The former Abington Antique Shop’s well-known white horse has been standing on Old York Road in Abington for nearly 90 years.
According to Carrie Keegan, longtime owner of In Bloom Flowers & Gifts, Jefferson Abington Hospital purchased the building in 2019 but has allowed the horse to stay.
“It’s vacant for now. They’re holding onto it until they’re ready to develop. From what I understand, they’re planning to move the horse to the farm that hosts Abington’s June Fete Fair,” she said. “It’s a landmark and really meaningful to Charles Steinberg, my former landlord, who passed away in 2020.”
According to local historian Mike Leibrandt, the building dates back to 1899. Keegan noted that Steinberg’s parents were its original owners, and that Charles lived there until his late eighties.
In Bloom was once located at 1165 Old York Road, the site of the antique shop, for 16 years. Today, the flower shop is located at 1128 Old York Road.
As for the recognizable white horse, the original sculpture was destroyed by a passing car on June 29, 2016, and was replaced by community members a year later. From Abington Township Police Department’s Facebook post:
Iconic Abington Horse met an unfortunate end last evening as it was struck by a vehicle. The driver, who momentarliy lost control of his vehicle, was not seriously injured. The horse stood proudly outside of Abington Antiques for over 80 years according to owner, Charles Steinberg.
Facebook comments from the accident include:
My mother, a child at the time whose name was Doris Brody, traveled with Elias Steinberg to visit his nice brother, Nate, & his family at that antique shop many years ago. Sad to see that historic horse statue in that condition.
OMG that’s so sad. Hopefully they can fix it. That was always a good landmark when you see the horse turn left at the light for the hospital
That horse has stood guard on that corner since before I came to the area in the mid-seventies. So sad to think it’s gone…
Abington Township featured the white horse in a photo album in 2017.
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Feature photo courtesy of Mike Leibrandt