Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Winter 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

Zakian Carpets

Location: 4930 Parkside Avenue

Architects: Unknown

Built: 1956

A few blocks west of the Centennial District’s magnificent, restored rowhouses and apartment buildings on Parkside Avenue is a remnant of the neighboring business area. Proclaiming its singular identity on Parkside row is Zakian Carpets, a century-old family enterprise and commercial landmark.

The Zakian business began in the 1920s as a door-to-door Oriental rug cleaning service. In 1956, the business moved to Parkside and built a midcentury modern showroom of block glass and steel, crowned by an electric sign that spells out the family name in red capital block letters and “Carpets” in green, 1950s-cool cursive script. The 30,000-square-foot rug-cleaning plant also occupies several 19th-century brick buildings that were resurfaced while preserving two stone gargoyles.

One other eclectic element of the building was added to the showroom facade in 2015–a mural representing the “Armenian Orphan Rug” and commemorating the Armenian genocide.

This fourth-generation Philadelphia family business, with its distinctive mid-century building and sign, deserve recognition and protection by listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.