{"nrhp_refnum":"87002209","name":"Pitcairn Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1027 Arch St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95362927200006,"lon":-75.15743076699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-01-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Pitcairn Building is an eight-story steel frame commercial loft building on Arch Street in Philadelphia, with granite base, Roman brick pilasters and terra cotta trim. It was designed in the English Baroque style in 1901 by G. W. and W. D. Hewitt.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its role in the regional distribution system of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company and its later use by H. Daroff & Sons, a major clothing manufacturer whose role in the 1929 unionization of Philadelphia clothing workers gives it social significance. It is also cited as an important example of early twentieth century loft buildings and of the Hewitts' commercial work.","narrative":"Built in 1901-1902 on Arch Street in Philadelphia as a warehouse and showroom for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, this eight-story steel frame loft building is clad in granite, cream-colored Roman brick and terra cotta. Its English Baroque facades were designed by G. W. and W. D. Hewitt, who achieved the ornate effect with standard catalog terra cotta. The building was one of seven regional distribution centers the company set up in the 1890s and early 1900s, storing orders on its upper floors until customers collected them. From 1923 it housed H. Daroff & Sons, a large readymade men's clothing manufacturer that employed about eight hundred workers in 1924. In August 1929 the company was struck by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and signed a contract within weeks, a settlement regarded as opening the wider unionization of the Philadelphia clothing trade. The building is also one of the few surviving loft buildings on Arch Street.","period_of_significance":"1901-1945","architect_builder":"J.E. & A.L. Pennock (builders); G.W. & W.D. Hewitt (architects)","architectural_style":"English Baroque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Original shop windows at street level have been removed and the entrance surround partly enclosed behind aluminum panels; the building's integrity is described as good.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.039638-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/87002209.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002209/5637b8c9e9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002209/5637b8c9e9-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pitcairn_Building_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pitcairn_Building_Philly.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/71997324","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcairn_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7198640"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/pitcairn-building-87002209/"}