{"nrhp_refnum":"03000725","name":"N. Snellenburg Company Department Store Warehouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1825-1851 N. 10th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.980308911000066,"lon":-75.14976217499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-07-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eight-story reinforced concrete warehouse at the southeast corner of N. 10th and W. Berks streets in North Philadelphia, built in 1914 for the N. Snellenburg Company department store. It is a Commercial-style building with brick spandrels and a stepped brick parapet.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the warehouse is significant under Commerce for its role supplying the Snellenburg department store and as an example of early 20th-century retailing trends. It is also significant under Architecture as an early reinforced concrete warehouse designed by William Steele and Sons Company.","narrative":"Built in 1914 on the corner of North 10th and West Berks streets in North Philadelphia, this eight-story reinforced concrete warehouse was constructed for the N. Snellenburg Company, whose downtown department store at Market Street needed storage for large goods such as furniture, carpets and phonographs. The building was fireproof and sprinklered, and it was divided into north and south sections by a concrete firewall. Its exterior shows the concrete frame clearly, with vertical members scored to resemble quoins, brick spandrels beneath each window bay, and a west facade of steel windows and loading doors. The building is regarded as an important early example of reinforced concrete warehouse construction, designed by William Steele and Sons Company. It also illustrates how department stores depended on large storage and shipping facilities. The warehouse remained in use for the store, which was later sold and closed in 1963, and the building is now vacant.","period_of_significance":"1914-1953","architect_builder":"William Steele & Sons Company","architectural_style":"Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The document states the building is now privately owned and presently vacant; rehabilitation into rental apartments was underway at the time of writing.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.367445-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/03000725.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000725/80c51f1df8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000725/80c51f1df8-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N_Snellenberg.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N_Snellenberg.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997436","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Snellenburg_Company_Department_Store_Warehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q139760271"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/n-snellenburg-company-department-store-warehouse-03000725/"}