Love In Action
From Corner Grocery to Prospective Community Hub
Last week I met with Joe Lex, taphophile and creator of the All Bones Considered podcast at Laurel Hill Cemetery. While making my way to the cemetery entrance I stumbled upon an old row home and corner store sign that really caught my eye. As always, I pulled out my camera to take a few photos for documentation and research purposes before continuing on my way. The following post is a brief history of this building, located at 35th and Clearfield streets:
The three-story 3501 W. Clearfield Street structure was home to a corner butcher shop in its early days and contained single family dwellings on its upper floors. In October 1951, William MacCain purchased the property and opened a corner grocery and check cashing business known as Sis and Bill’s. The existing gray Perma-Stone exterior was installed in 1954.
In April 1961, MacCain then purchased the neighboring three-story residence of 3503 W. Clearfield. The next year, a bid to convert its first story into a pool hall and pinball room was thwarted by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I). Zoning and usage codes were strictly enforced and the city would not grant the variance required to build it. At the time, the buildings were in a “D-1” residential district and an “A” commercial district, neither of which, according to city records, allowed for the accommodation of pool halls and pinball machines. Nonetheless, Sis and Bill’s carried on. In 1966, a projecting sign advertising Potts Ice Cream (now absorbed into the Bassetts brand) was added to the outside — the frame from which it was suspended is still mounted outside.
After retiring in 1973 MacCain sold the 3503 residence and leased his 3501 storefront to another tenant. The city gave MacCain somewhat of a hard time in his transition process, formally issuing him a violation for ceasing to maintain a dwelling and check cashing office without first obtaining a Use Registration Permit. Staying true to themselves, L&I gave the new store owner a hard time as well, denying his request to have the property re-zoned for commercial usage, despite it having been zoned as such for decades. Fortunately, the new owner won his appeal and a variance was granted that allowed him to continue using the space for his own check cashing business.
The exact origins of the surviving metal store sign are unclear, but close observation reveals that it was painted over at some point during its lifetime— possibly after Sis and Bill’s closed shop and the storefront changed hands. Decades of exposure to the elements have faded away the second layer of paint, revealing much of the original sign. The most noticeable instance of paint overlap exists on its right side — the words “coffee” and “sodas” are layered with “checks cashed,” blending both iterations of the display. “7Up: The Uncola” advertisements are painted on both ends, harkening back to the 1960s advertising campaign tasked with separating 7Up from its ubiquitous competitor, Coca-Cola.
In late 1980, MacCain, now several years into his retirement, finally sold off the 3501 W. Clearfield storefront to Mae and Nathaniel Mitchell, who would also fight their own series of battles with L&I. In April of 1981, L&I denied the Mitchells’ application for a dine-in/takeout restaurant.
The next year, Mae returned with a new proposition: a local pastor was to use the space for a church and Sunday school to be called Love in Action Temple of Prayer. Reverend Paul E. Williams Jr., an ex-convict-turned associate pastor of the esteemed Greater Exodus Baptist Church, also served as the evangelical director of Love in Action — a program aimed at empowering ex-convicts through economic self-sufficiency. Like many convicted felons, Rev. Williams found it all but impossible to find an employer willing to hire him upon returning home. A lack of real opportunities for convicted felons often leads to high recidivism rates, and it was his goal to save as many people as possible from falling into that trap.
Love in Action sought to achieve their goals through a vocational training program aimed at teaching the men how to launch and run their own small businesses. The cohort of handpicked soon-to-be-released prisoners all hailed from a 100-block area of North Philadelphia slated for renovation via urban renewal. Each of them were required to complete 150 hours of coursework in accounting, management, purchasing, public relations, and other business-related subjects. Afterwards, Love in Action assisted the men in raising $10,000 in startup funding and provided them one year of centralized bookkeeping, accounting, personnel, security, and advertising services, in addition to five years of monitoring and social services aimed at solving potential problems and ensuring the success of the businesses.
Rev. Williams now wanted to expand his Love in Action vision to the community. Almost predictably so, L&I rejected the initial request to modify the interior of the building. Fortunately for Mae and Rev. Williams, L&I eventually granted the needed zoning and usage variance after they appealed the rejection. On the appeal form, Rev. Williams very simply stated that he believed the church and Sunday school would be “an asset to the area.” A second permit was filed shortly after.
The written record of Love in Action Temple of Prayer church and Sunday school is unclear from that point on. 3501 W. Clearfield Street is currently zoned as an exclusively residential property.
I may need the assistance of the community in tracing the full history of the church!