Centennial National Bank
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Centennial National Bank | |
 | |
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March 1961 | |
  | |
| Location |
32nd & Market Sts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°57′18″N 75°11′14″W / 39.95500°N 75.18722°WCoordinates: 39°57′18″N 75°11′14″W / 39.95500°N 75.18722°W |
| Built | 1876 |
| Architect | Frank Furness |
| Architectural style | Other |
| Governing body | Local |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000721[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 11, 1971 |
Centennial National Bank is a historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by noted Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, it was built in 1876 as the headquarters of the bank that would finance the Centennial Exposition. Today, it houses Drexel University's alumni relations center.
The bank itself was chartered on January 19, 1876, to finance Philadelphia's great coming-out on the world stage. Its first president was Clarence Howard Clark, Sr., a financier and West Philadelphia resident and developer.[2]
Clark hired Furness, whom he met in Unitarian circles, to design the bank's headquarters building.[3] Completed in April 1876, the building's interior was modified in 1893, and again in 1899, when Philadelphia architect Frank Miles Day built a rear addition that followed Furness's style. In 1956, when the building was occupied by the First Pennsylvania Bank, it was further modified: its single floor was split into two and the exterior was simplified. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 11, 1971.
The building was acquired by Drexel University and renovated in 2000-02. In 2002, the university rededicated the building as the Paul Peck Alumni Center, which houses the university's alumni relations center, meeting spaces, and an art gallery.[4]
References
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
- ↑ "Banking". Dickerman's United States Treasury Counterfeit Detector and Bankers' & Merchants' Journal 17 (1). January 1900.
- ↑ Edited by George E. Thomas, Jeffrey A. Cohen, Michael J. Lewis (1996). Frank Furness: The Complete Works. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 72. ISBN 9781568980942.
- ↑ The Peck Alumni Center at Drexel University
External links
- Centennial National Bank at Bryn Mawr College
- Listing at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1095, "Centennial National Bank", 1 photos, 3 measured drawings, 1 photo caption pages
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