{"nrhp_refnum":"80003615","name":"New York Mutual Life Insurance Company Building","other_names":["Victory Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1001--1005 Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.950115709000045,"lon":-75.15718855999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-06-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story brick commercial office building at the corner of Chestnut and Tenth Streets in Philadelphia, faced in Rhode Island light granite on its south and east sides. Designed by Henry Fernbach in 1873, with three upper stories added in the 1890s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is one of the finest American examples of the Second Empire style and Philadelphia's most expressive surviving example of it. Its richly sculpted classical facade is described as richer and more sensitive in composition than comparable buildings in Washington and New York. Its interior plan, with a central stairway and light wells, is presented as simple and functional.","narrative":"Built in 1873 to a design by New York architect Henry Fernbach, this seven-story brick office building at Chestnut and Tenth Streets in Philadelphia is faced in Rhode Island light granite on its south and east sides. Its lower three floors carry an elaborate array of engaged columns, pilasters, balustrades and arcades, with a balconied centerpiece on Tenth Street and an arched entrance on Chestnut Street. In the 1890s three more stories were added by Phillip W. Roos, continuing the design on a smaller scale, and the original mansard was removed, cleaned and replaced. The building is regarded as one of the finest American examples of the Second Empire style and as Philadelphia's most expressive surviving example of it. Its central stairway, lit by light wells and a domed skylight, gives the interior a plan that is still described as functional. The building is also noted as the earliest on a block of early twentieth-century office towers.","period_of_significance":"1873-1899","architect_builder":"Henry Fernbach (architect); Phillip W. Roos (architect of 1890s addition)","architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Document states no significant changes since the 1890s; bulk windows were installed on the first floor on Chestnut Street and minor interior alterations were made in below-grade shops.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.457763-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003615.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003615/a812776b59-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003615/a812776b59-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"George Eisenman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victory_Building_(cropped).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">George Eisenman</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victory_Building_(cropped).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/71997122","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Mutual_Life_Insurance_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15262114"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/new-york-mutual-life-insurance-company-building-80003615/"}