Once a beer distributor, this rehabbed Spring Garden home features fine art and modern flourishes

A truck license plate, dated 1955, hangs on the wall of Ed D’Alba’s workshop. For Ed and his wife, Karen, the item is a historical artifact representing the beer delivery trucks that once frequented the property.

Their double-wide brick home was built as a livery stable in 1868 on a block of new, three-story rowhouses in Spring Garden. The city was expanding north, and the neighborhood was flourishing.

By the middle of the 20th century, though, homeowners had moved to the suburbs, leaving behind dilapidated boardinghouses and rentals — or worse, abandoned shells.

The livery stable became a beer distributor. Forklifts and trucks moving crates and kegs of beer blocked the sidewalk and the street.

When young gentrifiers began restoring the decrepit houses in the 1960s and ‘70s, they viewed the shabby beer distributor as a blight on the block. Articles about the “nuisance” business were published in the Spring Garden Civic Association newsletter.

In 1979, the beer distributor moved to larger quarters.

The property was sold to an artist and photographer who carved out studios and living space in the 6,000-square-foot building. When they decided to move in 2019, they sold the building to the D’Albas.

Karen and Ed preserved fine work the previous owners had done, such as several hand-milled exterior and interior doors, a glass-roofed atrium streaming light into the center of the building, and a rear patio with a fountain and a stucco wall inset with Mercer tiles.

To age in place in their five-level home, Karen knew they had to install an elevator. She also wanted a new curved stairway “that was welcoming and more interesting than the straight steep run.”

The D’Albas retained the existing apartment for use by visiting family and friends. They added a roof deck, a workshop behind the two-car garage, an exercise room, and storage space. The couple installed a new kitchen with white cabinetry and a silver-and-white hexagonal tile backsplash. Reconfigured living areas include five bedrooms, four new baths, and two half-baths. White oak floors were installed as well as new heating and cooling systems.

The D’Albas’ three grandchildren love the old livery stable. The twin 2-year-olds play in the loft space above the family room, and the 17-year-old has parties in the new club room furnished with a billiard table.

Karen and Ed married in 1979 and raised two sons on the Main Line. Ed, retired CEO of Urban Engineers in Philadelphia, and Karen, retired assistant to the director of Surrey Senior Services in Devon, had looked forward to living in Center City and leaving behind maintenance of their acre-and-a-half property in Berwyn. Soon after they moved, 10 large trees fell down, Ed said.

They have been so busy with renovations — which were delayed by the pandemic — they are just beginning to enjoy local restaurants, visits to the Reading Terminal Market, and other delights of city living.

The D’Albas’ general contractor was their son Jon, co-owner of Aviron Partners in Philadelphia. Their architect was Jeff Spoelker of Ardmore, who had worked on two additions to their Berwyn home.

Karen furnished the dining space with a table and sideboards of mahogany and cherry from their old home. Interior designer Ashli Mizell of Philadelphia ordered custom-made teal-and-cream patterned upholstered dining chairs and teal swivel chairs for the seating area. Cream sofas and chairs are arranged in front of the stone fireplace.

Abstract paintings and pastels of flowers and dancing nudes by the late José de Creeft decorate walls in the living area and primary bedroom. De Creeft’s wife, the late Lorrie Goulet, who was Ed’s cousin, sculpted the abstract stone figures in the atrium and rear patio.

Ed, who likes being the handyman, stained the building’s structural trusses, which were in good condition.

The D’Albas replaced several rows of damaged bricks on the facade of their home. They presume the bricks were struck by careless forklift operators or beer truck drivers a half-century ago.

Gas-lit lanterns have recently been mounted next to the front and garage doors, enhancing the brick building that is now a showcase on the block.

Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.