Textile National Bank building at 1801 E. Huntingdon Street. | Photo: Michael Bixler
At its meeting on December 12, the Philadelphia Historical Commission reviewed several requests to make alterations to properties on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. It also reviewed a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the Textile National Bank building at 1801 E. Huntingdon Street in Kensington.
Nominations of Philadelphia properties to the National Register are overseen by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which must solicit comments from the appropriate local government, which in turn must offer an opportunity for public comment. The Historical Commission speaks on behalf of the City of Philadelphia on historic preservation matters.
Top: Architect Herman Miller designed the sculptural panel in the tympanum on the building’s west elevation and contracted Conkling-Armstrong Terra Cotta Company to create it. Bottom: Massive Corinthian columns flank the entryway of the bank while an ornate clock keeps time from above. | Photos: Michael Bixler
The Textile National Bank building was designed in the Classical Revival style in 1904 by architect Herman Miller who specialized in bank buildings. It was one of several neighborhood banks that helped fuel the textile industry in Philadelphia. Two other banks of the same era, the Industrial Trust, Title & Savings Bank and Ninth National Bank, stood at 1952-1958 N. Front Street, but were demolished in June 2023 after decades of neglect.
In 2012, the Textile National Bank was included in the Kensington Textile Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property and was added to the Philadelphia Register in 2017. The Historical Commission offered comments in support of the nomination.
A photograph of Textile National Bank circa 1900s. | Photo courtesy of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Each month, the Historical Commission reviews and votes on exterior alterations to properties on the local register after a review by the Architectural Committee. The rules and regulations call for Commission approval before the work is done. However, this requirement is sometimes ignored by property owners. If discovered, the owners appear before the Historical Commission to request the legalization of the work. In 2025, this happened at more than half of the Commission’s meetings, including this one. Most frequently, windows and doors inappropriate for the historical nature of the building had been installed. At the meetings, the owners are reminded that they could have enlisted the advice of the Historical Commission and its staff in selecting appropriate materials.
No new properties were added to the Philadelphia Register during December’s meeting.
Nominations are first reviewed by the Historical Commission’s Committee on Historic Designation, which meets less frequently than the full Commission. The Committee does not meet in November, and its December meeting has been cancelled. In January, the Committee on Historic Designation meeting is scheduled for two weeks after the Historical Commission’s meeting, so the next time new nominations can be considered by the Commission will be at its February 13, 2026 meeting. The Committee on Historic Designation has six meetings scheduled for 2026. In 2025, it had eight meetings scheduled, although two were cancelled.
National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association Office at 428-34 N. 4th Street. | Photo: Michael Bixler
On the Historical Commission’s website, three nominations that have each been continued over time are listed as “under consideration.” The list includes the National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association Office at 428-34 N. 4th Street (nominated January 2025), Piers 38 & 40 South at 775 S. Christopher Columbus Boulevard (nominated October 2021), and Jewelers’ Row Historic District (nominated March 2017).
The nomination for 428-34 North 4th Street was submitted on January 8, the property owner was notified on January 17, 2025, and at that time it came under the protection of the Historical Commission as if it was already designated. On May 21, it was reviewed by the Committee on Historic Designation, which voted to recommend designation owing to the building’s distinguishing characteristics of the New Formalism architectural style, representing the post-war turn to Modernist architecture in the United States, and as part of the Callowhill East Redevelopment Project, exemplifying the economic and political heritage of the community in the era of urban renewal. Committee members also noted how the building is representative of Philadelphia’s labor history as well as the historic location of the city’s port along the Delaware River waterfront before operations moved to South Philadelphia in the 1960s. The Committee also complimented the nominator for their thorough research.
A rendering of 428-34 N. 4th Street from the 1960s. | Image courtesy of Misha Wyllie via MEBA Archives
In a letter dated December 15, Richard Hasz, president & CEO of Gift of Life Howie’s House, the owner of an adjacent property at 401 Callowhill Street, requested that designation of 428-34 N. 4th Street be denied, stating that the organization had “recently entered into an agreement of sale.”
When asked about the three nominations, a spokesperson for the Historical Commission responded that the Marine Engineers building will be reviewed at the January 2026 meeting and Piers 38 and 40 is potentially slated for that meeting as well. “The Jewelers’ Row Historic District – continued indefinitely,” they noted in an email. “During the continuance, the district is treated as though it is designated. The Historical Commission is reviewing all building permit applications for properties in the district.”
