PhilaPlace

Zimmerman Co. Building

423 Fairmount Avenue. Image provided by Historical Society of Pennsylvania

423 Fairmount Avenue

Recently converted to condos, the cow-head figures on the cornice of this 1911 building reflect its original use as a slaughterhouse and butcher shop. In the 1950s the building housed the Derby Ham Company and later was converted to a plumbing supply store. It was most recently U. S. Plumbing Supply, which relocated a few blocks away on Germantown Avenue in 2005. The building was converted to condominiums in 2007, retaining the architectural touches—such as the cow's heads—that refer to the building's commercial history. This building is another example of adaptive reuse of a structure that retains many of its original architectural features.