National Bank of North Philadelphia

skyscraper
art-deco
PA
Philadelphia

About the National Bank of North Philadelphia in Philadelphia
1. Building Catalogations
Architect and team
Architectureal style
Spaces and uses
Structure and materials

The National Bank of North Philadelphia is an Art-deco skyscraper designed by William H. Lee and built between 1926 and 1933 in Philadelphia, PA.

National Bank of North Philadelphia is not the only name you might know this building by though. Between 1930 and it was also known as Beury Building.

Its precise street address is 3701 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA. You can also find it on the map here.

The National Bank of North Philadelphia is a structure of significant importance both for the city of Philadelphia and the United States as a nation. The building embodies the distinctive characteristic features of the time in which it was built and the Art Deco style. Because of that, the National Bank of North Philadelphia was officially included in the National Register of Historic Places on May 20^th 1985.

The building underwent a major restoration between 1922 and 1924. The architect commissioned to undertake this restoration was SgRA Architecture.

Building's timeline

Restoration

1924

100

Construction begins

1926

Construction completed

1933

Added to the NRHP

1985

years ago

2024

1922 to 1924 - After years of being neglected the building embarked on a lengthy restoration phase to be transformed into a mixed-use development, featuring both a hotel and residences. The architect in charge was SgRA Architecture.

Architect and team

William H. Lee was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

Architectural Style

The National Bank of North Philadelphia can be categorized as an Art-deco building.

The Art Deco movement flourished during the 1920s and 1930s, with many historians marking the outbreak of World War II as its final decline. Even though a couple of decades might not seem as much, the Art Deco movement had a great impact on architecture, and it's widely represented in many American cities due to the development boom that happened during that time.

Art Deco marked the abandonment of traditional historicism and the embracement of modern living and the age of the machine. In architecture, that meant leaving behind the ornaments of Beux-Arts and Neo-Gothic buildings and instead favoring simplicity and visual impact through geometric shapes, clean lines, and symmetrical designs. Ornaments were still an important part of the design, but they became bold and lavish, and were often inspired by ancient cultures or industrial imagery, instead of nature.

The National Bank of North Philadelphia was completed in 1933, right when the Art Deco movement was at its peak, so it kind of went with the trend at that time.

Spaces & Uses

It has a total of 16 floors, 14 above ground and 2 basements, which combined offer a total of 111,998 sqf (10,405m²) of usable space.

When it opened its doors to the public in 1933, the National Bank of North Philadelphia was primarily used as Commercial space. That however, is no longer the case, and today it mainly provides Residential space.

Materials & Structure

The National Bank of North Philadelphia uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade is non-load bearing either, as it is common in frame structure type buildings.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a base with 3 levels which is clad in limestone combined with an elegant decorative ironwork along the street elevation in some parts and an ornamental terracotta in others. The entrance arch was adorned with limestone panels protecting a double-leaf metal door flanked by flat glass side panels.

Sources

gis.penndot.gov