Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Summer 2026 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Photo: Peter Woodall
FDR Park Welcome Center
Location: 1500 Pattison Avenue
Built: 1919
The reuse of the FDR Park Welcome Center stands as a compelling example of how thoughtful preservation can transform a disused historic structure into a vibrant public asset. Completed in May 2025, the project rehabilitated the park’s former guardhouse, stables, and adjacent garage into a LEED Gold-certified visitor center serving one of Philadelphia’s most heavily used parks. For this tremendous effort, the project won a 2026 Preservation Achievement Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Located within FDR Park, with landscape that was designed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1914, the buildings had been closed to the public for decades and suffered from significant deterioration. Rather than pursue demolition, the Fairmount Park Conservancy embraced adaptive reuse, preserving the building’s Arts and Crafts character, including its buff brick walls, deep overhanging eaves, and red clay tile roof, while integrating modern systems and amenities.
Historic features, including arched openings, glazed brick, and original wood elements, were carefully restored with salvaged materials repurposed throughout the interior. The transformation delivers long-desired public amenities, including restrooms, concessions, seating, and park information services, all within the historic footprint.
Importantly, the project balances preservation with resilience. Flood mitigation strategies, durable materials, and energy-efficient systems ensure long-term sustainability. Now serving approximately four million annual visitors, the Welcome Center not only preserves a piece of Philadelphia’s park history, but also anchors a broader vision for the park’s future.
Photo: Peter Woodall
Bureau Brothers Foundry
Location: 2234 West Westmoreland Street
Built: 1913
On a quiet corner in Allegheny West, a broad brick industrial building endures as both artifact and active workshop. Constructed for heavy craft, the former Bureau Brothers Foundry has adapted over time without losing its essential purpose–a rare continuity in Philadelphia’s industrial landscape.
Founded in the 1870s by French-born brothers Achille and Edouard Bureau, the Bureau Brothers Foundry quickly gained prominence, casting bronze and brass works for some of the nation’s leading sculptors. By 1912, demand necessitated a new, larger facility. The brothers commissioned architect W.L. Baithe to design a new plant at 23rd and Westmoreland Streets. The building’s robust construction, open spans, steel columns, and durable masonry were tailored to the physical demands of metal casting. Many of these original features remain visible today.
After the Bureau Brothers, the John P. Kelly Foundry continued operations into the late 20th century, extending the site’s industrial legacy. Later uses were less conventional, but still tied to craft and storage, including a period storing hundreds of pianos and, more recently, occupation by Philadelphia Salvage Co. for its retail space.
Today, the building has returned to its roots under Independent Casting, where skilled metalsmiths again produce work for artists and institutions worldwide. The foundry remains remarkably intact. Its architecture and use are still aligned more than a century later with the purpose for which it was built.
Photo: Peter Woodall
Quaker City National Bank
Location: 721 Chestnut Street
Built: 1889
Few buildings on Chestnut Street embody as many layers of ambition, loss, and adaptation as the Quaker City National Bank Building. It began as part of an unusually grand composition by architect Willis G. Hale, who envisioned a unified tripartite faccade spanning 713-721 Chestnut Street. Three distinct financial institutions were housed within a single architectural statement: the Union Trust Company at the center, flanked by the Chestnut Street Trust and Saving Fund Company and the Chestnut Street National Bank.
The story quickly took a dramatic turn. Under its second president, financier William M. Singerly, the institution expanded just before the financial panic of 1897 forced its collapse, leaving 721 Chestnut Street vacant. In 1901, the Quaker City National Bank acquired the property, giving the building the name that still appears carved into its facade.
Today, 721 Chestnut Street is the lone remnant of Hale’s original vision. The central bank was demolished in 1923 and replaced with a Classical Revival design by Paul Cret, while the eastern wing was lost by 1962. Notably, Cret’s intervention allowed the surviving structure to read as a complete and coherent building rather than a fragment. Its richly ornamented limestone facade, featuring intricate carvings and distinctive leaded glass “all-seeing eye” windows, remains a striking example of late 19th century commercial design. The former bank is listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.
A facade restoration completed in 2025 was recognized as a Grand Jury Winner at the 2026 Preservation Achievement Awards, underscoring the building’s enduring significance.
