Memories of Mayfair By Diane Villano Times Staff Writer Northeast Times

For those who remember going to Saturday matinees at the Mayfair and Merben movie theaters, roller-skating at the Concord Roller Rink, smelling 8 o’clock Coffee being ground at the A&P on Cottman Avenue or having Sunday breakfast at the Mayfair Diner, Rudy DeFinis’ book, Mayfair, Philadelphia: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, will be a stroll down memory lane.
DeFinis, who grew up in Holmesburg, created this pictorial history by amassing Mayfair photographs that date to the 1930s and reprints of local advertisements as far back as the 1920s. He undertook the project as a fund-raiser for the Mayfair Community Development Corporation.
People flocked to get their copy at a June 17 book-signing in conjunction with the grand opening of Republic First Bank at Frankford and Cottman avenues, at one time the site of the revered Mayfair theater. The bank, which covered the printing costs, sold its supply of books the first day, according to DeFinis.
"I couldn’t believe the lines. I knew it would get a good response," said DeFinis, a local merchant who owns DeFinis & Sons Window and Door Co. "I’d let my customers look at it and we’d forget they’re here for windows."
Getting lost in time is understandable as you leaf through the 237-page book, which captures a number of neighborhood moments — Mayfair residents standing in a 1944 ration line for butter, trolleys moving along Frankford Avenue, throngs of swimmers wading at Boulevard Pools in the ’60s, an ad offering banana splits for one penny to 39 cents, depending on the balloon you chose, at the Woolworth 5 &10 Store that once stood at 7310 Frankford Ave.
"Where Holmesburg is old history, Mayfair has modern history," DeFinis said.
Incorporated in the 1930s, Mayfair’s boundaries, according to the book, are "from Frankford Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard, Robbins Avenue to Sheffield Avenue, and Frankford Avenue to the river between Cottman and Sheffield avenues."
It took DeFinis years to amass his collection of photographs — more than enough to plan three books, two of which, Frankford-Philadelphia Scrapbook and The Holmesburg Book of Then and Now, have not yet been published. A book on Torresdale also is planned.
The local businessman became interested in collecting photos of area buildings as a child. DeFinis grew up in Holmesburg, one of 13 children. His mother would send him up the street to the Mayfair Times building when the paper came out each week.
"I went to a yard sale (at the Holmesburg Baptist Church) as a kid and saw a postcard of the Mayfair Times office," he recalled. "The building in the postcard had a sign saying that it was the Free Library of Philadelphia."
Ever since that day, when DeFinis was 11, he’s been interested in local history and collecting photographs. He started taking pictures of old buildings when he was 13. The amateur photographer would just "tuck them away."
"The more I dug, the more history I’d find, and I started to put a little text with (the collection)," he explained. "Where I couldn’t find old photos, I’d find advertisements. I have photos from Bridge Street to Knights Road. I don’t think there are any photos that I don’t have."
The Mayfair Community Development Corporation contacted DeFinis 18 months ago about putting together the book. At the time, he was working on his Holmesburg pictorial.
"I liked what they were doing," DeFinis said of the agency’s programs to improve the neighborhood, so he decided to donate his time and the book to the organization.
"I’d work on it in my office at home, on vacation, get home at 8 p.m., eat, do a couple of things and get to work on the computer scanning and checking e-mail," he said. "It took two hours to six hours a day. My wife Barbara was a real trouper."
The Mayfair Community Development Corporation is pleased with the historical volume.
"We think the book came out great," said MCDC chairman Reese Hartey. "It was no surprise, because we worked hand in hand with Rudy. It was well received."
So well received, in fact, that the agency has commissioned another printing run.
The volume is an intriguing tribute to life in Mayfair, past to present — street scenes, familiar buildings, landmarks that still exist, and many that disappeared years ago.
Hartey thinks the book has mass appeal, regardless of the age of the person who purchases a copy. But it’s bound to spur memories of simpler times.
"Especially since the neighborhood has such a strong senior population," Hartey said. "The ‘before’ pictures are what they grew up with. It’s very nostalgic. For the younger folks, it’s a neat little history book of the neighborhood."
Rudy DeFinis is happy to hear that, for he is a man who doesn’t mind living in the past.
"This preserves a memory, most of them fond ones. Forget about today. These were happier and simpler times," he said. "As they turn each page, there is a happy smile or memory."
The bonus of the book, according to Hartey, is that it has brought segments of the community together.
"It’s a good partnership between a local businessman, a community organization and a new business in the neighborhood," he said. ••
For more information about the Mayfair Community Development Corporation, visit www.mayfaircdc.org
Reporter Diane Villano can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com

Local Man Pens Third History Book By Patrick McNally, Editor, News Gleaner

Rudy DeFinis is a collector.  As a child growing up in Holmesburg, he would dig up old bottles from his backyard and arrowheads from the banks of the Pennypack Creek.  He also became a well-traveled person during his youth, albeit the traveling was only throughout Northeast Philadelphia.  From Frankford to Holmesburg, Tacony to Morrell Park, DeFinis continued his love of collecting and wondering about the history of neighborhoods.  His curiosity has culminated in a book about Frankford, an impressive pictorial history of Mayfair, and now his third book, entitled "The Holmesburg Book, Then and Now".

Even though he did move from neighborhood to neighborhood, DeFinis' heart has always remained with his childhood in Holmesburg.

"To us that was like the country within the city" said DeFinis who is a well-known businessman in the area.  "Our playground was basically the park, since we lived right next door to it."

Growing up as one of 13 children, DeFinis spent a lot of time with his siblings, exploring not just the park, but also the area around his family's home on east Frankford Avenue, across from Solly Avenue.  As one might expect, his most vivid memories were of playing in Pennypack Park.

"We would build rafts, and sail them down the creek until they fell apart or we had to come home," he said.  "One time, I jumped off and left my brother on, and the park guards brought him home.  We did a lot of fun things, but had to pay the piper when we got home."

Because of the rich history of Holmesburg, DeFinis didn't have to look any further than his own backyard to discover things.  He once found an old medicine bottle, and finally discovered from a postcard that he had purchased that it came from the Fred C. Orth drugstore, which was located at the corner of Rhawn Street and Frankford Avenue, early in the 20th century.  The building now houses a barbershop.

"That's the fun – connecting the dots," said DeFinis, who finished the Holmesburg book after almost nine years of research.  "I found an old ceramic bottle top.  Next door to us was a candy store, but before that it was a bottling factory.  We found lots of things, like old Civil War coins."

Unlike many kids who found such treasures, DeFinis held on to them, and expanded on his interest.  The books are not only a vindication of that interest, but also a welcome treasure of photos and stories for people who either lived or still reside in the area.

"Last Saturday, we sold quite a few books (at his store, located at 8312 State Rd.)," Definis said.  "A lot of people thanked me for taking the time to put out a book. They say that Mayfair gets all of the glory, and it made them feel good (for Holmesburg)."

The collection of photos in each DeFinis book is usually postcards, taken by photographers back in the day.  Luckily, many of them are still available from other collectors on Ebay and at antique shows and postcard shows.  DeFinis also found a treasure trove of photos and information from an old neighbor.

"Mrs. Berkman lived in the house at Welsh and Frankford," he said.  "She was a historian, but never looked at herself as one.  She accumulated a lot of photos and notes.  I was fortunate to get a copy of everything she had from the executor of the estate."

What the photographs show is a Holmesburg that really was more of a small town.  DeFinis tries in his book to show what a building looked like in the past, and compare it to a photograph of the same spot today.  On some occasions, there is little or no change.

First surveyed by Thomas Holme, Holmeburg went by many names before its present incarnation.  While part of Philadelphia County, the area was first called Lower Dublin Township.  There is still some debate about how the area's name changed from Washingtonville to Holmesburg, but the best evidence seems to show that it was not named after Thomas Holme, but rather for the Holme brothers, who were real estate investors.

"The name very well could have come (from the brothers)," DeFinis said.  "Thomas Holme surveyed more than just this area.  The Holme brothers marketed the area. "

In the beginning, Holmesburg was mostly agrarian.  There were mills on the banks of the Pennypack, but were built to support the crops being grown.  But in the 1800s, that changed.  The Industrial Revolution didn't just change cities like London and Paris.  It also changed Holmesburg.

Factories began to sprout up along Torresdale Avenue and State Road, such as Nesbitt's Metal Manufacturing.  That corner is now home to New Foundations Charter School.  The American Magnesium and Bronze Works built propellers, which were used on ships in both world wars.  The H.H. Barton Company on State Road manufactured sandpaper.

More factories were built on the Pennypack, such as the Rowland Shovel and Spade Works and the Pennypack Print Works.  Because public transportation was still at a minimum, homes were built for the workers in Holmesburg, as were large homes for factory owners.  Some of those homes, such as the Castor mansion on Solly Avenue, still survive.

"It all started with the creek," DeFinis said.  "Holmesburg was still a kind of a small town.  It was the suburbs of its time. "

The look of those times is captured in DeFinis' book.  Mansions built by well-known families such as the Rowlands, Ashtons, Willits and Castors are well represented, along with some prominent, but little known captains of industry.  Big landowners such as George Stevenson Clark, a Civil War Colonel, and George B. Solly, also are given their due.

But of all the photos of prominent Holmesburg residents, one is noticeably missing.  To anyone's knowledge, there are no portraits of Thomas Holme.  That's pretty unusual, considering his personal history as a captain in Oliver Cromwell's army, assisting in the establishment of the Quakers in Ireland, and his work in America.

"If one does exist, it has to be with the Quaker community in England or Ireland," DeFinis said.

There are many houses of worship in the area, and most of them are captured in DeFinis' book.  In fact, the Zion Baptist Church, one of the African-American houses of worship in the area, gets special attention.

"Nobody mentions the black churches, or their history," DeFinis said.  "A fellow came in to buy a book and said to me, 'I can't believe that you have my church in here, and my street'."

The positive response from that gentleman is one of the many that DeFinis has received for his new book.  For his part, the author is glad that his work, and the community that he loves, is being recognized.

"Holmesburg always seems to get the bad part of the deal," he said.  "People misspell it, and think that you can just drive through it.  But it's a big area."