Mulford Building
Also known as: Metropolitan Building
Why it's listed
Built in 1912-1913 as a nine-story garment manufacturers' loft on North Broad Street in Philadelphia, the building rises from a limestone base to a brick shaft and a copper cornice. Its tripartite Broad Street facade has a two-story portico with Tuscan columns. Originally called the Metropolitan Building, it housed about 29 garment tenants between 1913 and 1918, with nearly 1,100 workers recorded in 1914. In 1918 the H.K. Mulford Company bought it for pharmaceutical production and distribution, and it became the corporate headquarters for the firm and its successors, Sharp & Dohme and Merck, Sharp & Dohme. A four-story addition was built on the southwest corner in 1934. The building is important for its link to Philadelphia's biological drug industry and for its design by architect Charles Balderston as a manufacturers' loft. In recent years it had been used for artists' lofts and has been vacant for about two years.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant for its association with the pharmaceutical industry in Philadelphia, as the H.K. Mulford Company and successor firms used it for production, packaging and distribution of biological products. It is also argued to be an important example of a manufacturers' loft building designed by industrial architect Charles Balderston.
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 04000882, listed August 20, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 640 N. Broad St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | August 20, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000882 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1912-1954 |
| Architect / builder | Balderston, Charles |
| Architectural style | LATE 19th AND 20th CENTURY REVIVALS/Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Health/Medicine |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | For the past two years, the building has stood vacant. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 39.96604, -75.17362 (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 04000882.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6933941
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.