At the southwest corner of 3rd and Arch St. is a (partially fenced) area that was the site of a now-gone building.
On October 13, 1856, a jewelry merchant, George Gordon, purchased a four-story warehouse at 300 Arch Street. Just over a month later, the original structure had been demolished, and construction begun on a five-story replacement later known as the George Gordon Building. The Gordon Building was a relatively early work of cast-iron commercial architecture, whose popularity peaked later in the 19th century.
The building had a fairly narrow frontage on Arch Street measuring less than 16 feet. Standing in the pocket park in its place today, it's a bit difficult to imagine that any substantial structure once stood here. After falling into decay, the building was purchased in 1962 by the Religious Society of Friends, which owned the adjacent 5-story office building at 302-304 Arch Street, as well as the Arch Street Meeting House. The presence of a vacant and deteriorating warehouse adjacent to the Friends' properties posed a growing safety concern, and it was likely for this reason that the Gordon Building was demolished the following year.
1959 view 1959, 3rd St view Today
Comments