Editor’s Note: The architects of the late 19th and early 20th century were so drunk on elaborate decorations that they placed them not only at street level, but also 10, 15, 20 stories up, where almost no one could see them clearly except the upper floor occupants of adjacent buildings. We’ve always wondered what the heck some of them looked like, so we sent Rob Lybeck out with a telephoto lens to bring back an answer. In a word, beautiful. The locations of all of the photos in the gallery above are identified in the individual photos below.
Witherspoon Building, Walnut and Juniper Streets
15th and Ranstead
Drake Building, 1500 block of Spruce Street
American Bible Publication Society, 1400 block of Chestnut Street
Keystone Bank/Hale Building, Chestnut and Juniper
Warwick Hotel, 17th and Locust Streets
Drake Building, 1500 block of Spruce Street
Witherspoon Building, Walnut and Juniper Streets
Witherspoon Building, Walnut and Juniper Streets
Warwick Hotel, 17th and Locust
Witherspoon Building, Walnut and Juniper Streets
City Hall
235 S.15th St. Building. 13th Floor.
235 S.15th St. Building. 13th Floor.
275 S. 15th Street
275 S. 15th St. Building
Keystone Bank/Hale Building, Chestnut and Juniper
Chatham Building, 20th and Walnut Streets
Keystone Bank/Hale Building, Chestnut and Juniper
Center City’s older buildings are a treasure trove of details and I’ve also wondered as to why exactly they’re so often just high enough and just small enough to escape everyday attention. Perhaps they were intended to be something that had to be looked for. Let us not forget the conservative approach that builders in this city have historically had for architectural embellishment (notwithstanding the presence of perhaps the most ornate building in Philadelphia smack in the middle of Center City) and putting those details on cornices and pediments rewards those who take the time to admire the buildings.