{"nrhp_refnum":"86001842","name":"Snellenburg's Clothing Factory","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"642 N. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.96542745700003,"lon":-75.16097071499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former clothing factory occupying almost an entire city block between Wallace and North streets on the west side of Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1903-1905 for the Snellenburg retail firm. It consists of a larger Broad Street building and a narrower rear block linked by a steel bridge.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the factory is a major landmark on North Broad Street and the production center of the Snellenburg drygoods firm. It is presented as a work of the William Steele Company, an important industrial architect, and as an example of early design-build practice and healthful factory planning for women workers.","narrative":"Built in 1903-1905 for the Snellenburg retail firm, this complex occupies nearly a full city block on the west side of Broad Street in Philadelphia, with a larger Broad Street building and a narrower rear block on Wallace Street joined by a steel bridge at the fourth to sixth floors. The main facade is organized around a central tower that held a water tank for the sprinkler system and a fire tower, and it uses terra cotta and brick polychromy. The interior has heavy timber columns, wood girders, maple flooring and pressed tin ceilings. The plan of C-shaped wings with fire towers and central light wells gave the building good ventilation and light, which the firm advertised as a healthful environment for its seamstresses. Designed by William Steele Company, it is regarded as a superb surviving example of the firm's work just before its shift to modern building technology. Its listing reflects its role as a landmark of Philadelphia's garment industry and as a monument to the Snellenburg family's business.","period_of_significance":"1903-1905","architect_builder":"William Steele Co. (builder/architect; the text also refers to William Steele and Sons)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The main Broad Street entrance was altered in the 1950s, two stories of windows were replaced with aluminum jalousie windows, and the clock face has been removed; the building left Snellenburg hands in the 1920s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.369821-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86001842.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001842/c8a7c05589-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001842/c8a7c05589-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:642_N_Broad_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:642_N_Broad_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997318","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snellenburg%27s_Clothing_Factory","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7547631"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/snellenburgs-clothing-factory-86001842/"}