Loews Philadelphia Hotel, previously known as the PSFS Building, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A National Historic Landmark, the building was the first International style skyscraper constructed in the United States.
It was built for the Philadelphia Saving (later Savings) Fund Society in 1932 and was designed by architects William Lescaze and George Howe. 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 an International style architecture.
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 20 miles (32 km), the sign has become a Philadelphia icon.
In the 1980s, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society lost millions. In 1992, the bank and its building were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). That same year, 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.
^"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^"PSFS Building - PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
established itself in the PSFSBuilding in 1934. Over the years, the building with its sign became a Philadelphia landmark. The PSFSBuilding was listed as a National...
(PSFS), originally called the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, was a savings bank headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. PSFS was...
SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 22, 2007. "PSFSBuilding". Structurae.de. Retrieved August 22, 2007. "PNC Bank Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original...
Society (PSFS) Building, which is today generally considered the first International Modernist skyscraper, and the first International Style building of wide...
SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 22, 2007. "PSFSBuilding". Structurae.de. Retrieved August 22, 2007. "PNC Bank Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original...
first International style skyscraper was built. The 631,006 sq.ft. PSFSBuilding, which was designed by George Howe and William Lescaze, was topped with...
floor plates of any office building in New York City since World War II. This arrangement was inspired by the PSFSBuilding in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
exhibition, besides the PSFSBuilding. Johnson, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, later helped build the Seagram Building (1959) on Park Avenue between...
United States, the PSFSBuilding, designed by George Howe and William Lescaze. The 548 ft (167 m) City Hall remained the tallest building in the city until...
Robert A. M. Stern, the exterior design may have been influenced by the PSFSBuilding in Philadelphia. The west and south facades contain a glass and aluminum...
and the only other U.S. skyscraper at that exhibition, besides the PSFSBuilding. Hitchcock and Johnson objected only to the crown, which they described...
differentiate National Historic Landmarks and historic districts from other NRHP buildings, structures, sites or objects. The eight-digit number below each date...
Building has been compared with the United Nations Building, the Lever House, and the PSFSBuilding because of its glass curtain and cubic shapes, asymmetrical...
Alice M. Bentley 1932 — First totally air conditioned building, Philadelphia, PSFSBuilding 1933 — First American-born bishop of the Eastern Orthodox...
market. The Bulletin realized that channel 10's original tower, atop the PSFSBuilding in Center City, was not nearly strong enough to serve this larger viewing...
ever designed and the best skyscraper built in Philadelphia since the PSFSBuilding. Goldberger noted that "The skyline of Philadelphia, far from being...
have different PSFs at different focal and spatial locations, and the PSF may be non-linear. The accuracy of the approximation of the PSF will dictate the...
Philadelphia firm of Howe & Lescaze, with whom he worked on the landmark PSFSBuilding. In 1931, he organized a Salon des Refusés for architects who had been...
modernist William Lescaze, whose PSFSBuilding of 1928–1932 was one of the first major International Style buildings in the United States. The construction...
The American Radiator Building (also known as the American Standard Building) is an early skyscraper at 40 West 40th Street, just south of Bryant Park...
partnered with George Howe to design structures such as Philadelphia's PSFSBuilding, an early International Style skyscraper. Just after buying the 211...
that arranged its absorption into the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS).[citation needed] Savings banks were limited by law to only offer savings...
order of 15% is considered substantial. Other sources report the following PSFs: 5–25% for modest systems 40% for "highly optimized" systems Up to 75% for...
service firms (PSF). In particular, Von Nordenflycht generated a taxonomy of professional service firms, defining four types: Classic PSFs (e.g. law and...
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