The former George Institute Library at 1461-65 N. 52nd Street. | Photo: Michael Bixler

At its meeting on June 13, the Philadelphia Historical Commission added three properties to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and approved significant alterations to two previously designated buildings.

The George Institute Library at 1461-65 N. 52nd Street was constructed in 1914 and designed by architect E. Allen Wilson in the Federal Revival style. The library was founded in 1872 through a bequest of Quaker philanthropist Jesse George. The Hestonville building’s flatiron shape is a prominent fixture in the five-way intersection at Lancaster Avenue, 52nd Street, and Bible Way. In 1927, it became part of the Free Library of Philadelphia system, which closed the branch in 2001 and turned the building over to the City.

The Engine House of Truck Company F at 4027-31 Haverford Avenue. | Photo: Google Street View

The Engine House of Truck Company F at 4027-31 Haverford Avenue was built in 1884 as one of the first fire houses to serve the growing neighborhood of West Philadelphia. The station reflects the early history of the City’s municipally controlled fire department, which replaced the volunteer companies that served various neighborhoods.

The final historic designation was for two contrasting Victorian twins, now listed as one parcel, at 1439 N. 15th Street. The homes were built for prominent 19th century industrialists during a period when lower North Philadelphia was being developed as a wealthy enclave. One home, originally owned by carpet manufacturer William Ivins, was designed in the Chateauesque style. The other, built for Hamilton Disston of the Disston Saw Works, is an example of Second Empire style.

Victorian twins at 1439 N. 15th Street. | Photo: Google Street View

In 2018, the former Green Hill Market House at 1632 Poplar Street was added to the Philadelphia Register as an example of market houses that were built in the mid-19th century to replace open-air street markets. In 2023, the owner, The Church of the Living God, The Pillar, and Ground Truth, unsuccessfully sought to have the designation rescinded and now plans to convert the property into an apartment building. As a result, the church requested permission to remove the structure’s roof and stone veneer and add a fourth-floor addition, roof deck, and pilot house. Following the advice of the Historical Commission’s Architectural Committee, the plans had been revised to further set back the addition to reduce its visibility from the street. The proposal was approved in concept. The developer is required to work with Historical Commission staff for final approval of the plans.

The former Green Hill Market House at 1632 Poplar Street. | Photo: Richard Gonzalez

Another request for alterations came from a much more prominent building. The Drexel Company Building at 1435-41 Walnut Street was built in 1927 by the architectural firm Day & Klauder, whose other works included Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania and the Germantown branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia in Vernon Park. The Center City building was added to the local register in both 1971 and 1973.

The current owner maintained that its imposing facade, with windows that “look out, but do not allow looking in,” was befitting of the private bank it was built for, but is problematic for today’s Walnut Street shopping corridor. They requested permission to remove the masonry sills from seven windows along Walnut and S. 15th Streets to enlarge the windows.

Proposed window alterations at 1435-41 Walnut Street. | Rendering: ARX Solutions

The owner said the removed stone panels would be stored, should they be needed for reinstallation at a later date. In September 2021, the Historical Commission denied the application, owing to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and Guidelines, which stipulate that “new additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property.” After the owner filed an appeal with the Board of License & Inspection Review, they arrived at an agreement with the City’s Law Department to remand it back to the Historical Commission for another review. Although the proposal was essentially unchanged from four years ago, the Historical Commission staff recommended approval, while the Architectural Committee voted to deny the application in its original review in 2021, suggested altering fewer windows would maintain more historic fabric.

While sympathetic to the owner’s difficulties in finding a tenant for the building’s first floor, some Historical Commission members were uncomfortable with granting the request based on the speculation that it would attract a tenant. Others appreciated the offer to salvage and preserve the removed masonry, but this raised the concern that its oversight would not be realistic, as was evident recently in the case of the now-demolished St. Laurentius Roman Catholic Church in Fishtown, where architectural elements were not saved and stored, even though it was a requirement of the Historical Commission’s demolition permit. In a roll call vote, the Historical Commission approved the proposal to cut the seven window sills, install new windows, and preserve and store the removed materials.