Presto Tape’s CanvasTac wallcovering was used to accent the lobby walls of The Shirt Corner Apartments located in historic Old City, Philadelphia. 

The building is located on 3^rd and Market streets where the iconic Philadelphia men’s department store, named The Shirt Corner once stood for years. The Shirt Corner Apartments comprise of 59 rental units and amenities, as well as street-level commercial storefronts, including CVS Pharmacy and Snap Kitchen  

The CanvasTac wallcovering was used to accent 3 lobby walls and 4 elevator walls on levels 2 through 5. The graphics were made by Philadelphia-based artist, Julia Blaukopf. Julia researched at City Hall for photographs and renderings of the iconic building that formerly stood at 3^rd and Market. Julia photographed her findings and pieced them together to make one continuous wall mural. “I worked with photographs that depict the corner during three separate time periods, spanning from the mid 19^th century to the present. My goal was to preserve the evocative nature inherent in the original images, while at the same time re-imagining the separate time periods into one cohesive, contemporary design. The surface of the Canvas Tac provided a very fitting, organic texture that speaks to a sense of the natural antiquity I wanted to convey” says Julia. 

The graphics for the building embodies what the corner of 3^rd and Market looked like before the building closed for business in 2009. Some of the photographs and maps that were used for the wall murals date back to the late 1800’s. The wall murals inside of the building preserve the memory of this historic landmark in Old City, Philadelphia.

CanvasTac is a repositionable adhesive-backed canvas that can be used for wallcoverings, wall murals and retail signage. CanvasTac is PVC, phthalate and lead free and made in the USA in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. CanvasTac is rated highest in commercial wallcoverings, a Category VI Type III Class A wallcovering.  The material has a beautiful canvas texture and is durable, being 17 mils thick. Eileen Tognini, the interior curator for the building chose CanvasTac because of its eco-friendly characteristics and durability. “I was attracted to this material for its surface quality that emulates an art canvas, rather than simply using wallpaper. Its ability to withstand some commercial wear and tear was critical in this setting” says Eileen.

The wall mural was printed on the HP 360 Latex wide format printer. Latex inks are a water-based ink making them more eco-friendly than solvent inks. The graphics were also liquid laminated for UV protection and scuffing since it is in a high traffic area. The installation took 2 and ½ days to install a total of 624 square feet. 

 “Choosing the appropriate material was paramount in this application, but Presto’s graphics team and support was perhaps just as important. Clients demand high quality, on time and on-budget and the Presto team exceeded our expectations” says Eileen. 

The Shirt Corner Apartments is in its final week of construction and is currently leasing. For more information on this project, email [email protected]. 

Presto Tape is a completely integrated manufacturer of digitally printable wallcoverings, surface protection films and specialty tapes located in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.