Burk Brothers and Company
Also known as: Diskmakers
Why it's listed
Twelve red brick and reinforced concrete factory buildings on the east side of North Third Street in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties section make up one of the city's last intact leather-processing complexes. The oldest six buildings, erected between 1855 and 1874 for E.A. Smith and Brothers, housed morocco tanning in basement beamhouses and upper-floor drying lofts. In 1891 Henry Burk began acquiring the site, and by the late 1890s he had added four brick factories for glazed kid made by chrome tanning. Two reinforced concrete buildings followed in 1911 and 1913. Burk's sumac and alum process and his stake in the chrome tanning patent made the firm one of the largest in the city. The complex is significant for its association with the Philadelphia leather industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and for its surviving buildings showing that industry's changing methods.
Significance in brief: The district is presented as an important part of the Philadelphia kid leather industry and the largest and oldest group of leather industry buildings left standing in the Old Leather District. Its buildings reflect three successive stages of tanning technology, from the vegetable-tanned morocco works of E.A. Smith and Brothers to chrome-tanned glazed kid production and reinforced concrete factories. The nomination links the site to Henry Burk's sumac and alum process and his share in the Schultz chrome tanning patent, which shortened processing time sharply.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85003493, listed November 14, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 913--916 N. Third St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | November 14, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85003493 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1880-1920 |
| Architect / builder | Wm. Steele & Sons Co.; Geo. Fredericks/John N. Gill Co. |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Industry |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 39.96590, -75.14247 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85003493.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4998897
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.