Park Towne Place
Why it's listed
Four nearly identical twenty-story towers of reinforced concrete, faced in limestone-tan brick with white marble and aluminum trim, stand on a wooded site along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Built between 1957 and 1959, the complex sits above a two-level underground garage that links the towers and supports a lawn. Three towers run parallel to the Parkway, and a fourth, the South Tower, sits at ninety degrees to the group and holds the lobby with book-matched marble. Its lobby and marble cornerstone mark it as the administrative center. The buildings use vertical balcony groups and bands of dark glass to appear raised on pilotis, a motif the nomination describes as among the earliest in the city. The complex grew out of Louis I. Kahn's 1947 Triangle District design for the Better Philadelphia Exhibit and the postwar urban renewal program led by Edmund Bacon. It is significant as the first modern housing complex for middle and upper middle class residents in downtown Philadelphia, and it set the pattern for later projects such as the Society Hill Towers.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the complex is significant for community planning and development. It traces the project to Louis I. Kahn's 1947 Triangle District design and to the postwar urban renewal program led by planner Edmund Bacon. It is described as the first modern housing complex for middle and upper middle class residents downtown, and as one of the earliest uses of the pilotis-based modernist motif in Philadelphia.
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 11000926, listed December 15, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2200 Park Towne Place, Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | December 15, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000926 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1957-1959 |
| Architect / builder | Kahn, Louis I.; Bacon, Edmund; Schwartz, Milton |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement: International Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The document says the buildings survive in excellent condition with few alterations and remain in their original use as rental apartments. |
| Acreage | 10 |
| Within district | Fairmount Park |
| Coordinates | 39.96348, -75.17724 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 11000926.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7138107
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.