Physicians and Dentists Building
Also known as: Professional Building
Why it's listed
Built in 1896 on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, this ten-story office building with an attic was designed as rental space for doctors and dentists serving downtown and the nearby Rittenhouse neighborhood. Its steel frame, limestone street facade with a projecting entrance portico on Corinthian columns, and balcony separating the tenth story from the attic reflect the turn-of-the-century skyscraper. The building is important for its structural innovations. The Wilson Brothers, the firm behind it, are credited with pioneering windbracing of steel frames and shelf angles for masonry curtain walls, both used here. The basement retains riveted steel columns and girders, and the attic holds hollow terra cotta floor elements described as a rare survivor of a transitional fireproof system. Among Philadelphia's surviving tall buildings from the late nineteenth century, it is regarded as one of the best preserved.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant as a work of the Wilson Brothers, an innovative engineering and architectural firm, and as an early tall office building designed to serve a specialized professional clientele. It is also described as one of the few surviving tall office buildings from Philadelphia's final decades of the nineteenth century, and it retains original structural and cladding systems.
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 87001968, listed November 5, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1831--1833 Chestnut St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | November 5, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001968 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1896 |
| Architect / builder | Wilson Bros. (architects); Geo. Payne (builder) |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 39.95181, -75.17124 (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.
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 87001968.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7189663
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.