Show & Tel, a decades‑old adult‑entertainment staple on Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia, has gone dark after more than 30 years of late‑night business. The building has changed hands for $2.3 million, and the new owner is steering the property in a very different direction, planning daytime uses such as storage and office space. The deal lands amid a wave of property plays along the waterfront corridor as investors reposition aging warehouses and retail sites.
As reported by PhillyVoice, the three‑story building at 1900 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd. sold for $2.3 million after sitting on the market for roughly two years with an asking price of $3.5 million. Ken Mallin of MPN Realty represented longtime owner Ray Miles in the transaction and told reporters the listing drew "a lot of action" from would‑be buyers with competing visions for the site. PhillyVoice also noted that Show & Tel had already scaled back its hours after the pandemic and was open only a few nights a week before finally closing.
Broker: Warehouse-Style Building Suits Storage Use
According to MPN Realty, the property spans about 32,310 square feet, dates to 1930 and sits in an I‑2 industrial zoning district that allows light manufacturing, processing and distribution. The brokerage highlighted elements that industrial users like, including multiple loading garage doors and roughly 124 feet of frontage on Columbus Boulevard, and noted that the buyer already owns several properties on Washington Avenue. MPN added that the purchaser plans to transition the building into storage and office space instead of continuing its adult‑entertainment run.
Why Developers Are Circling Columbus Boulevard
The sale is also part of a broader shuffle along the riverfront, where long‑term plans are starting to reshape what gets built and where, as PHILADELPHIA.Today details. Proposed residential projects and the city's push to cap I‑95 at Penn's Landing are bringing fresh attention to the corridor. Nearby proposals, including a multi‑hundred‑unit tower a few blocks to the north, along with efforts to improve waterfront access, have brokers rethinking what counts as prime real estate along Columbus Boulevard. In that context, flexible warehouse buildings are looking increasingly attractive for storage, last‑mile distribution and smaller office conversions.
Next Steps
MPN said the chosen buyer won out because its plan best matched the seller's priorities, even though some other interested parties wanted to keep an adult‑entertainment use at the address. Details about renovation timelines, permitting and potential tenants were not disclosed, and both owner Ray Miles and the unnamed buyer declined to comment further beyond statements provided through the brokerage. With the sale now closed, the building appears set to start a new chapter as one more piece in Columbus Boulevard's slow‑but‑steady commercial evolution.
