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Now a CVS on the bottom. This article below is from 2003:

The famed Jacob Reed building, an architectural treasure and one of Center City's most notable buildings, has been sold for $5.8 million to a local partnership.

Sunny Spring LLC, the name that the buying partnership goes under, acquired the five-story, 50,000-square-foot property at 1424 Chestnut St. from Chicago-based Transwestern Investment Co.

The building has had a storied history.

It was designed by William Price, a Philadelphia architect, and constructed in 1903 for Jacob Reed's Sons, a well-known men's clothing store.

The facade of the structure has a loggia on the top floor, a high arched entranceway and it is constructed with a red tile roof, according to a description in Philadelphia Architecture, which was published by the Foundation for Architecture. The building was made with dark brown brick set in thick mortar and Mercer tiles under the eaves and soffit, according to the book's description.

Mercer tiles were created by Henry Mercer, who ran the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown. His handcrafted decorative tiles were laid in different interlocking designs to complement individual buildings. In the Jacob Reed building, the tiles depicted crafts associated with the garment industry.

Aside from that detail, the building was one of the first in the city to use reinforced concrete. In addition, clerestory windows, which are placed in an upper outside wall and set in from a main wall, were used. These windows were illuminated from behind to make the building look like a freestanding structure.

In 1983, Jacob Reed's closed its doors after nearly 160 years in business and the building stood vacant. A controversy erupted over the property late that same year when Rite-Aid Corp. arranged a nine-year lease on the property. Philadelphia's architectural community as well as other civic groups were upset that a chain store was moving into the historical building. Rite-Aid ended up selling its interest in that lease.

In October of that year, Willard Rouse III, in a civic gesture to save an architecturally significant property, bought the building for $2.3 million with plans to put Boyd's Mens Store in the street level retail space. Rouse's plans also included renovating the upper floors for office space. As then-chairman of the Foundation for Architecture, Rouse also intended to donate the building to the organization.

Under Rouse's ownership, a Barnes & Noble bookstore moved in and office tenants began to occupy the upper floors. Rouse sold the property in 1986 to Pima Savings & Loan Association of Arizona for $7.85 million.

Now a CVS on the bottom.This article below is from 2003:

The famed Jacob Reed building, an architectural treasure and one of Center City's most notable buildings, has been sold for $5.8 million to a local partnership.

Sunny Spring LLC, the name that the buying partnership goes under, acquired the five-story, 50,000-square-foot property at 1424 Chestnut St. from Chicago-based Transwestern Investment Co.

The building has had a storied history.

It was designed by William Price, a Philadelphia architect, and constructed in 1903 for Jacob Reed's Sons, a well-known men's clothing store.

The facade of the structure has a loggia on the top floor, a high arched entranceway and it is constructed with a red tile roof, according to a description in Philadelphia Architecture, which was published by the Foundation for Architecture. The building was made with dark brown brick set in thick mortar and Mercer tiles under the eaves and soffit, according to the book's description.

Mercer tiles were created by Henry Mercer, who ran the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown. His handcrafted decorative tiles were laid in different interlocking designs to complement individual buildings. In the Jacob Reed building, the tiles depicted crafts associated with the garment industry.

Aside from that detail, the building was one of the first in the city to use reinforced concrete. In addition, clerestory windows, which are placed in an upper outside wall and set in from a main wall, were used. These windows were illuminated from behind to make the building look like a freestanding structure.

In 1983, Jacob Reed's closed its doors after nearly 160 years in business and the building stood vacant. A controversy erupted over the property late that same year when Rite-Aid Corp. arranged a nine-year lease on the property. Philadelphia's architectural community as well as other civic groups were upset that a chain store was moving into the historical building. Rite-Aid ended up selling its interest in that lease.

In October of that year, Willard Rouse III, in a civic gesture to save an architecturally significant property, bought the building for $2.3 million with plans to put Boyd's Mens Store in the street level retail space. Rouse's plans also included renovating the upper floors for office space. As then-chairman of the Foundation for Architecture, Rouse also intended to donate the building to the organization.

Under Rouse's ownership, a Barnes & Noble bookstore moved in and office tenants began to occupy the upper floors. Rouse sold the property in 1986 to Pima Savings & Loan Association of Arizona for $7.85 million.