{"nrhp_refnum":"01001047","name":"Merchants' Exchange Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"143 S. Third St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94747294600006,"lon":-75.14606880332502,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-08-07","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"2001-08-07","areas_of_significance":[],"significance_levels":[],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story marble-faced Greek Revival commercial building at 143 South Third Street in Philadelphia, on a triangular lot between Third, Dock, and Walnut Streets, within Independence National Historical Park. It was originally the Philadelphia Exchange, designed by William Strickland and built between 1832 and 1834.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is nationally significant for its architectural design, described as an exquisite expression of the Greek Revival style and believed to be Strickland's most successful and innovative work. It is also presented as important to nineteenth-century Philadelphia as a commercial and financial center and as home to the Post Office until the Civil War.","narrative":"Built between 1832 and 1834 to a design by William Strickland, the Merchants' Exchange stands on a triangular lot near the Delaware River in eastern downtown Philadelphia. Its east end is a semicircular screen of eight fluted Corinthian columns, modeled on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens as published by Stuart and Revett, and crowned by a circular lantern. The walls are marble, and the west elevation has a recessed Corinthian portico above colossal columns. The building was designed as a center for merchants to conduct business, and it also housed the Post Office until the Civil War. Strickland was among the leading architects of his day, and the building is regarded as his masterpiece and his last major project in Philadelphia. Later alterations under the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and a produce exchange were reversed by National Park Service restoration after 1952, which rebuilt the lantern and east staircases and returned the marble lions. The interior has been largely lost to alteration.","period_of_significance":"1832-1834","architect_builder":"William Strickland (architect)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building was vacated in 1994 and had an open floor plan in preparation for new Park Service offices.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.78055-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/01001047_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001047/c8ac9b1e7e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001047/c8ac9b1e7e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Justine Adams Lee","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:America%27s_oldest_stock_exchange_building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Justine Adams Lee</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:America%27s_oldest_stock_exchange_building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994275","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants%27_Exchange_Building_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3642743"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/merchants-exchange-building-01001047/"}