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 . . . — — Map (db m192776) HM
The African American Museum of Philadelphia (AAMP), located at the northwest corner of 7th and Arch Streets, was built in 1976 in celebration of the nation's bicentennial and was designed by African American architect Theodore Cam of . . . — — Map (db m192779) HM
Long before it was a busy commercial corridor, Walnut Street was a fashionable residential address. But by 1930, the wealthy occupants of houses like these on the 1200 block had moved on, to mansions at Rittenhouse Square and elsewhere, and the . . . — — Map (db m307907) HM
In 1895, William West Frazier, son of sugar tycoon Benjamin West Frazier, commissioned the firm of Philadelphian architect Frank Furness to build an elaborate office building for the Franklin Sugar Company at 125 S 12th Street. Frazier and . . . — — Map (db m191887) HM
Until 1903, "The Yellow Mansion," pictured here, stood at the northeast corner of Broad and Walnut streets (directly behind where you are standing). Build in 1839 for a wealthy banker, it was for a time the most valuable home in the city. . . . — — Map (db m191882) HM
The Western Farmers' Market was located on Market Street, west of 15th Street. This 1859 photograph shows the market sheds where fresh produce was delivered from farms that, at the time, were just north and west of Philadelphia's urban center. . . . — — Map (db m191850) HM
In the late 19th century, civic leaders in Philadelphia proposed a diagonal boulevard linking the new City Hall to Fairmount Park. In 1907, after nine different plans and much debate, Mayor John Reyburn enlisted architect Paul Crιt to create a . . . — — Map (db m191903) HM
Originally called Broad Street Suburban Station, the large underground rail station running from 15th to 16th Streets opened up to the public on September 28, 1930. The 20-story office building above the station. One Penn Center, designed by . . . — — Map (db m191905) HM
The Regent Theatre opened in 1913 at 1632 Market Street, among a large concentration of theaters, when the north side of the street was dominated by the elevated tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad. By the 1970s, as the Penn Center office . . . — — Map (db m192787) HM
The Bell Telephone Building, located at the northeast corner of 19th and Arch Streets, was built in 1925 as the headquarters of the Bell Telephone Company. The building was designed by Zantzinger, Borie & Medary, the same architecture firm that . . . — — Map (db m192750) HM
The Municipal Court Building at 1801 Vine Street is Philadelphia's most prominent building from the New Deal program. John T. Windrim began designing the Municipal Court Building in 1930 to mirror the adjacent Free Library but the Great . . . — — Map (db m307909) HM
The Penn Center House, at 19th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, was designed in 1958 by by architect George S. Idell. The modernist 20-story high-rise with 432 apartments is one of four apartments building in Center City owned by its . . . — — Map (db m192745) HM
Formerly a station for the Pennsylvania Rail Road, John Wanamaker purchased this property in 1876 and created a large central market called Wanamaker's Grand Depot.
When the Depot first opened it only sold men's clothing. In 1877 Wanamaker . . . — — Map (db m191791) HM
The site of City Hall, at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets, was known as Center Square and was one of five squares included in William Penn's original 1683 plan for Philadelphia. The location of Center Square was determined by the . . . — — Map (db m191889) HM
This image from 1860 looks west on the south side of the 400 block of Market Street. This view shows the dominance of businesses offering clothing and accessories on this block including White Hall Clothing, George B. Bains Trunks, Valises & . . . — — Map (db m213965) HM
These photos feature attendees at the Walnut Street Walk, also known as "Let's Walk Again." First sponsored by 1971 by the Walnut Street Business Association, the walks sought to both promote Walnut Street as a place to shop and to get people out . . . — — Map (db m307910) HM
This stately Renaissance-style home at the Northwest corner of 16th & Walnut Streets was built in 1901 for a wealthy banker and designed by renowned Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer, who also designed the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This . . . — — Map (db m191880) HM
A virtually traffic-free Walnut Street greeted passersby in 1865. The homes in this photo housed the city's wealthiest, most influential citizens. Rittenhouse Square can be seen in the center of the photo, with the tower of Holy Trinity Church . . . — — Map (db m191879) HM
This handsome structure at the southeast corner of 18th & Walnut Streets, shown circa 1865, was home to William Weightman, a wealthy industrial magnate. The Rittenhouse Claridge, built in 1951, now stands on the site.
In 1865 . . . — — Map (db m191878) HM
Construction on Dr. David Jayne's residence began in 1865 and finished in 1866. The architect, John McArthur, who also designed City Hall, designed this impressive residence in the Second Empire style. This architectural style includes such . . . — — Map (db m191875) HM
The Aldine Hotel, at 1910-1922 Chestnut Street, began as a brick mansion built in 1850 for Dr. James Rush, son of Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was altered and expanded in 1867 when Joshua B. Lippincott, the . . . — — Map (db m192730) HM
Dr. Phillip Syng Physick, considered the father of American surgery built this house at the northwest corner of 19th and Walnut Streets, far from the fashionable center of the city, in 1839.
Architect John Haviland, who also designed Eastern . . . — — Map (db m191877) HM
The gala opening of the Mastbaum Theatre took place on February 28, 1929, and featured an orchestra, chorale ensemble, and ballet troupe to accompany the world premiere of the Warner Brothers movie Sonny Boy. The lavish theater could seat . . . — — Map (db m194474) HM
The Evening Bulletin published the photo (large image) in 1939 of the "old Henry Charles Lea Mansion, which is being torn down to make way for a modern funeral home." The Bringhurst Funeral home (bottom left) at the southwest corner of . . . — — Map (db m191917) HM
The southeast corner of 22nd and Walnut Streets was the site of the marble mansion of George W. Childs, the publisher of the Public Ledger. The mansion, completed in 1869, was designed by John McArthur Jr., the same architect who designed . . . — — Map (db m191919) HM
The building located at the southeast corner of Broad and Pine Streets became home to the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) in 1924 after it merged with a newly formed organization called the Young Women's Hebrew Society (YWHA). The purpose . . . — — Map (db m212757) HM
The Aldine Trust Company Building at 1930 Chestnut Street was designed by Arthur Hall and completed in 1929.
This 22-story building was one of many "skyscrapers" erected in the late 1920s, including the Drake Hotel, the PSFS Building, and . . . — — Map (db m191906) HM
The 2120 Cooperative replaced these townhomes at 2101-2117 Walnut in 1954.
In 1940
President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
Mayor: Robert Eneas Lamberton (R)
Philadelphia population: 1,931,334
Events . . . — — Map (db m191918) HM
The Arcadia Theater, at 1529 Chestnut Street, opened in 1925 as a first-run, silent-picture theater. Designed by the architecture firm Henon & Boyle, the theater featured an organ to accompany silent films and an advanced ventilation system to . . . — — Map (db m214211) HM
The southwest corner of 7th & Walnut Streets was a quiet residential enclave at the time of this 1823 sketch. As Philadelphia's rapidly expanding commercial core shifted westward, the homes closest to the 7th Street were demolished in 1868 for . . . — — Map (db m220496) HM
The Western Union Telegraph Building at 1111 Locust Street was designed in the Egyptian Revival style in 1922 by architect William Welles Bosworth, known for designing the main campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The entrance is . . . — — Map (db m192727) HM
The first commercial pretzel bakery was started in 1784 by an entrepreneur from Lancaster County. The tiny operation soon grew into a large factory and set the Philadelphia pretzel industry in motion. Created from the same ingredients that are . . . — — Map (db m213962) HM
This intersection of Market Street and Sixth Street has always been bustling with energy and traffic. This image from 1902 of southeastern corner looking east shows the variety of forms of transportation used at that time, including horse-drawn . . . — — Map (db m227589) HM
The Public Ledger Building, on the south side of the 600 block of Chestnut Street, was designed by Horace Trumbauer and completed in 1924. The Public Ledger was Philadelphia's leading newspaper during the early 1900's and was absorbed into . . . — — Map (db m220488) HM
The southwest corner of 8th and Walnut Streets, shown here in 1957, tells of an ever-changing Walnut Street. Built as townhomes for the elite, these buildings were later converted to commercial use as Walnut Street became an important link to the . . . — — Map (db m221068) HM
Congregation Mikveh Israel is the oldest Jewish congregation in Philadelphia. Known as the Synagogue of the American Revolution, it was first established in the 1740s, when services were held in private homes. During the Revolutionary War, . . . — — Map (db m213964) HM
The Charles C. Harrison Building at 1001-1005 Market Street housed offices, stores, and commercial uses. But in 1893-1984, it was designed by the architectural firm of Cope and Stewardson, one of the most influential architectural firms to work . . . — — Map (db m191793) HM
The groundbreaking for the 1234 Market Street Building took place in April 1972. This twenty story office building, pictured here in a photo from 1976, was designed by Bower and Fradley Architects and is located between the John Wanamaker . . . — — Map (db m191847) HM
In 1893 Samuel and Jacob Lit relocated their dress shop from 45 North Eighth Street to open the Lit Brothers Department Store at the corner of 8th Street and Market Street. They then slowly added seven more buildings along the 700 block of Market . . . — — Map (db m191841) HM
Located at 913 Market Street, the Victoria Theatre, also known as the Nicklette Theatre, was an entertainment hub for East Market Street and one of many movie palaces that used to exist in Center City. Renowned for showing the latest western . . . — — Map (db m191810) HM
