The PSFS Building, also known as the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The building, the first International Style skyscraper constructed in the United States, was designed by architects William Lescaze and George Howe, was built for the Philadelphia Saving (later Savings) Fund Society. 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 the desire of Society President James M. Wilcox for a forward-thinking, tall building the skyscraper incorporated the main characteristics of International style architecture. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.
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 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. The building 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 PSFS initials. Visible for , the sign has become a Philadelphia icon.
In the 1980s, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society lost millions of dollars. In 1992, the bank and its building were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); by then, the skyscraper was 85 percent vacant. 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. Conversion into a hotel began in 1998, and the Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in time for the 2000 Republican National Convention.
History Construction
In the 1920s, banks such as Girard Trust Company and other businesses such as Wanamaker's 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 new building. The proposal submitted 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.Du Point E.I.(1802)https://www.hagley.org
Construction was contracted to the George A. Fuller Company. Completed in 1932 at a cost of $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 among the first skyscrapers 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.
PSFS use 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." The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society occupied of the 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.
Over the years, the building with its sign became a Philadelphia landmark. 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.
Hotel conversion
By 1994, the PSFS Building was looking frayed and much of Meritor's furniture and equipment was sold off at auction by the FDIC in 1993. That same year, the Pennsylvania Convention Center 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.
To be an effective convention hotel, the building required an extra for a ballroom and meeting spaces, without which the hotel conversion would not have taken place. Land was acquired along 12th Street and an addition was built. 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 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.
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.
Architecture
The PSFS Building was built for the Philadelphia Saving 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 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.
Exterior