In 2017, Philadelphia dedicated a memorial to Octavius Catto (born 1839) at City Hall. Catto was an African American civil rights...

The Sugar Refinery was built in 1792 by Joshua Cresson and John Bartholomew on undeveloped land near Christ Church. The "Sugar House," as...

After her husband and four children died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, Mary Harris Jones (1837 - 1930) lost her dress shop to the...

Old City in 1975 was a very different place than it is today. The neighborhood was a declining manufacturing district made up of 19th...

In November, 1847, three members of Philadelphia’s Christ Church founded a Missionary Association for seamen and decided to erect a free...

During his lifetime, Abraham Lincoln visited Philadelphia four times. Perhaps his most significant visit was on Washington's birthday in...

In 1865, Henry Tetlow went into the cosmetics business and the following year discovered a new base for face powders. Before this time...

The old bank at 3rd and Vine, designed by James H. Windrim, has had many different lives. Interestingly, however, this building has only...

Designed by architect Jacob Naschold for bottle supplier S. Ervin Diehl, the Diehl Building at 250-252 N. 3rd Street is an interesting,...

Arthur H. Thomas Scientific started in 1900 at the Freeman building at 12th & Walnut Streets in Philadelphia. During the early years,...

The historical records for the city of Philadelphia suggest there was always some sort of lodging at 315 Arch Street, beginning with the...

When Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, his will distributed his wealth and extensive real estate holdings among his relatives and friends....

Shane Confectionery is a candy store and producer located at 110 Market Street. Currently owned by the Berley brothers, it is considered...

The Smythe Stores, 101 to 111 Arch Street, were built in the 1857 for department store owner Samuel Smythe. The Tiffany and Bottom...

St. Charles Court Apartments, 60-66 North 3rd Street, was originally built as a hotel in 1851. The St. Charles was built by Charles...

As a young man, John Wanamaker (1838-1922) worked in a dry goods store and later for Tower Hall, a Philadelphia clothing store. He...

Long before Amazon and online shopping, before suburban shopping malls, if you really wanted to shop, you came to center city. It...

In the 1830s, shipping magnate Stephen Girard's estate built warehouses on N Front St. to store imported goods arriving at Delaware River...

The five-story William Butler Warehouse at 223-227 Arch St. designed by the architecture firm Wilson, Harris & Richards and built in 1906...

Construction on Philadelphia's City Hall started in 1871 and wasn't complete until 1901. At the time of this construction, the City Hall...