The Harbisons Dairy milk bottle, a can't miss landmark that sits above Coral Street in Kensington, has been illuminated to celebrate the redevelopment of the former Philadelphia plant.
The 107-year-old bottle, clearly visible from I-95 and SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line, was once a water tower that contained 30,000 gallons to supply the facility's sprinkler system. The building at 2041-55 Coral St., now restored as a mixed-use space, dates back to 1895. The 34-foot-tall milk bottle was erected in 1915.
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"It's really the cherry on top," said Sterling Wilson, one the developers who helped revive the plant in recent years. "What started as a dream in 2019 has finally come to fruition. With the many construction challenges this historic building presented, we couldn't be happier to see the milk bottle relit, creating a warm glow for many years to come."
Harbisons Dairy was established in Kensington in 1865, decades before refrigerators became a common household item. The company transported dairy products by train from farms in the Philadelphia region and distributed milk bottles to city neighborhoods twice daily using horse-drawn carriages. It was founded by Robert Harbison, a native of Gwynned, Montgomery County, who moved his family to Kensington during the peak of the neighborhood's industrial heyday.
As transport logistics advanced with bigger and better automobiles in the 20th century, Harbisons Dairy switched to delivery trucks and became one of the foremost modern dairy plants in the United States. The Kensington facility thrived for years before its eventual sale to Southland Dairy in 1968. It closed in 1990, falling into disrepair over the next three decades as the the milk bottle rusted above.
In recent years, preservationists fought to gain historic designation for the milk bottle. Architectural historian Oscar Beisart, leader of the Keeping Society of Philadelphia, played a key role in saving the iconic relic, dubbed it the "Eiffel Tower of Kensington." Advocates successfully made the case to add the milk bottle to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 2018.
Wilson is the co-founder and president of Pop! Promos, a branding agency that creates a range of promotional merchandise for its clients. The start-up company had been based in Northern Liberties toward the end of the last decade, but Wilson needed a new office space as the agency experienced rapid growth.
Despite the skepticism of structural engineers, who thought the plant Coral Street facility would need to be torn down, Wilson fell in love with the plant and bet on its promise. He teamed up with boutique developer Southwood Properties to restore the building, with help from SgRA Architecture and interior design firm ROHE Creative.
Harbisons Dairy reopened in 2020 with 86 apartments — now occupied by 125 residents — and serves as home to Pop! Promos, Forîn Café and G-Strength Fitness.
"It brings us great pleasure to see this iconic bottle finally relit," said Doug Jordan, founder of Southwood Properties. "We are truly grateful for all of the support we have received from our Kensington neighborhood during the course of this project, showing great interest in our 86 residential apartments, as well as our commercial tenants — all of which have been embraced by the community and have contributed to the vibrancy of this special block of Kensington."
In honor of the relit milk bottle, Harbisons Dairy is holding a photo contest in which Philadelphia residents are encouraged to share their best pictures of the glowing bottle. Submissions must be sent in jpeg or png format to harbisonsmilkbottle@gmail.com by midnight on April 22. Winners will be announced April 29. First prize is a $500 Visa gift card. Second prize is a $250 gift certificate to the restaurant Martha. The third place winner will get a $150 gift card to Forîn Café.