A street level view of the digital marquee
Occupying an entire block in downtown Philadelphia, the former Lit Brothers Department Store is a cultural landmark that operated for nearly a century before closing its doors.
Recently renovated, revitalized, and rebranded as The Lits Building, the mixed-use structure has played a vital role in the redevelopment of Philly’s booming Market East District. To cap off its transformation, we were asked to design a digital entry marquee that evokes the historic building’s early twentieth-century heyday while incorporating twenty-first-century technology. The result: an entrance where architecture, art, and technology work in unison to activate a new sense of place.
We designed Lit Brothers’ digital marquee as a natural extension of existing street-level storefronts, creating an immediately identifiable public entrance. Our concept for the new canopy and signage utilizes complementary forms, ornamentation, and materials to unify old and new.
Street level view of the digital marquee
Bluecadet conceptual render for the digital marquee.
We developed a library of content for the new marquee featuring historical imagery, interpretations of traditional architectural ornament, and site-specific artwork. These digital elements complement the building’s historic architecture, amplify Philadelphia’s cultural traditions, and reinforce a city-wide effort to expand pedestrian activity and digital signage in the Market East District.
Digital content displayed on marquee screens
Our content is designed to play in any order, and can be programmatically adapted for special events, holidays, and change of season.
A live mural painting displayed on the digital marquee
Passers-by encounter live murals on the digital marquee.
Our creative team worked with local artists Gina Triplett and Matthew Curtius to film the production of original murals. Each day the murals come to life as live paintings on the Lit Brother’s marquee.
A slideshow of content that is displayed on the marquee.
Bluecadet artwork tested in digital space.
Behind the scenes video of artists working on the live mural painting
Live mural painting filmed in our Fishtown studio.
