{"nrhp_refnum":"76001667","name":"Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12 S. 19th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95159409000004,"lon":-75.16026023020926,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-08","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-12-08","areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 36-story office tower with a second-floor banking hall and street-level store space at 12th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built as the headquarters of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society. It was completed in 1932 and designed by George Howe and William Lescaze.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is perhaps the most important skyscraper built in America between the Chicago School and the International Style, and that its design is technically superb and innovative in its use of materials and equipment. It is described as a landmark in American architectural history, and its design is credited to a unique client-architect relationship with president James M. Willcox.","narrative":"Completed in 1932 at 12th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, the PSFS Building is a 36-story office tower designed by George Howe and William Lescaze for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society. Rising 491 feet, it places its banking hall on the second floor, carried by a 16-1/2 foot deep truss spanning 63 feet, with the office tower rising above on structural columns. Its design followed functional modernist principles, and it was the second skyscraper in the United States to be fully air conditioned. Interiors used stainless steel, marble, rare woods and leather, and the rooftop board room has ebony and walnut sliding walls. Willcox took an active part in the design and is credited with the final vertical character of the tower. The building is regarded as the masterpiece of Howe and Lescaze and a landmark in American architecture, and it was significant for its innovation in both structure and interior finish.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George Howe and William Lescaze","architectural_style":"Modern (International Style)","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.156492-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/76001667_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001667/8ca9d82002-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001667/8ca9d82002-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PSFSBuilding1985.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PSFSBuilding1985.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003531","name":"East Center City Commercial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/east-center-city-commercial-historic-district-84003531/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994293","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSFS_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1548457"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philadelphia-savings-fund-society-building-76001667/"}