{"nrhp_refnum":"71000732","name":"Philadelphia Contributionship","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"212 S. 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94686524000005,"lon":-75.1484651329724,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-05-27","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1977-12-22","areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, housing the Philadelphia Contributionship, the oldest fire insurance company in America. The present office was built in 1836.","why_significant":"The company was launched in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin and others and is described as the oldest fire insurance company in America. Its 1836 building, designed by Thomas U. Walter in the Greek Revival style, is regarded as notable for its architecture. The original Deed of Settlement, bearing more than 1700 signatures, is preserved and exhibited in the building.","narrative":"Built in 1836 from designs by Thomas U. Walter, the three-story brick office in Philadelphia is a Greek Revival building that houses the Philadelphia Contributionship. The company was launched in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin and others, and it is regarded as the oldest fire insurance company in America. Its founding document, the Deed of Settlement, was engrossed on fifteen feet of parchment and bears more than 1700 signatures; the original remains well preserved and is exhibited in the building. The company's seal, a device of four crossed hands designed by Philip Syng, was mounted on houses it insured as a mark of coverage. The building's design reflects the company's origins, since its treasurer was a securities officer, giving the structure the appearance of a house. Its features include a marble-trimmed facade, a portico with four fluted columns, and a mansard roof added in 1866 by the mason John Struthers.","period_of_significance":"1836","architect_builder":"Thomas U. Walter (architect); John Struthers (mason, 1866 alterations)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"The building is presently being renovated, and a decorative aluminum fire tower has been added to the north side.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.776451-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/71000732.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000732/d11db58c9b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000732/d11db58c9b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philadelphia_Contributionship.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philadelphia_Contributionship.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000683","name":"Independence National Historical Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/independence-national-historical-park-66000683/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997172","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Contributionship","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7182657"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philadelphia-contributionship-71000732/"}