Loews Philadelphia Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Loews Philadelphia Hotel, also known as the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building, or PSFS Building, is a skyscraper in Center City
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, United States. A National Historic Landmark
, the Loews Philadelphia was the first International style
skyscraper built in the United States. The building was built for the Philadelphia Saving (later Savings) Fund Society
in 1932 and was designed by architects William Lescaze
and George Howe
. The skyscraper's design was a departure from traditional bank and Philadelphia architecture, lacking features such as domes and ornamentation. Combining Lescaze's experience with European modernism, Howe's Beaux-Arts background and Philadelphia Saving Fund Society President James M. Wilcox's desire for a forward-thinking, tall building the skyscraper incorporated the main characteristics of International style architecture.
Called the United States' first modern skyscraper, and one of the most important skyscrapers built in the country in the first half of the 20th century, the building featured an innovative and effective design of a T-shaped tower that allowed the maximum amount of natural light and rentable space. The tower sat on a base with a polished marble facade. The first floor of the base contained space for retail, while the second floor featured the banking hall, bank offices and associated facilities. The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's offices and banking hall featured custom-designed furniture, including custom Cartier
clocks on every floor. The top of the skyscraper featured the bank's boardroom and other facilities for the board of directors
. Office tenants were attracted to the tower by modern facilities such as radio receivers and was the second high-rise in the U.S. to be equipped with air conditioning
. The skyscraper is topped by a red neon sign with the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's initials (PSFS) on it. Visible for 20 miles (32.2 km), the sign has become a Philadelphia icon. Next to the sign is a television tower erected in 1948.
In the 1980s, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society began expanding into other financial services, but lost millions in its new business ventures. In 1992 the bank and its building were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
. That same year the skyscraper was 85 percent vacant, with most business attracted to the larger, more modern office space built in the city in the 1980s. The FDIC auctioned the building off, and it was bought by developers to turn into a Loews Hotel
. The Pennsylvania Convention Center
opened in 1993 a block away from the skyscraper, and the city was promoting the creation of enough hotel space to host a political convention
in 2000. Conversion into a hotel began in 1998, and the Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in April 2000, in time for the 2000 Republican National Convention
.
and Sun Oil Company
were expanding by building skyscrapers in Center City, Philadelphia
. To replace their Walnut Street headquarters the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) began planning a new building on Market Street
at the former location of the William Penn Charter School
. Under direction of bank President James M. Wilcox, they began seeking designs for a building, of which that by architects William Lescaze
and George Howe
was accepted by the board of directors
in November 1930. During the 1920s Howe worked for the firm Mellor, Meigs and Howe where he designed two Beaux-Arts styled bank branches for PSFS. In 1929 Howe left the firm and partnered with Lescaze. Together, with influence from Wilcox, they designed the new PSFS Building.
Construction was contracted to the George A. Fuller
Company. Completed in 1932 at a cost of US$8 million, the PSFS Building was a modern departure from traditional bank architecture and other Philadelphia skyscrapers. Designed in the International style
, the building was the first skyscraper of its type built in the United States.
Part of the modern amenities installed to attract tenants included radio reception devices installed in each of the building's offices by the RCA Victor Company
. The Carrier Engineering Corporation was contracted to install air conditioning
inside the building, making it only the second air-conditioned high-rise in the United States. The skyscraper was completed during the Great Depression
and the neon initials of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society were kept lit throughout the economic troubles to create a symbol of hope and consistency for the city. In the early part of the Depression the initials were jokingly said to mean "Philadelphia Slowly Faces Starvation."
Over the years, the building with its sign became a Philadelphia landmark. The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society held school programs that allowed Philadelphia children to open accounts with the bank and deposit money every week. The program, through which generations of Philadelphians opened their first bank accounts, featured a School Accounts Counter in the building and stepstools for the youngest children. For many children it became a rite of passage to travel to the PSFS Building to access their accounts.
The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society occupied 112723 square feet (10,472.3 m²) of the 374628 square feet (34,804.1 m²) of office space in the building. The remaining office space was available for rent by other tenants. One notable tenant was Towers Perrin
, which established itself in the PSFS Building in 1934.
The PSFS Building was listed as a National Historic Landmark
in 1976 because of its architectural significance.
In 1982 PSFS merged with the Western Savings Fund Society and expanded into other financial services
. In September 1985 the bank began doing business as Meritor Financial Group, of which PSFS became a subsidiary. Meritor's aggressive expansion in the 1980s led to the company losing millions of dollars in new business ventures. In 1989 Meritor sold 54 of its PSFS branches and the PSFS name to Mellon Bank
. The deal went into effect in 1990 and on May 21 of that year the building's neon sign was turned off. Meritor said that having sold the name it was inappropriate to light the sign. Turning off the sign provoked outrage and protest from the public, historians, and architecture buffs. As a result Meritor and Mellon Bank agreed to relight the sign and keep it lit. Meritor said, "We agreed that it was in the best interest of the city to relight it."
In the late 1980s an office building boom in the Market Street West neighborhood of Center City was attracting tenants looking for larger office space away from the older PSFS Building. By 1992 the building was 85 percent vacant and in December of that year the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) seized Meritor Financial Group and sold off the rest of its bank branches to Mellon Bank. The FDIC took control of Meritor's remaining assets including the PSFS Building. The FDIC was not the sole owner of the building since Meritor had, by the 1990s, sold off interest in the building to several partners.
opened one block away from the PSFS Building and numerous new hotels were appearing around the city. Originally thinking of turning the PSFS Building into apartments, developer Carl Dranoff decided a hotel would be best after noticing a Marriott
being built across the street. Dranoff hired Bower Lewis Thrower Architects who created a plan, which he took to commercial developer Ronald Rubin of the Rubin Organization. Rubin took over the project and hired Dranoff to oversee it. Rubin first approached Hyatt
and after negotiations that lasted a year Hyatt decided to build an entirely new property at Penn's Landing
instead. Rubin then approached the Loews Hotels
chain.
On April 11, 1997 developer Rubin, hotelier Jonathan Tisch
and Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell
announced in the PSFS boardroom that the PSFS Building would be converted into a Loews Hotel. Over the next year the conversion of the building into a hotel was delayed while Loews negotiated with the Rubin Organization to buy out its interest in the building. An agreement was formally reached in June 1998, and work began on the building shortly thereafter. After a year-long delay on starting the renovations, there were concerns more delays would occur if the building's conversion turned out to be more difficult than first thought. The concern stemmed from the city's attempt to attract a political convention
to the city in 2000. A key part of attracting a political convention was the number of available hotel rooms in the host city, and completion of the PSFS Building on time was an important factor.
The Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in April 2000 with renovation costs totaling US$115 million. The year before completion, the Republican Party
had decided to hold their 2000 National Convention
in Philadelphia despite the earlier concerns of hotel space. The Florida delegation would stay at the Loews Philadelphia during the event.
, 491 feet (149.7 m) skyscraper in the Market East neighborhood
in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. Located at the corner of 12th and Market Streets, the skyscraper contains 557000 square feet (51,747 m²) in the original building, with more space provided by a modern addition. The main building consists of a T-shaped tower and its base. The tower is split between the building's cross-bar that serves as the skyscraper's spine, and the rest of the tower which projects from the spine asymmetrically. The office floors are set back
from 12th Street about 20 feet (6.1 m) and is set back on its western side about 40 feet (12.2 m).
The tower's facade
is made up of vertical piers
of limestone
and horizontal spandrels of matte buff brick. The piers protrude 15 inches (38.1 cm) outward from the rest of the facade. The facade of the core of the tower, which contains the elevators, stairwells, and utilities, is made of glazed black brick. The tower's windows are grouped in sets of four on the east and west sides of the tower. The north-side windows stretch across its entire length except for at the fourth and fifth floors where the windows are two sets of four flanking a set of six. The 21st floor, a mechanical floor
that houses the air conditioning equipment, has narrower windows than on the rest of the building.
The 33rd floor contains the boardroom, a dining room, a solarium and other spaces intended for PSFS's Board of Directors. Wooden paneling is featured throughout the 33rd floor. Hudoke wood veneer decorates the walls of the Committee Room, Macassar ebony
walls and original wooden Venetian blinds decorate the hallway, Macassar ebony and rosewood
paneling makes up the Boardroom and Main Dining Room.
The building's base is differentiated from the rest of the tower by a facade of polished granite
and large windows. The base is wider than most of the tower above and is curved at the corner facing the Market Street and 12th Street intersection. The base housed the original banking hall and former retail space. Two-story-tall windows set in flat aluminum
frames open into the banking hall area, curving with the rest of the base. Stainless steel
rods make up the window mullion
s. The large banking hall features stainless-steel columns supporting the tower above and two mezzanine levels
, now separated from the hall by a metal and glass wall. The mezzanine levels are connected by a black and white staircase.
The building features two street entrances and one subway entrance. The 52 feet (15.8 m) tall Market Street entrance lobby features stairs and escalator
s leading up to the former banking hall. The black, gray, and white marble
lobby features a three-story window with stainless steel mullions set in a flat aluminum frame similar to the windows in the banking hall. The other entrance is on 12th Street. Originally designed for the office workers in the towers, the entrance now leads to the hotel's lobby. Custom Cartier
clocks decorate both entrance lobbies and every elevator lobby.
es. Below the banking hall, on the ground and basement floors, was 28755 square feet (2,671.4 m²) of retail space designed to be able to be altered as needed. Last rented by Lerner's dress shop
, the retail space originally featured display windows and store access in the subway station below.
The office tower contained 374628 square feet (34,804.1 m²) of office and banking space. 228867 square feet (21,262.4 m²) of that space was available to rent. The rental space spanned over 30 floors and attracted potential tenants by featuring radio outlets in every office, air conditioning and garage facilities. The rental floors were meant to be adjusted for the tenants' needs, and the floor configurations have been repeatedly changed over the years. In the 1970s more than 2,000 people worked in the building.
The 33rd-floor boardroom contained a massive oval table with a Macassar ebony veneer. The hallway leading to the boardroom and solarium contained coat hooks for each of the board members and senior officers. The foyer had a chart listing the presidents and board members of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society through the years and where they sat at the boardroom table. The foyer also featured a sketch of the old Walnut Street Headquarters and a list of bank offices and the dates they opened. The board room was decorated with portraits of the bank's founders and its presidents. The chairs around the board table each have a plaque on the back that showed the number of the chair and the names of the current and previous board members who sat there.
In the base of the building, the banking hall, now called the Millennium Hall Ballroom, is used as function space. Separated by a metal and glass screen, the mezzanine levels are used as pre-function space and dining areas. Located by the 12th Street entrance on the ground floor, the lobby is decorated by the original vault door from the third-floor mezzanine, the bronze ceiling from the safe deposit box area, and the tellers' counters from the banking hall. Designed to mimic the building's original style, the lobby contains stainless-steel columns that replicate the ones found on the mezzanine, and the walls are of wood and marble. The ground floor also contains a Solefood Restaurant, Bar, and Lounge and a street-level, glass-walled news studio for the NBC
affiliate
WCAU
.
Attached on the south side of the building is a four-story, concrete-framed, glass and aluminum addition, which houses a parking garage's entrance and exit, meeting spaces, hotel service facilities, a kitchen, and a room for mechanical equipment. On the north side of the building a canopy with Loews signage on it was added to the Market Street entrance.
The PSFS sign has become a Philadelphia icon. At the time of construction, abbreviations were rarely used but architects Howe and Lescaze pushed for their use as the full name would have been illegible from the ground. When Loews announced it was going to be converted into a hotel, the first question asked by reporters was what was happening to the sign. Loews briefly considered altering the sign by projecting the Loews name on it, but the idea was soon scrapped.
South of the sign is a television tower
. The 258 feet (78.6 m) tower is set up for relaying TV and radio signals and was added to the skyscraper in 1948.
Wilcox was the one who encouraged emphasizing the buildings height with vertical piers. Howe argued against the vertical lines wanting to emphasize the office space inside the tower. Wilcox was adamant about showing off the building's height and in the end vertical piers were added, along with emphasizing the horizontal space inside using the spandrels. The piers protrude from the facade to not interfere with wall space and allow the maximum amount of floor space and flexible office arrangement. The t-shaped tower was designed in a way to allow in the maximum amount of light on the office floors and to emphasize the banking portion in the base. The building's spine containing elevators and utilities was made visible on the outside for the first time in a skyscraper instead of hidden inside in the center of the building.
Putting the banking hall on the second floor allowed for retail space on the street level, giving the building's owners extra revenue and attracting middle-class depositors to the bank. To support the tower above, structural columns extend from a 16.5 feet (5 m) deep truss
in the banking hall floor. Lescaze designed the curved base, giving it marble to give the building a sense of luxury from the street level.
, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the Philadelphia Historical Commission.
To be an effective convention hotel, the building required an extra 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) for a ballroom and meeting spaces. Land was acquired along 12th Street and an addition was built. If the developers had been unable to acquire the neighboring site, the hotel conversion would not have happened. As an addition to a historic landmark, it was required to be differentiated from the rest of the structure, but be built of comparable materials, structure and size. The developers were also required to make sure the addition would not damage the original building in case it was demolished. The addition also reduced changes to the rest the original building that would have been needed to make room for certain amenities.
Part of the conversion was a rehabilitation of the building's facade. Since flashing
was not originally included around the building's windows, rainwater failed to drain, causing window shelves to corrode and the surrounding masonry to fail. During the rehabilitation, the facade was cleaned and rebuilt and repaired where needed. Along with adding weatherproofing, 97 percent of the windows in the tower needed replacement. The new windows were originally criticized for being too bright, but the brightness has faded over time. Two-story windows on the 33rd floor needed to be replaced, but the first replacements did not meet historical preservation standards, and a second set had to be designed and were subsequently approved. The large windows in the base were repaired, reglazed and cleaned. The street-level windows were restored to their original appearance based on physical evidence and drawings.
Daroff Design, Inc. was in charge of decorating the interiors. Daroff Design and Loews decided International style would not provide the atmosphere hotel guests sought and predominantly used the Art Deco
style instead. Critics criticized the use of Art Deco, saying Daroff Design did not understand the International style and cheapened the original building. However, one architecture critic said "Daroff's flamboyant approach allows Howe and Lescaze's contribution to have its own identity, and Daroff to have hers." Karen Daroff said, "Our first instinct was to stay with the minimal design of the International style but we did need to soften it. We took almost a cinematic approach, using Hollywood's view of the '20s and '30s, juxtaposed with the abstract geometry."
The decision to use the banking hall for functions instead of serving as the hotel's lobby was financially driven by allowing the hotel to rent out the large hall for events. In the banking hall, the teller counter was removed despite being a "character defining" feature. The State Historic Preservation Office recommended that a shadow line of the counter be incorporated in the floor, but the recommendation was not carried out. The metal and glass wall that separates the mezzanines and the hall was required by safety code. The staircase that connects the mezzanine floors had been enclosed by a modern wall, but the wall was removed in the restoration. The 33rd-floor rooms, including the boardroom, were restored, and much of the original furniture was acquired by Loews. There were few distinct features of the building on the first floor so the developers used the area for the hotel lobby. Among other changes to the first floor was creating access to the lobby from the Market Street entrance.
. Run by Henry-Russell Hitchcock
and Philip Johnson
, the exhibition was where the term International style was coined. The PSFS Building was praised for its cantilevering facade and the building's organization of shops on the first floor, the banking hall on the second floor, offices above and the service tower in the back. Unlike the PSFS Building, the other skyscraper, New York City
's McGraw-Hill Building
, design was more due to necessity of publishing operations and zoning restrictions than following an architectural movement. Hitchcock and Johnson were critical of both building's use of ornamental signage at the top. However, Lescaze and Howe's design was not featured at the 1932 Architectural League of New York
Annual Exhibition having deemed the skyscraper as having an ugly and illogical design. Howe responded by saying "Like all institutions which have become traditional, it tends to resent change."
In 1939 the building was awarded the Gold Medal by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects
. While the PSFS Building would later influence other buildings, the skyscraper did not start a trend in banking architecture. Spiro Kostof
said that the building was "too coolly self-possessed, too intellectual perhaps to start a trend." After the International style became popular in the 1950s, the PSFS Building was called one of the most important skyscrapers built in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. Called the United States' first truly modern skyscraper by Architectural Review
in 1957, the PSFS Building was awarded Building of the Century by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1969.
Robert A. M. Stern
said of the building, "Nothing like it had been built, and only rarely...had anything near its size been imagined in the vocabularies of either the first or second phase of the International style. PSFS is much more than a superb marriage of function and technological innovation within the constraints of a new vocabulary of form. It is a superbly crafted object, refined in its every detail....PSFS is that rarest of phenomena of our time, a working monument."
William Jordy
said the building's uniqueness "appears in its extraordinary ambiguity, as reconciliation, synthesis, and prophecy." Jordy also said, "Although it does epitomize the coming [to America] of the European functionalist style of the twenties, this event occurred so late as to make it seem more of a synthesis of previous developments than a herald of new departures. Yet,...as a synthesis, then as an American synthesis, PSFS is worthy of study today...it is rather more innovative than its appearance, date, and provincial position suggest...PSFS is not even quite the unadulterated exemplar of the International style that it seems to be. It depends as well on Beaux-Arts theory, which it ostensibly repudiates."
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States. A National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, the Loews Philadelphia was the first International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
skyscraper built in the United States. The building was built for the Philadelphia Saving (later Savings) Fund Society
Philadelphia Savings Fund Society
The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society , originally called the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, was a savings bank headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. PSFS was founded in December 1816, becoming the first savings bank to organize and do business in the United States...
in 1932 and was designed by architects William Lescaze
William Lescaze
William Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, and is one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture....
and George Howe
George Howe (architect)
George Howe was an American architect and educator, and an early convert to the International style. With William Lescaze, he designed Philadelphia's PSFS Building .-Biography:...
. The skyscraper's design was a departure from traditional bank and Philadelphia architecture, lacking features such as domes and ornamentation. Combining Lescaze's experience with European modernism, Howe's Beaux-Arts background and Philadelphia Saving Fund Society President James M. Wilcox's desire for a forward-thinking, tall building the skyscraper incorporated the main characteristics of International style architecture.
Called the United States' first modern skyscraper, and one of the most important skyscrapers built in the country in the first half of the 20th century, the building featured an innovative and effective design of a T-shaped tower that allowed the maximum amount of natural light and rentable space. The tower sat on a base with a polished marble facade. The first floor of the base contained space for retail, while the second floor featured the banking hall, bank offices and associated facilities. The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's offices and banking hall featured custom-designed furniture, including custom Cartier
Cartier SA
Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...
clocks on every floor. The top of the skyscraper featured the bank's boardroom and other facilities for the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
. Office tenants were attracted to the tower by modern facilities such as radio receivers and was the second high-rise in the U.S. to be equipped with air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
. The skyscraper is topped by a red neon sign with the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's initials (PSFS) on it. Visible for 20 miles (32.2 km), the sign has become a Philadelphia icon. Next to the sign is a television tower erected in 1948.
In the 1980s, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society began expanding into other financial services, but lost millions in its new business ventures. In 1992 the bank and its building were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
. That same year the skyscraper was 85 percent vacant, with most business attracted to the larger, more modern office space built in the city in the 1980s. The FDIC auctioned the building off, and it was bought by developers to turn into a Loews Hotel
Loews Hotels
-About Loews HotelsHotels:Loews Hotels currently owns and/or operates 18 hotels and resorts in the United States and Canada:-United States locations:*Loews Annapolis Hotel - Annapolis, Maryland*Loews Atlanta Hotel - Atlanta, Georgia...
. The Pennsylvania Convention Center
Pennsylvania Convention Center
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events.-History:...
opened in 1993 a block away from the skyscraper, and the city was promoting the creation of enough hotel space to host a political convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
in 2000. Conversion into a hotel began in 1998, and the Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in April 2000, in time for the 2000 Republican National Convention
2000 Republican National Convention
The 2000 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 31 to August 3, 2000. The 2066 delegates assembled at the convention nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush as the Republican candidate for U.S....
.
History
In the 1920s banks such as Girard Trust Company and other businesses such as Wanamaker'sWanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
and Sun Oil Company
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
were expanding by building skyscrapers in Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
. To replace their Walnut Street headquarters the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) began planning a new building on Market Street
Market Street (Philadelphia)
Market Street, originally known as High Street, is a major east–west street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the majority of its length, it serves as Pennsylvania Route 3....
at the former location of the William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1689 by William Penn...
. Under direction of bank President James M. Wilcox, they began seeking designs for a building, of which that by architects William Lescaze
William Lescaze
William Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, and is one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture....
and George Howe
George Howe (architect)
George Howe was an American architect and educator, and an early convert to the International style. With William Lescaze, he designed Philadelphia's PSFS Building .-Biography:...
was accepted by the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
in November 1930. During the 1920s Howe worked for the firm Mellor, Meigs and Howe where he designed two Beaux-Arts styled bank branches for PSFS. In 1929 Howe left the firm and partnered with Lescaze. Together, with influence from Wilcox, they designed the new PSFS Building.
Construction was contracted to the George A. Fuller
George A. Fuller
George A. Fuller was an architect often credited as being the "inventor" of modern skyscrapers and the modern contracting system.-Early life and career:Fuller was born in Templeton, Massachusetts, near Worcester...
Company. Completed in 1932 at a cost of US$8 million, the PSFS Building was a modern departure from traditional bank architecture and other Philadelphia skyscrapers. Designed in the International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
, the building was the first skyscraper of its type built in the United States.
Part of the modern amenities installed to attract tenants included radio reception devices installed in each of the building's offices by the RCA Victor Company
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
. The Carrier Engineering Corporation was contracted to install air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
inside the building, making it only the second air-conditioned high-rise in the United States. The skyscraper was completed during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the neon initials of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society were kept lit throughout the economic troubles to create a symbol of hope and consistency for the city. In the early part of the Depression the initials were jokingly said to mean "Philadelphia Slowly Faces Starvation."
Over the years, the building with its sign became a Philadelphia landmark. The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society held school programs that allowed Philadelphia children to open accounts with the bank and deposit money every week. The program, through which generations of Philadelphians opened their first bank accounts, featured a School Accounts Counter in the building and stepstools for the youngest children. For many children it became a rite of passage to travel to the PSFS Building to access their accounts.
The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society occupied 112723 square feet (10,472.3 m²) of the 374628 square feet (34,804.1 m²) of office space in the building. The remaining office space was available for rent by other tenants. One notable tenant was Towers Perrin
Towers Perrin
Towers Perrin was a professional services firm specialising in human resources and financial services consulting, which merged in January 2010 with Watson Wyatt to form Towers Watson...
, which established itself in the PSFS Building in 1934.
The PSFS Building was listed as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1976 because of its architectural significance.
In 1982 PSFS merged with the Western Savings Fund Society and expanded into other financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
. In September 1985 the bank began doing business as Meritor Financial Group, of which PSFS became a subsidiary. Meritor's aggressive expansion in the 1980s led to the company losing millions of dollars in new business ventures. In 1989 Meritor sold 54 of its PSFS branches and the PSFS name to Mellon Bank
Mellon Financial
Mellon Financial Corporation, was one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth-individual asset management, including the Dreyfus family of mutual funds; business banking; and shareholder and...
. The deal went into effect in 1990 and on May 21 of that year the building's neon sign was turned off. Meritor said that having sold the name it was inappropriate to light the sign. Turning off the sign provoked outrage and protest from the public, historians, and architecture buffs. As a result Meritor and Mellon Bank agreed to relight the sign and keep it lit. Meritor said, "We agreed that it was in the best interest of the city to relight it."
In the late 1980s an office building boom in the Market Street West neighborhood of Center City was attracting tenants looking for larger office space away from the older PSFS Building. By 1992 the building was 85 percent vacant and in December of that year the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
(FDIC) seized Meritor Financial Group and sold off the rest of its bank branches to Mellon Bank. The FDIC took control of Meritor's remaining assets including the PSFS Building. The FDIC was not the sole owner of the building since Meritor had, by the 1990s, sold off interest in the building to several partners.
Transformation
By 1994 the PSFS Building was looking worn and much of Meritor's furniture and equipment was sold off at auction by the FDIC in 1993. That same year the Pennsylvania Convention CenterPennsylvania Convention Center
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events.-History:...
opened one block away from the PSFS Building and numerous new hotels were appearing around the city. Originally thinking of turning the PSFS Building into apartments, developer Carl Dranoff decided a hotel would be best after noticing a Marriott
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
being built across the street. Dranoff hired Bower Lewis Thrower Architects who created a plan, which he took to commercial developer Ronald Rubin of the Rubin Organization. Rubin took over the project and hired Dranoff to oversee it. Rubin first approached Hyatt
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
and after negotiations that lasted a year Hyatt decided to build an entirely new property at Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing is the waterfront area of the Center City along the Delaware River section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is so named because the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, docked near here in 1682, along the now paved over Dock Creek, after landing first in New...
instead. Rubin then approached the Loews Hotels
Loews Hotels
-About Loews HotelsHotels:Loews Hotels currently owns and/or operates 18 hotels and resorts in the United States and Canada:-United States locations:*Loews Annapolis Hotel - Annapolis, Maryland*Loews Atlanta Hotel - Atlanta, Georgia...
chain.
On April 11, 1997 developer Rubin, hotelier Jonathan Tisch
Jonathan Tisch
Jonathan M. Tisch has been Chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels since 1989, as well as being Co-Chairman of the Board and Member of the Office of the President of Loews Corporation, its parent company. He is the son of Founder Robert Tisch....
and Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
announced in the PSFS boardroom that the PSFS Building would be converted into a Loews Hotel. Over the next year the conversion of the building into a hotel was delayed while Loews negotiated with the Rubin Organization to buy out its interest in the building. An agreement was formally reached in June 1998, and work began on the building shortly thereafter. After a year-long delay on starting the renovations, there were concerns more delays would occur if the building's conversion turned out to be more difficult than first thought. The concern stemmed from the city's attempt to attract a political convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
to the city in 2000. A key part of attracting a political convention was the number of available hotel rooms in the host city, and completion of the PSFS Building on time was an important factor.
The Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in April 2000 with renovation costs totaling US$115 million. The year before completion, the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
had decided to hold their 2000 National Convention
2000 Republican National Convention
The 2000 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 31 to August 3, 2000. The 2066 delegates assembled at the convention nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush as the Republican candidate for U.S....
in Philadelphia despite the earlier concerns of hotel space. The Florida delegation would stay at the Loews Philadelphia during the event.
General
The Loews Philadelphia Hotel is a 36-storyStorey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
, 491 feet (149.7 m) skyscraper in the Market East neighborhood
Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Market East is part of the downtown district known as Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Market East corresponds to the area along Market Street between Arch Street to the north, Chestnut Street to the south, Juniper Street to the west, and 6th Street to the east...
in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Located at the corner of 12th and Market Streets, the skyscraper contains 557000 square feet (51,747 m²) in the original building, with more space provided by a modern addition. The main building consists of a T-shaped tower and its base. The tower is split between the building's cross-bar that serves as the skyscraper's spine, and the rest of the tower which projects from the spine asymmetrically. The office floors are set back
Setback (architecture)
A setback, sometimes called step-back, is a step-like recession in a wall. Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes.-History:...
from 12th Street about 20 feet (6.1 m) and is set back on its western side about 40 feet (12.2 m).
The tower's facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is made up of vertical piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and horizontal spandrels of matte buff brick. The piers protrude 15 inches (38.1 cm) outward from the rest of the facade. The facade of the core of the tower, which contains the elevators, stairwells, and utilities, is made of glazed black brick. The tower's windows are grouped in sets of four on the east and west sides of the tower. The north-side windows stretch across its entire length except for at the fourth and fifth floors where the windows are two sets of four flanking a set of six. The 21st floor, a mechanical floor
Mechanical floor
A mechanical floor, mechanical penthouse, or mechanical level is a storey of a high-rise building that is dedicated to mechanical and electronics equipment. "Mechanical" is the most commonly used term, but words such as utility, technical, service, and plant are also used...
that houses the air conditioning equipment, has narrower windows than on the rest of the building.
The 33rd floor contains the boardroom, a dining room, a solarium and other spaces intended for PSFS's Board of Directors. Wooden paneling is featured throughout the 33rd floor. Hudoke wood veneer decorates the walls of the Committee Room, Macassar ebony
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
walls and original wooden Venetian blinds decorate the hallway, Macassar ebony and rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
paneling makes up the Boardroom and Main Dining Room.
The building's base is differentiated from the rest of the tower by a facade of polished granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and large windows. The base is wider than most of the tower above and is curved at the corner facing the Market Street and 12th Street intersection. The base housed the original banking hall and former retail space. Two-story-tall windows set in flat aluminum
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
frames open into the banking hall area, curving with the rest of the base. Stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
rods make up the window mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
s. The large banking hall features stainless-steel columns supporting the tower above and two mezzanine levels
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
, now separated from the hall by a metal and glass wall. The mezzanine levels are connected by a black and white staircase.
The building features two street entrances and one subway entrance. The 52 feet (15.8 m) tall Market Street entrance lobby features stairs and escalator
Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
s leading up to the former banking hall. The black, gray, and white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
lobby features a three-story window with stainless steel mullions set in a flat aluminum frame similar to the windows in the banking hall. The other entrance is on 12th Street. Originally designed for the office workers in the towers, the entrance now leads to the hotel's lobby. Custom Cartier
Cartier SA
Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...
clocks decorate both entrance lobbies and every elevator lobby.
Office building
The skyscraper was originally designed for banking and offices. The base of the tower contained retail and office space along with a large banking hall and its associated facilities. The main floor of the banking hall housed the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's teller counters and tubular steel furniture custom designed for the banking floor. On the mezzanine levels were the bank's offices, a vault and safe deposit boxSafe deposit box
A safe deposit box or wrongly referred to as a safety deposit box is an individually-secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions...
es. Below the banking hall, on the ground and basement floors, was 28755 square feet (2,671.4 m²) of retail space designed to be able to be altered as needed. Last rented by Lerner's dress shop
New York & Company
New York & Company, Inc. is a nationwide specialty retailer of women's fashion and accessories.Lerner Shops was founded in 1918 by Samuel A. Lerner and Harold M Lane in NYC. Also born to Samuel in 1918 was Alan Jay Lerner. New York & Company, Inc., its current name under new ownership, is an...
, the retail space originally featured display windows and store access in the subway station below.
The office tower contained 374628 square feet (34,804.1 m²) of office and banking space. 228867 square feet (21,262.4 m²) of that space was available to rent. The rental space spanned over 30 floors and attracted potential tenants by featuring radio outlets in every office, air conditioning and garage facilities. The rental floors were meant to be adjusted for the tenants' needs, and the floor configurations have been repeatedly changed over the years. In the 1970s more than 2,000 people worked in the building.
The 33rd-floor boardroom contained a massive oval table with a Macassar ebony veneer. The hallway leading to the boardroom and solarium contained coat hooks for each of the board members and senior officers. The foyer had a chart listing the presidents and board members of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society through the years and where they sat at the boardroom table. The foyer also featured a sketch of the old Walnut Street Headquarters and a list of bank offices and the dates they opened. The board room was decorated with portraits of the bank's founders and its presidents. The chairs around the board table each have a plaque on the back that showed the number of the chair and the names of the current and previous board members who sat there.
Hotel
Converted into the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, the building contains 581 guestrooms including 37 suites. The hotel features 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) square feet of function space in three ballrooms and fourteen conference rooms. The hotel also offers a 31st-floor Concierge Library and fifth-floor spa, pool, and fitness center.In the base of the building, the banking hall, now called the Millennium Hall Ballroom, is used as function space. Separated by a metal and glass screen, the mezzanine levels are used as pre-function space and dining areas. Located by the 12th Street entrance on the ground floor, the lobby is decorated by the original vault door from the third-floor mezzanine, the bronze ceiling from the safe deposit box area, and the tellers' counters from the banking hall. Designed to mimic the building's original style, the lobby contains stainless-steel columns that replicate the ones found on the mezzanine, and the walls are of wood and marble. The ground floor also contains a Solefood Restaurant, Bar, and Lounge and a street-level, glass-walled news studio for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate
Network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry , a network affiliate is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program or radio program line-up of a television or radio network, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network...
WCAU
WCAU
WCAU, channel 10, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WCAU has its studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in the...
.
Attached on the south side of the building is a four-story, concrete-framed, glass and aluminum addition, which houses a parking garage's entrance and exit, meeting spaces, hotel service facilities, a kitchen, and a room for mechanical equipment. On the north side of the building a canopy with Loews signage on it was added to the Market Street entrance.
Sign and tower
The skyscraper is topped by a distinctive sign with the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's initials. The 27 feet (8.2 m) high letters are white by day and illuminated with red neon lights by night. The sign hides mechanical equipment and can be seen for 20 miles (32.2 km).The PSFS sign has become a Philadelphia icon. At the time of construction, abbreviations were rarely used but architects Howe and Lescaze pushed for their use as the full name would have been illegible from the ground. When Loews announced it was going to be converted into a hotel, the first question asked by reporters was what was happening to the sign. Loews briefly considered altering the sign by projecting the Loews name on it, but the idea was soon scrapped.
South of the sign is a television tower
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
. The 258 feet (78.6 m) tower is set up for relaying TV and radio signals and was added to the skyscraper in 1948.
Design
The PSFS Building was built for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society under direction of bank President James M. Wilcox. Wilcox's goal for the building was "ultra modern only in the sense that it is ultra-practical." The building's design went through several revisions with Wilcox working closely with architects William Lescaze and George Howe. The building was a radical departure from the traditional Greek and Italian inspired bank architecture. Beaux-arts trained George Howe combined his experience with William Lescaze familiarity of modern European design. The building designed was in the International style, a term that would be coined two years after the building was designed. The main characteristics of the style, focus on volume over mass, balance rather than preconceived symmetry, and the lack or ornamentation are all in the design of the skyscraper. Analysis of the proposed design of the building by the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society stated that the belief that traditional banking architecture would soon become obsolete and that economic realities would lead to similarly designed buildings in the near future. The analysis said "Marble halls and fantastic domes have been overdone and no longer excite the public's interest. They have had their day. An era of sound and handsome but 100% practical buildings is at hand."Wilcox was the one who encouraged emphasizing the buildings height with vertical piers. Howe argued against the vertical lines wanting to emphasize the office space inside the tower. Wilcox was adamant about showing off the building's height and in the end vertical piers were added, along with emphasizing the horizontal space inside using the spandrels. The piers protrude from the facade to not interfere with wall space and allow the maximum amount of floor space and flexible office arrangement. The t-shaped tower was designed in a way to allow in the maximum amount of light on the office floors and to emphasize the banking portion in the base. The building's spine containing elevators and utilities was made visible on the outside for the first time in a skyscraper instead of hidden inside in the center of the building.
Putting the banking hall on the second floor allowed for retail space on the street level, giving the building's owners extra revenue and attracting middle-class depositors to the bank. To support the tower above, structural columns extend from a 16.5 feet (5 m) deep truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
in the banking hall floor. Lescaze designed the curved base, giving it marble to give the building a sense of luxury from the street level.
Conversion
While the T-shaped space in the tower was not useful as modern offices, it has an ideal shape for hotel rooms. The conversion of the tower to a hotel was led by project principal Arthur Jones of Bower Lewis Thrower Architects and preservation consultant Robert Powers of Powers and Associates. Since the building is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, all changes to the building were monitored by the National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the Philadelphia Historical Commission.
Part of the conversion was a rehabilitation of the building's facade. Since flashing
Flashing (weatherproofing)
Flashing refers to thin continuous pieces of sheet metal or other impervious material installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from an angle or joint...
was not originally included around the building's windows, rainwater failed to drain, causing window shelves to corrode and the surrounding masonry to fail. During the rehabilitation, the facade was cleaned and rebuilt and repaired where needed. Along with adding weatherproofing, 97 percent of the windows in the tower needed replacement. The new windows were originally criticized for being too bright, but the brightness has faded over time. Two-story windows on the 33rd floor needed to be replaced, but the first replacements did not meet historical preservation standards, and a second set had to be designed and were subsequently approved. The large windows in the base were repaired, reglazed and cleaned. The street-level windows were restored to their original appearance based on physical evidence and drawings.
Daroff Design, Inc. was in charge of decorating the interiors. Daroff Design and Loews decided International style would not provide the atmosphere hotel guests sought and predominantly used the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style instead. Critics criticized the use of Art Deco, saying Daroff Design did not understand the International style and cheapened the original building. However, one architecture critic said "Daroff's flamboyant approach allows Howe and Lescaze's contribution to have its own identity, and Daroff to have hers." Karen Daroff said, "Our first instinct was to stay with the minimal design of the International style but we did need to soften it. We took almost a cinematic approach, using Hollywood's view of the '20s and '30s, juxtaposed with the abstract geometry."
The decision to use the banking hall for functions instead of serving as the hotel's lobby was financially driven by allowing the hotel to rent out the large hall for events. In the banking hall, the teller counter was removed despite being a "character defining" feature. The State Historic Preservation Office recommended that a shadow line of the counter be incorporated in the floor, but the recommendation was not carried out. The metal and glass wall that separates the mezzanines and the hall was required by safety code. The staircase that connects the mezzanine floors had been enclosed by a modern wall, but the wall was removed in the restoration. The 33rd-floor rooms, including the boardroom, were restored, and much of the original furniture was acquired by Loews. There were few distinct features of the building on the first floor so the developers used the area for the hotel lobby. Among other changes to the first floor was creating access to the lobby from the Market Street entrance.
Reception
The design of the PSFS Building elicited both early criticism and praise. In the March 1931 issue of T-Square Club Journal Elbert Conover said, "The day will come when even in America, we will become skillful enough to meet economic pressure without forcing upon the community such ugliness and illogical designing." The PSFS Building was one of only two U.S. skyscrapers included in the 1932 International style exhibition at the Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
. Run by Henry-Russell Hitchcock
Henry-Russell Hitchcock
Henry-Russell Hitchcock was the leading American architectural historian of his generation. A long-time professor at Smith College and New York University, he is best known for writings that helped to define Modern architecture.-Biography:...
and Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
, the exhibition was where the term International style was coined. The PSFS Building was praised for its cantilevering facade and the building's organization of shops on the first floor, the banking hall on the second floor, offices above and the service tower in the back. Unlike the PSFS Building, the other skyscraper, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's McGraw-Hill Building
330 West 42nd Street
330 West 42nd Street is also known as the McGraw Hill Building. The original McGraw-Hill building was located at 469 Tenth Avenue. This second McGraw-Hill building, on 42nd Street was completed in 1931, the same year as the completion of the Empire State Building. The architect was Raymond Hood...
, design was more due to necessity of publishing operations and zoning restrictions than following an architectural movement. Hitchcock and Johnson were critical of both building's use of ornamental signage at the top. However, Lescaze and Howe's design was not featured at the 1932 Architectural League of New York
Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines"....
Annual Exhibition having deemed the skyscraper as having an ugly and illogical design. Howe responded by saying "Like all institutions which have become traditional, it tends to resent change."
In 1939 the building was awarded the Gold Medal by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
. While the PSFS Building would later influence other buildings, the skyscraper did not start a trend in banking architecture. Spiro Kostof
Spiro Kostof
Dr. Spiro Konstantine Kostof was a leading architectural historian and inspirational teacher at the University of California, Berkeley. His books continue to be widely read and some are routinely used in collegiate courses on architectural history.A Bulgarian born in Turkey, Kostof was educated...
said that the building was "too coolly self-possessed, too intellectual perhaps to start a trend." After the International style became popular in the 1950s, the PSFS Building was called one of the most important skyscrapers built in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. Called the United States' first truly modern skyscraper by Architectural Review
Architectural Review
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects....
in 1957, the PSFS Building was awarded Building of the Century by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1969.
Robert A. M. Stern
Robert A. M. Stern
Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern, is an American architect and Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture....
said of the building, "Nothing like it had been built, and only rarely...had anything near its size been imagined in the vocabularies of either the first or second phase of the International style. PSFS is much more than a superb marriage of function and technological innovation within the constraints of a new vocabulary of form. It is a superbly crafted object, refined in its every detail....PSFS is that rarest of phenomena of our time, a working monument."
William Jordy
William Jordy
Dr. William H. Jordy was a leading American architectural historian. At the time of his death, Jordy was Henry Ledyard Goddard Professor Emeritus of Art History at Brown University, where he taught for many years....
said the building's uniqueness "appears in its extraordinary ambiguity, as reconciliation, synthesis, and prophecy." Jordy also said, "Although it does epitomize the coming [to America] of the European functionalist style of the twenties, this event occurred so late as to make it seem more of a synthesis of previous developments than a herald of new departures. Yet,...as a synthesis, then as an American synthesis, PSFS is worthy of study today...it is rather more innovative than its appearance, date, and provincial position suggest...PSFS is not even quite the unadulterated exemplar of the International style that it seems to be. It depends as well on Beaux-Arts theory, which it ostensibly repudiates."