Harris Building
Also known as: Laird, Schober & Co.
Why it's listed
Built in 1914-15 on Market Street at the corner of 22nd Street, this eight-story reinforced concrete commercial and factory building was designed by William Steele & Sons, a Philadelphia firm known for industrial structures. Its Market Street and 22nd Street facades use brick and terra cotta with Neo-Classical organization, while the rear elevations are plain red brick. The first floor served as the Twenty-Second Street Parcel Post Station from 1915 to 1930, one of the earliest parcel post stations in the city after Congress authorized the service in 1912. The upper floors housed the Laird, Schober & Company shoe manufacturing business from shortly after completion until 1942. The flat-slab floors with funnel-shaped column capitals are cited as an early local use of this reinforced concrete technology. The building is listed for its government, industrial and engineering associations, and it remains vacant.
Significance in brief: The building is locally significant for government use as the first parcel post station in Philadelphia, shortly after Congress authorized parcel post in 1912, and for its association with the shoe manufacturer Laird, Schober & Company. It is also significant in engineering as an early example of reinforced concrete industrial construction designed by William Steele & Sons, with a flat-slab system using funnel-shaped column capitals.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000928, listed August 31, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2121-41 Market St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | August 31, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000928 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1914-1942 |
| Architect / builder | William Steele & Sons Company |
| Architectural style | no style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Industry, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The building is presently vacant and owned privately; the original terra cotta cornice was removed in the 1980s. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Ramcat Historic District |
| Coordinates | 39.95270, -75.17862 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000928.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5664803
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.