Philly Mag Offers Their Goodbyes to The “King Of Jeans” Sign
We’re guessing you’ve already heard the news, but if not, the above photo should say it all: the “King of Jeans” sign in East Passyunk will soon be taken off its original spot. So what’s going to happen to it? More importantly, does anyone care?
You can see how some Philadelphia magazine staffers felt in the words they offered below, but there’s at least two groups in Philadelphia who we know may have taken the sign’s removal to heart: the East Passyunk Civic Association, whose zoning chairman David Goldfarb recently revealed the sign would be displayed at the Provenance Salvage in Northern Liberties (“under the condition that it not be re-sold,” per Philly.com), and the Philadelphia History Museum.
I spoke to Charles Croce, the museum’s executive director, who lamented not being able to acquire it for the museum’s collection. “Documenting the city’s history is what we do, […] we wanted it very much,” he said, explaining that the “iconic” sign represents a specific period in the contemporary history of Philadelphia retail. “Unfortunately,” he said, “it is quite huge” and there was “no place we could have stored it.”
Photo credit: @candiced2 via Twitter
The museum had expressed interest in the memorable South Philly sign as far back as early last year after hearing news of a five-story mixed-use apartment building proposed to replace the former King of Jeans store. That February, it was announced that developer Andy Kaplan had indeed gotten the okay from the zoning board to demolish the building for his new development.
And now, some final thoughts from Philly mag staffers on the sign coming down….
“Who gives a %#!@.” – Victor Fiorillo, Senior Reporter
“What is the King of Jeans sign?” – Adjua Fisher, Assistant Editor, Health & Fitness
“Children are starving.” – Sandy Hingston, Senior Editor
Photo credit: Kevin McNeal via Twitter
“Whatever will people Instagram when they are on East Passyunk[?]” – Emily Leaman, Editor, Health & Fitness
“It is a sad, sad end to a weird, weird South Philly landmark.” – Brian Howard, Deputy Editor (News)
“Maybe some trendy South Philly bar can melt it down and turn it into an IPA and sell it for $9 a pint.” – Victor Fiorillo (again), Senior Reporter
“Maybe it will join the Suit Corner in sign heaven.” – Jack Cotter, Social Media Manager
“I’ve started a petition so that it can be named a historic landmark and remain untouched.” – Ashley Primis, Deputy Editor
Photo credit: Gab Bonghi via Twitter
“Of all the tacky business signs in South Philadelphia — and there are many — the King of Jeans sign was the best. It was just so incredibly bizarre — the pose the two figures made, the weird tattoo on the guy’s arm, the fact that only one of the people was wearing jeans. It made Geno’s signage tasteful in comparison. I laughed at it every single time I passed.” – Dan McQuade, Writer at Large
Leave your last thoughts on Philly’s most oddly iconic sign in the comments below!
