History’s Headlines: Getting ‘rigged out’ at Koch Brothers – 69News WFMZ
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Getting “rigged out.” That’s what the Allentown Board of Trade in its 1884 publication “The Past, Present, and Future of Allentown” said was essential for any Lehigh Valley man who wanted to look sharp. Of course, getting “rigged out,” at one of Hamilton Street’s men’s clothing stores is what they had in mind. Now there were already several men’s haberdashers that one could choose from. Some, like H. Leh and Company, had been around since the 1850s. But it was Koch Shankweiler, a relative newcomer, that was catching all the attention that year.
Franklin Walter Koch had come to town with friend Wilson Shankweiler on March 30, 1876 and opened their store Koch Shankweiler at 618 Hamilton Street. At age 16 Thomas Koch arrived in Allentown to work for them. “Although his brother, Frank Koch, was a member of the firm,” the Morning Call wrote, “he began at the bottom and by dint of energy, industry and ambition, soon become recognized as one of the most alert and successful salesmen in the local clothing trade.”
The Kochs- Franklin, Horatio and Thomas- were the sons of Thomas and Elizabeth Snyder Koch. They grew up on the family farm in South Whitehall Township. They were educated at the public schools and while attending a so-called “state normal school” continued to work on the family farm. Perhaps it was the encouragement of brother Horatio, who had come to town working for Leh’s and who eventually became a partner in the business and married into the Leh family, that encouraged Franklin Koch.
Running a successful business was not easy to do in Allentown or in most of the country that year. The world was locked in an economic depression following the collapse of the railroad building boom in the wake of the Panic of 1873. It dealt a blow to the region’s iron industry whose primary product was iron railroad rails. “When iron was dull,” noted Robert Iredell, the editor and owner of the Allentown Daily Chronicle, later the Chronicle and News, “the whole town and region suffered.” But in 1881, with the arrival of the Adelaide Silk Mill and a return to a more robust business environment nationally, things had begun to pick-up. And in 1885 it was Koch Shankweiler that made a dramatic announcement to revive the city.
Franklin Koch had purchased the Allen House, a picturesque, aging Italianate hotel dating from at least the 1850s at the northeast corner of 7th and Hamilton Streets and had torn it down. In its place they built the Hotel Allen, a modern hostelry with electric lights and in-door plumbing designed by the city’s leading architect, Lewis Jacoby. Sometime in its early career the hotel’s Romanesque style roof would be replaced with mansard design ala Paris. Their store was to occupy the entire first floor. The upper floors would be run by the brothers as a hotel.
Until the opening of the Americus in 1928, the Hotel Allen was to be the city’s leading meeting place for social groups and service clubs like the Allentown Rotary Club and many others, as well as a stopping place for local celebrities. Two U.S. presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, were entertained there. Taft spent the night.
Tragically, in 1886 Wilson Shankweiler died. His brother Lewis purchased half of his interests in the firm. In April, 1887 the name was changed to Koch Brothers, with Thomas Koch purchasing the other half of Wilson Shankweiler’s share. Koch Brothers’ success was built on the fact that they hired a great deal of skilled local labor. The men’s suits they sold in those early years were all made at the store by the more than 60 skilled garment makers that worked for them. How many were men and how many were women, if any, is not known.
Another thing that is clear is that from the first the Koch Brothers realized the importance of advertising. The local press from the 1880s on was filled with advertising for the store and its clothing. A great deal of these have survived and have been preserved on line. As was the case with most advertising at the time it is most likely that Frank and later Thomas Koch worked closely to get the type of image they wanted their store to project.
By the dawn of the 20th century the Koch Brothers were among the leaders of the community. The had invested heavily in local real estate and added to their fortunes. Frank Koch was also a trustee of Muhlenberg College and was a founder of Christ Lutheran Church. By this time Frank Koch also had developed a passion for international travel. It began with his honeymoon tour of the British Isles. He did not neglect his own country, having visited almost every state in the Union. In July of 1906 Koch, his wife, and teenage daughter decided to take a trip to tour the British Isles. Koch was said to have been particularly interested in showing the girl the places that so entranced him and her mother on their honeymoon. They crossed on the New York, an aging liner that had its brief mention in history by being sucked from its birth in 1912 by the powerful engines of the S.S. Titanic, about to embark on its maiden ill-fated voyage. But another sort of tragedy awaited the Kochs on land. In the early morning hours of July 1st the boat train taking them to London was going far faster than the speed limit and was involved in a terrific crash outside the cathedral city of Salisbury. Although his wife and daughter, survived Frank Koch was killed in the accident. His body was returned to Allentown. Koch’s name is listed on a plaque on the walls Salisbury Cathedral with those of the other victims.
“Almost immediately after his brother’s death, Mr. Koch secured full possession of the clothing business and later became sole owner of the Hotel Allen,’’ noted the Morning Call. His brother’s death forced Thomas Koch to make changes to the store. They started by bringing in his nephews Willis E. Kuhns and Harry W. Jordan. The change surprised many because for years Thomas Koch had lived under the shadow of his older brother. “He literally revolutionized old business methods, applying system to the management of every department and carrying great stocks of the most up-to-date merchandise,” noted the press. The result according to the Call was that it “became one of the largest and most attractive exclusive clothing establishment in the United States.”
Koch, like his brother took up a community role, serving on the board of Muhlenberg College and Allentown Hospital. Among his board positions was that of Pennsylvania Trojan Powder Company. He also strongly supported Christ Lutheran in many ways. Thomas Koch also engaged in a passion for travel that equaled if not surpassed his brother’s. He toured the U.S. and Canada extensively and in 1912 he took a tour around the world. Koch was also, “an excellent judge of horseflesh,” noted the press. From his home at 448 Hamilton Street he could often be seen driving a team of what was called, “some of the handsomest and best pedigreed horses in the community.”
It all came to an end for Thomas Koch on February 10, 1915 when he died of uremic poisoning. His passing was noted on the front page of the next day’s Morning Call. His business then passed into the hands of several partners. In the early 1930s despite the Great Depression it managed to survive, bringing actor and Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller to town to advertise some swimwear the store was advertising. The Hotel Allen closed in 1949. But in 1952 Koch Brothers remained and opened a new three-story store on the same spot. For reasons that are unclear the store’s site was chosen for the new First National Bank building in 1955. It moved up to 732 Hamilton Street. The end came in 1957 when Koch Brothers, a merchandising legend, closed in bankruptcy after 81 years.
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