The doors to the iconic Divine Lorraine Hotel were opened on Wednesday, May 11 for the second iteration of a pop-up shop featuring clothing and housewares from Najeeb Sheikh’s Divine Lorraine Hotel Collection. This marks the first time the building has been open to the public since the first pop-up shop, which took place September 2015.

Given the reputation of the building and the buzz over Sheikh’s clothing line, crowds began lining up hours before the doors opened at 3:30PM. By 5PM, hundreds of people were allowed into the event. Once inside, curious patrons were able to shop, take photos, and enjoy art installations from 7 local artists.

EB Realty Management, a private development firm for the Divine Lorraine, also had a table set up in the lobby to talk to patrons about the possibility of leasing apartments in the building. Regional Property Manager Ed Casella explained, “For us (EBRM) it’s almost like a love story. We absolutely fell in love with the building and we’re very excited to have samples of all our finishes here.”

Once complete, the Divine Lorraine will feature 101 apartments. According to Casella, leases have been signed for two apartments. Leasing prices start at $1,325 and two-bedrooms start at $2,540. As a special incentive, attendees who expressed interest in signing leases with EBRM were given tours of the apartments during the event.

“Of course there’s a real history here and an allure to this building. It has a cult following that is unmatched in this city.” Casella said of the Divine Lorraine. The “cult following” was extremely apparent, with dozens of photographers stepping over each other to get the right shot of a broken tile or cracked column.

The Divine Lorraine Hotel has come to be known as a rite of passage of sorts in the world of urban exploration in Philadelphia. For years it has been one of the most sought after locations for photographers seeking abandoned aesthetics. Jack O’Connor and Abbey Nesbitt attended the pop-up shop for a chance to catch a glimpse.

“I figured this was a great chance to come out. I knew this was a popular urban exploration site,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor and Nesbitt were made aware of the event through the snapchat of Conrad Benner, a local photographer who runs Streets Dept, a prominent photo blog that documents street art and urban exploration in Philadelphia. Benner has covered the Divine Lorraine on his blog in the past. With the extra publicity provided by Streets Dept and other local bloggers, the event proved effective at drawing in the underground art scene. “It’s a cool way of highlighting street art, graffiti, urban exploration in a legal way that also gives exposure to Philly based artists,” O’Connor said.