What a night at Hohenadel House Saturday, October 18th! Thanks to some last-minute press by "Joe Sixpack" in last Thursday's Philadelphia Daily News, tickets started selling so quickly we were advised to turn off online sales to prevent a "Fire Marshal" situation. The packed house included almost 150 partiers -- most dressed to the nines-- some from as far as Allentown and Maryland, not including Felicite's dad from Oklahoma and Mike the...
Unbelievable progress in Hohenadel House's ballroom, thank goodness -- the party is this Saturday, yeep! Let's recap the incredible effort Mike and his crew have made, and give a huuuuge high five to Patrick the Plasterer -- pulled from retirement as a personal favor to Tom from Epicure. Last week. Can you imagine Patrick's face when he first saw this rush restoration job? Patrick got right down to business patching holes and building out the...
Our local ghost stories continue with this latest tale from the Evening Bulletin, April 8 1932, about the ghost of a sad, suicidal tenant who once boarded there with early Rittenhouses. Rittenhouse is of course a huuuuuge name in Philadelphia -- not just in Center City where David has his own square, but here in our Wissahickon, early Rittenhouses built America's first paper mill in what's now a National Historic Landmark off Lincoln...
Back in August, we discovered an article in an old Penn Charter Newsletter that interviewed John Jacob Hohenadel, Jr -- grandson of John W. Hohenadel who ran the brewery at the height of its success in the early 20th century. When speaking with the author, we learned John Jacob Jr was alive and well: a retired office equipment wholesaler in Greenwich, CT. Of course we chatted him up! We briefed him on his family's significance in East Falls,...
Joseph Steppacher, Jacob Hohenadel, and Philip Guckes Were Early Brewers Nearby Springs Supplied Water and Ice for Product Thirty-five years ago the section where winding Warden Drive makes its graceful curves on the way from Midvale ave to School House lane was entirely different. The roadbed of the present thoroughfare follows what was once a natural valley through a thick stand of trees, mostly chestnut and beech. The little vale skirted the...
Until recently the ground bounded by the Norristown Branch of the Reading, the rear property line of the north side of Queen lane and the south side of Midvale avenue, down to Cresswell street, was a part of the Whiehle estate. A part of the ground, which was sold some years ago to the Wardens, was occupied by a huge brewery which has become a thing of the past. It was erected in 1856, by the late Henry J. Becker, a German stone-mason, who had...
For fans of craft brewing, the guest list at the East Falls House Party just keeps getting better. We’re psyched to welcome two celebs of Philly's craft beer scene: Lou Farrell, veteran brewer and Great American Beer Festival medalist, and Rich Wagner, brewery historian and expert on antique brewing methods. Lou Farrell Long before craft beer went mainstream, there were highly talented brewers like Farrell who were dedicated to local...
Grant Hohenadel's lovely crepe myrtle a stay of execution, if you can. Pro-flora contractor Mike Labetti has tried to figure out a way to save 'er, but she's just too big to work around. Monday, she's gotta go. Sorry, pretty pink flowers, cheering up the entrance. Now that the god-awful overhang is gone, Mike can start working on seating for five while he designs a new, period-appropriate pediment for the home's facade. He was hoping to get a...
This just in -- Hohenadel’s lager and Harry Prime won’t be the only historical effervescence at the East Falls House Party on October 18th. There will be a few special gallons of America’s oldest beverage on tap — hard cider. Joe Getz, co-founder of Pennsylvania’s own Kurant Cider, has kindly donated a batch of his company’s unique brand of handmade, local cider to the cause. Made from Pennsylvania apples, the cider has a...
Last week, Harry Prime came out to Epicure Cafe to meet Hohenadel House's Felicite Moorman, and have a look around the grand ballroom he'll be performing this October 18th. He brought his friend, fellow performer Bill Parsons, for a nice lunch and then a tour of the mansion. Harry was full of stories about almost every inch of East Falls -- except 3617 Indian Queen Lane! Though he traveled the road frequently as a kid on his way to baseball...
