3 Rector Street

Powers & Company, Inc. is involved in a rehabilitation project at 3 Rector Street in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia. This 1- and 2-story stuccoed mill, part of the Manayunk Main Street Historic District will be converted into office space. The Part 2 of the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program was approved by the National Park Service in March 2009.

3 Rector Street represents one of several mills important to Manayunk’s industrial history during the 19th and 20th centuries. The building was constructed c.1880 as part of the Union Mills, which was owned by the Archibald Campbell Manufacturing Company. The complex primarily produced cotton yarns. The mill is a good example of late-19th century mill architecture and played an important role in the growth of Manayunk and thus contributes to the significance of the Main Street Manayunk National Register Historic District.

3 Rector Street is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Rector Street and the Schuylkill River trail, along the Schuylkill Canal. The building was constructed in c. 1880 as an industrial warehouse. The building borders the Schuylkill River Trail to the west.  The Schuylkill Canal alongside the mill was a navigational system developed in the 19th century to bypass un-navigable sections of the Schuylkill River. The canal connected the Delaware River to the coal-rich regions surrounding Reading, PA and provided access to coal for production, water power and easy transportation of raw materials and finished goods.. The Manayunk section of the canal, largely completed by 1822, caused Manayunk to become a significant center for regional and national industry from 1850 to 1860, after which the Reading Railroad became a leading method of transporting goods.