HIRES ROOT BEER ~ vs ~ VERNOR'S GINGER ALE

I'm still around and still searching for a variety of Hires related publications and pictures. I'm currently looking for an actual photograph of Hires' original location at ...

117-119 Arch Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This 1880s card illustrates the building, but I have yet to find an actual photo ...

Front



Back



1893 Invoice shows address plus boxes - Dry mix and Liquid extract

P.S.

I'm also still searching for 1876 Philadelphia Centennial stuff related to Hires and hope to have an update on that in a few days.

P.S.

In the Vernor's thread I offered a free ACL Book (Rick Sweeney 2002) to the first individual who could find and post ...

1. A time-period (1860s-1870s) document/publication that confirmed the existence of Vernor's Ginger Ale earlier than 1880.

2. A time-period document/publication that confirmed James Vernor had a full-service soda fountain in his drug store earlier than 1880.

3. Another example and/or unquestionable reference for the 1885 Hires Diary I just posted images of.

To those I would like to add ...

4. I will send a free ACL Book to the first individual who can find and post a picture of an original Hires Root Beer "Package/Box" like the one depicted in the 1885 Hires Diary.

Signed,

Sodabob



Because I really, really want to give away a free ACL Book, I'm adding this to the list ...

5. An advertisement, article, etc; published in 1875 for ​Hires Root Tea



I'm adding this to the list ...

6. A photograph (not illustration) of any of the following Hires locations/stores/buildings ...


123 North Front Street = Circa 1876
602 Spruce Street = Circa 1876
9 Letitia Street = Circa 1877
215 Market Street = Circa 1878 to 1887
117-119 Arch Street = Circa 1888 to early 1890s

Hires Root Beer ~ vs ~ The 1876 Centennial Exhibition ~ Philadelphia, Pa.

About 99.9% of the histories about Hires Root Beer say it was first introduced at the 1876 Centennial in Philadelphia. Some of the histories even refer to a Hires soda stand within the Centennial grounds. However, based on what I've been seeing, it appears it was introduced during the 1876 Centennial but outside of the Park grounds.

I posted this February 5, 1876 newspaper article earlier and am still of the opinion its referring to Charles Hires even though the name Hires is not used in the article. I've searched but can find no evidence whatsoever of another "root beer manufacturer" in Philadelphia at that time. There were definitely places in Philadelphia that were selling various brands of root beer at the time in soda fountains and elsewhere, but no one I can find that was actually "manufacturing" it. In fact, even the possibility that Charles Hires was actually "manufacturing" root beer in 1875 and early 1876 is a little vague, (other than what it says in the attached article), but I'm hopeful of eventually finding something from 1875 to support that he was at least experimenting with his original formula for "root tea."

February 5, 1876



To help support the above article that says a Philadelphia root beer manufacturer purchased a lot outside the Centennial Exhibition, and that the manufacturer was in all probability Charles Hires, I draw your attention to the following two links that are Online books for ...

The Official Catalogue of the International Exhibition of 1876

Both links are basically for the same catalog, but in different formats. Both are searchable, savable, and printable. I have done an exhaustive search in both catalogs, which appear to contain the names of every concessionaire at the Centennial, but in neither one of the catalogs will you find the words "Charles Hires" - "C E Hires" - "Root Beer" which reinforces my belief that Hires Root Beer was not served at or within the Centennial grounds itself ...

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn2x8e;view=1up;seq=11


https://archive.org/stream/officialcatalogu00cent#page/n9/mode/2up

Next up we have this advertisement from ...

The Times ~ Philadelphia, Pa. ~ October 2, 1875

(Which is just one of numerous ads I have seen from that time period about lots being sold prior to the opening of the Exhibition )

Notice this particular ad refers to "Elm Avenue" and "fronting the Exhibition buildings" which appears to be the same general vicinity where the Philadelphia root beer manufacture purchased his lot. However, I'm not sure which side of Elm Avenue these particular lots were on. Elm Avenue was on the south side of the fairgrounds, but the term "fronting" might mean the side of Elm where the fairgrounds were located, whereas the other side of Elm was private property to the best of my knowledge. The February 5, 1876 article says "directly opposite the main building." But whichever side of Elm this particular ad is referring to, it is only intended to exemplify that lots were being sold "outside" of the fairgrounds as early as October, 1875.

Reminder: Many of the Centennial maps do not show any buildings on the opposite side of Elm Avenue, but instead show vacant land. I suspect those particular maps were drawn prior to when the "Shanty-town" businesses were built across the street from the Exhibition. Shanty-town, for the most part, included several blocks along Elm Avenue due east of the Trans Continental Hotel.

On Saturday, September 9, 1876, the majority of Shanty-town was destroyed by fire. Apparently it was the wood structure buildings that were damaged the most, with many of the brick structures left somewhat undamaged and still standing. The fire occurred a full two months prior to when the Exhibition closed on November 10, 1876.

Here's a detailed account of the fire that appeared in the Monday morning paper ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer ~ September 11, 1876

(It mentions the names of many of the Shanty-town businesses that were destroyed in the fire, but it does not mention a root beer fountain, nor the name "Hires" in connection with any of the buildings)



View attachment 175876

Next up is this article from ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer ~ September 21, 1876

The article is about the County ordering the mayor of Philadelphia to remove certain buildings following the fire that were still considered to be dangerous. It includes the names and addresses of various businesses on Elm Avenue that were to be removed, but it does not mention a root beer fountain nor the name "Hires"

Here are a couple of comical illustrations of Shanty-town from 1876 ...

(But no depiction of Hires Root Beer in either one of them)



View attachment 175879

However, in the lower left corner of this one it does say "???? ???? And Castor Oils On Tap" (Lol)

View attachment 175880

In other words / Bottom line ...

1. At this juncture I'm not certain if and/or where Hires Root Beer was served during the 1876 Centennial Exhibition.

2. At this juncture I can't find any substantial evidence of it being served either inside or outside the 1876 Exhibition.

(But I intend to keep searching and hopefully find something eventually)

P.S.

Regardless of the possible 1876 Centennial connection, Hires Root Beer was definitely available and being sold in ...

1877



and 1878