{"nrhp_refnum":"03000071","name":"Pennsylvania Railroad Office Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3175 John F. Kennedy Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.955927203000044,"lon":-75.18740816699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-02-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 14-story office tower at 3175 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in West Philadelphia, built in 1927 to house the Pennsylvania Railroad's clerical staff. It has a limestone and terra cotta base and an E-shaped buff brick tower.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its role in the Pennsylvania Railroad's operations and development in Philadelphia, and as an example of the company's last major period of building activity in the city. It is also described as a major work of the architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White in the Commercial Classicism style favored by the railroad.","narrative":"Completed in 1927 at the corner of North 32nd Street, Market Street and Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia, this fourteen-story office tower was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Its base is faced in limestone and terra cotta above polished granite, and the upper floors rise in buff brick with patterned spandrels and Art Deco-inspired circular ornament near the top. The railroad built it to consolidate clerical staff, about 5,500 people, who had been scattered across leased quarters after Broad Street Station ran short of space. The building is considered important for its link to the railroad's Philadelphia Improvements Project and to the company's push for efficiency during a period of declining revenues and growing competition from road and air transport. Its open floor plans with exposed concrete columns and its original window frames remain largely intact, which the nomination cites as evidence of integrity.","period_of_significance":"1927-1952","architect_builder":"Graham, Anderson, Probst & White","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The document states the building remains in excellent condition and has received few alterations since construction.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.072946-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/03000071.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000071/e7d169f4a6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000071/e7d169f4a6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pennsylvania_Railroad_Office_Building,_Philadelphia_(May_2010).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pennsylvania_Railroad_Office_Building,_Philadelphia_(May_2010).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997562","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_Office_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7164045"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/pennsylvania-railroad-office-building-03000071/"}