{"nrhp_refnum":"78002447","name":"Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"123--151 S. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94947558900003,"lon":-75.16397701899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A twenty-nine story steel-frame banking and office building at Broad and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with limestone and granite facing and a classical Beaux-Arts design. It was occupied in 1928 by the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a fine example of Beaux-Arts commercial architecture and that it synthesizes the main features of three phases of skyscraper development from the 1880s onward. It is also described as one of the finest Beaux-Arts skyscrapers and one of the last to be built, with allegorical sculpture and bronze and glass work by Philadelphia and New York artisans.","narrative":"Completed in 1928 at Broad and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia, this twenty-nine story steel-frame banking and office tower was designed by Edward P. and Grant M. Simon and built by Irwin and Leighton. Its granite and limestone facade is organized into a rusticated base, an eighteen-floor shaft and setback top, and three round-arch entrances carrying bronze doors and bas-relief allegorical figures. The Beaux-Arts design is regarded as one of the finest of its type in the country and one of the last skyscrapers of the style built. The building also combines the base, shaft and capital organization of the classic column, the tower form and the setbacks that marked skyscraper design between the 1880s and the 1920s. Interior features include a three-story banking hall with terrazzo floors, a coffered ceiling and a large leaded glass window with scenes of Philadelphia history. The building was listed for its architecture and its craftsmanship, and for its association with a major banking institution.","period_of_significance":"1926-28","architect_builder":"Simon and Simon (Edward P. and Grant M. Simon), architects; Irwin & Leighton (Alex J. Irwin and Archibald O. Leighton), contractors","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Minimal exterior alterations; rear penthouses added in 1953 and the name stone over the main entrance changed in 1967.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:31.128902-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002447.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002447/60c2460f32-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002447/60c2460f32-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wells_Fargo_Building_Broad_Street_Philadelphia.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:Wells_Fargo_Building_Broad_Street_Philadelphia.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003529","name":"Broad Street Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/broad-street-historic-district-additional-documentation-84003529/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997102","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Fargo_Building_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7981651"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/fidelity-philadelphia-trust-company-building-78002447/"}