On this block in 1899

On this block in 1899. . , The Cast Iron Building, located at 718 Arch Street, was originally called the Harris Steam Power Printing House. It is historically significant because it has one of the largest remaining cast iron facades in the city. Initially constructed with five stories, the building was expanded by two more floors in 1896. Each story is of diminishing height as a way to reduce the construction costs. But it also causes the building to appear taller than it actually is., On June 30, 1970, the Cast Iron Building was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. It was saved from demolition in 1982 when the 104,500-square-foot structure was converted into office space., In 1899 , President: William McKinley (R) , Mayor: Charles Franklin Warwick (R) , Philadelphia population: 1,293,697, Events , January 24, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine was founded as The Philadelphia College and Infirmary of Osteopathy (PCIO) in the Stephen Girard Building at 21 South 12th Street., February 15, The keel plate for the new battleship Maine was laid out at Cramps' shipyard on the anniversary of the destruction of the destruction of the Maine in Havana harbor., April 11, The Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect. Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States., June 14, Statue of Benjamin Franklin was erected on the south plaza of the Post Office building [1201 Chestnut Street] as a gift to the city by Justus C. Strawbridge. This statue was later moved to the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in University City., The Philadelphia Negro was published. Now an American classic, it was the first extensive sociological exploration of an African-American community, conducted by W.E.B. Dubois, a Harvard-educated sociologist., Philadelphia-based advertising company, N.W. Ayer and Son, turned a biscuit into a phenomenon with its campaign for National Biscuit Company's "UNEEDA" Biscuit., Maple Leaf Rag was written by the "King of Ragtime," African-American composer Scott Joplin. Ragtime featured vibrant piano compositions that introduced African-American rhythms into popular music., John S. Thurman patented his "pneumatic carpet renovator" a large, gasoline powered vacuum cleaner., Thorstein Veblen published the Theory of the Leisure Class, a critique on the "conspicuous consumption" of the nation's business elite., The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology opened., John Mast of Lititz, Pennsylvania invented the snapping mousetrap called the "Victor.", National Export Exposition, the first of its kind in U.S. history, celebrated Philadelphia's rise as a leading industrial center., Money matters , Average U.S. salary: $2,992 , Postage stamp: 3¢ , Loaf of bread: 14¢ , Green's Hotel room rates "315 rooms from $1.00 upwards. 60 new rooms with bath, $2.00 and up." , "Table d'hote dinner" at Green's Hotel Cafe: 50¢