victor Talking Machine Company, Waiter

William Burrell, a clergyman, performed weddings for couples seeking to evade license requirements in Philadelphia.

Tags: 00 Block, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 43 Cooper Street, Adult, Clergy, Male, Methodist Episcopal, Philadelphia, Religion, Weddings

Matilda Toy is an example of an itinerant boarding house operator, moving to different rented houses from year to year.

Tags: 00 Block, 37 Cooper Street, Adult, Boarding House Operator, Female, Widows

A Civil War veteran, Amos Homan operated a cigar stand at 37 Cooper Street and eventually bought the building.

Tags: 00 Block, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 37 Cooper Street, Adult, Boarder/Lodger, Cigars, Civil War, Coal, Male, Retail, United Methodist Church, Widowers