Mildred Court | Image: JKR Partners
As demolition continues on Ortlieb’s original brewery in Northern Liberties, another piece of the city’s beverage-making history is going to rubble in South Philadelphia.
The former 7-Up bottling plant between the 800 blocks of Carpenter and Montrose Streets is being cleared to make way for a residential project. Developer US Construction will build 25 townhouses between Eighth, Carpenter, and Montrose Streets on the land occupied by several vacant industrial buildings including the plant, and the canopied loading dock on Eighth Street.
The project, known as Mildred Court, was designed by JKR Partners and approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment in August. It replaces a humble example of South Philly’s 20th-century vernacular architecture, and a symbol of its Italian entrepreneurial heritage.
Photo: Peter Woodall
Anthony Imbesi founded the 7-Up Bottling Company of Philadelphia in the 1930s to market and distribute the emerging soda product. The extended Imbesi family would become nearly synonymous with the soft beverage industry in the mid-Atlantic region, owning plants in Camden, Wilmington, Baltimore and Salisbury, MD. (While local lore claims that Anthony Imbesi invented the modern-day lemon-lime formula, the 7-Up Company’s official website only notes the formula’s origin in St. Louis in 1929.)
Imbesi later dedicated his fortunes to breeding dogs–his favorite was the English Setter–and thoroughbred horses, for which he purchased training grounds in New Jersey.
When Anthony’s son John took over 7-Up Philadelphia, the company had moved its operations to Conshohocken and in 1995, it was acquired by locally based Beverage Enterprises. John Imbesi then founded the North American Beverage Company, headquartered in Ocean City, NJ, whose product line includes Chocolate Moose and Havana Cappuccino.
However, he also fell into trouble with the law: several former employees filed sexual harassment suits against him after he had left 7-Up. One was awarded $725,000 in damages; another who had accused Imbesi of turning her into his “sex slave” received a settlement out of court.
Former 7-Up Bottling Plant, now under demolition | Image: Googlemaps
The closest the South Philly 7-Up facility came to historic recognition was a 1995 nomination to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to erect a marker outside the plant. The nomination, submitted by historian Celeste Morello, was rejected because PHMC “doesn’t endorse products,” as Morello (best known for her written account of the Philadelphia mafia) told the Daily News at the time.
The loss of the bottling plant this week is part of an ongoing transformation of the 800 block of Montrose Street. In 2011, US Construction began erecting houses on the long-empty lot across from the plant. The lot was once occupied by Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church, erected to accommodate a growing Italian immigrant population. The church was closed in 1937, partly due to declining parish enrollment, despite a long dispute with the Archdiocese’s largely Irish-American leadership, and was demolished soon after.
In 2012, US Construction also tore down the former Fante-Leone Swimming Pool, notable for its classical façade at the corner of Darien and Montrose, to make way for more homes.
I recall tracking down a brewery address, looking for standing buildings and remember the “street view” of Google maps showed me this 7-Up building. A number of small brewers in South Phila. went into bottling and I wondered whether there was a connection with this property.
I also remember a soda called “Grubers.” They made the best Golden Ginger Ale I ever tasted. You had to close your eyes (drinking it from a glass) because of the bubbles. So good. I guess that building is long gone by now.
Here’s the brewer from this block.
James Connor, Weiss Beer Brewery (819 Carpenter St) 1881 1888
And here’s a link to a story I did for Mid-Atlantic Brewing News on Philadelphia’s Weiss Beer brewers.
I wonder what happened to”Mr. 7UP” in the northeast, Anthony Imbesi and his oldest son, John, who ran this large business in the late 1960s and much of the 1970s. My name is Arthur Kriemelman and I served as US Media Director, and later Advertisng Director for The Seven-Up company (world Hq) in St. Louis, MO. where the product was founded by Mr. H. Grigg. The founder’s son, Ham Grigg was President while I was there and he, of course, knew Mr. Anthony Imbesi quite well. I left the soft drink industry and The 7UP Companyin 1973 when I heard the parent company would be sold, partially due to lack of participation by the children of the principal owners, i.e. Ham Grigg, Howard Ridgeway and Ben Wells.
I would appreciate a copy of Mr. Anthony Imbesi’s obituary from Philadelphia newspapers as well as where son John is today and how his beverage company is doing.
Art
My name is Bill O’Donnell andI worked for Joyce Beverages (NewYork 7-Up)from1967 to1984and I remember you well from your time with 7-Up. While reading the WSJ this am there was an article in the Mansion Section on Joe Imbesi selling land in Bal Harbour Florida for 63 million dollars. It prompted me to Google search John Imbesi. It is worth the effort. Quite a story. That is how I saw your comment
Thnx for the reply Bill. I remember those days and meetings in the NY market and in Philly with Mr. Imbesi, (son John always had to address me as “Mister”. From the limited informartion I have, it appears that the Miller Brewing crew, brought in from Milwaukee, just missed the huge importance of the Developers (or bottlers) in the mix. How could they have missed that? Soft drink bottlers enjoy a big part of the manufacturing profit…they add all the water and physically product the product with only the extract being purchased from the parent company. In the beer business, all of the mfg profit is made by the brewery..period. I have lived in the Soho part of Manhattan for the past 30 plus years and always appreciate seeing the old time 7UP logos on delis around town. Curious how long Ed O’Reilly stayed at Royal Crown Cola. I recall dropping in his home with him on one of my trips….believe it was in New Rochelle. It all came back to me several years later when I was looking for a home in the adjacent town, Larchmont Manor with Betty Garvey of Severin Realty. We lived there for 8 years before coming to Manhattan. My daughter still fondly remembers a few dates with fellow Mamorneck High student, Matt Dillon. Also served as President of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Larchmont and helped put the former school buildings to use by organizing a French speaking school there for the Frency transplants living there and working in the U.N. All the best…ak