Reign over for the King of Jeans

The end of a reign rarely comes without death. But the King of Jeans apparently will have an afterlife.

The iconic, kitschy sign that has loomed over East Passyunk Avenue since 1994 is in pieces now, its lettering and crown carted Thursday to an architecture salvage company.

The lip-locked couple, a discofied Romeo and his South Philly Juliet, for now still hang on the facade of the shuttered clothier. But they, too, are headed for a less public setting.

After numerous attempts to find a proper throne for the King along Passyunk and in other places, it was decided the giant sign would wind up at Provenance, a Northern Liberties salvager.

"It's a piece of the city that needed to be saved," said Scott Lash, a Provenance owner. Lash has agreed not to sell the sign and will display it in his showroom.

The 16-foot-tall sign evokes an era that precedes East Passyunk's commercial resurgence. Planned for the site is a high-rise of apartments and possibly shops.

The sign, often photographed and often dismissed as vulgar, has its mourners.

"It's just a fun staple of South Philly," said John Foster of South Philly Comics. "Even though it's not active, it's active as art."

"Sad," @AriellaCohen wrote on Twitter. "That sign sold me on moving to the nabe. Please don't let this mean another biz selling organic pet accessories."

Lash said the sign would be removed "soon."

The King of Jeans sign was designed two decades ago by Angel Anderson and painted in part by Steve Calabrese, who had a hand in several other familiar signs in the city, including those for cheesesteak rivals Pat's, Geno's, and Tony Luke's.

While the King had its fans, others remained unaffected Friday, to judge by an informal survey of the neighborhood.

Vincent Fallz, a lifelong South Philadelphia resident, said he did not understand the outcry.

"I always thought it was kind of . . . not in great taste," he said with a laugh. "Misogynistic, a little bit, maybe."

The strip the King lorded over is changing fast, with at least 10 new businesses opening each year, said Renee Gilinger, executive director at Visit East Passyunk.

The past, it seems, must make room for the future.

"However you viewed the sign - as art, as kitsch, as borderline obscenity - it was undoubtedly part of the neighborhood's fabric," wrote David Goldfarb, zoning chair of the East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association, in a news release.

The King, he added, was "a reminder of an '80's era of East Passyunk that we are lucky to still draw upon, and a conversation piece that reminded us to keep things weird on East Passyunk."