{"nrhp_refnum":"85001388","name":"Northern National Bank","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2300 Germantown Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.98680127100005,"lon":-75.14567680299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-06-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Northern National Bank is a two-story flat-iron bank building at 2300 Germantown Avenue, occupying a corner of a six-way intersection in North Philadelphia. It was designed in 1893 by Philadelphia architect Walter D. Smedley.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a fine example of Romanesque Revival bank design by Smedley, with decorative exuberance and a solid image suited to a bank. It also cites the building's largely intact 19th-century banking interior, one of the few of its kind in Philadelphia, and its role as the only bank within a ten-block radius of the intersection.","narrative":"Built in 1893 to a design by Philadelphia architect Walter D. Smedley, this two-story flat-iron bank stands on a corner of a six-way intersection in North Philadelphia at Germantown Avenue and Dauphin Street. Its rounded corner holds an arched entrance of terra cotta voussoirs set between polished granite columns, with wrought iron gates, and the walls rise from a rusticated pink granite base in yellow Roman brick. Terra cotta diaperwork, pressed tin crests and spandrels, and a heavy modillioned pressed metal cornice add further ornament. The bank was founded in 1890 by real estate broker Edward T. Tyson, who first operated from three row houses in the 2100 block of Germantown Avenue. It is regarded as an exuberant example of Smedley's work in the Romanesque Revival style. Its interior, with a two-story banking floor, marble counters, brass teller cages, a wrought-iron gallery, paneled president's office, and a large vault, is significant as one of the few intact 19th-century bank interiors in Philadelphia.","period_of_significance":"1893","architect_builder":"Walter D. Smedley (architect)","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The document describes the building as remaining remarkably intact; it also notes the building was sold in 1971 to the Ile-Ife Black Humanitarian Center.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.430305-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85001388.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001388/3bafb2888e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001388/3bafb2888e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_National_site.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_National_site.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997120","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_National_Bank","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7058759"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/northern-national-bank-85001388/"}