Editing Lit Brothers (section)

== Department Store Era ==

Lit Brothers department store served Philadelphia shoppers from 1893 until 1977, competing with Wanamaker's, Strawbridge & Clothier, and Gimbels for the city's retail trade. The store occupied multiple floors of the complex, with departments organized by merchandise category in the pattern that department stores nationwide adopted. Lit Brothers positioned itself as a value-oriented alternative to more prestigious competitors, attracting price-conscious shoppers who appreciated its Market Street East location. The store's longevity through depression, war, and suburban competition demonstrated the viability of urban retail during decades when many predicted its demise.<ref name="webster"/>

The department store era's decline eventually reached Lit Brothers, which closed in 1977 amid the broader crisis affecting urban retail. Suburban malls drew customers away from downtown; demographic changes reduced the Market Street corridor's traditional customer base; and deferred maintenance accumulated as revenues declined. The closure left the building vacant and endangered, its cast-iron facades deteriorating while preservationists and developers debated its future. The building's survival was uncertain during the difficult years that followed closure.<ref name="gallery"/>