The Fringe Arts Building

Apr 11, 20212 min read

The Fringe Arts Building at Delaware Ave & Race St was built as the High Pressure Fire Service (HPFS) building in 1903. This Victorian building served the city for about 100 years, providing high-pressure water for fire fighting. Along with the high-pressure pipeline system that distributed the water, this is a major reason why Center City Philadelphia never suffered a catastrophic fire in the 20th Century.

By the end of the 1800s, Philadelphia’s regular-pressure water had become ineffective in fighting fires in increasingly larger and taller buildings. Insurance companies and the Philadelphia Fire Department pushed the city to install the world’s first high-pressure water service in a major city. The system delivered water via independent pipes and red fire hydrants located on every block between the Delaware River and Broad Street, from Race to Walnut, and beyond.

The HPFS building drew water right from the river via a twenty-inch main and supplied a network of twelve and sixteen-inch mains. Using seven 280-horsepower pumps, full pressure was available within two minutes.

The system had the capacity of pushing ten thousand gallons of water a minute at up to three hundred pounds of pressure, with power to throw a two-inch stream 230 feet in the air. Fireboats on the Delaware were also used for backup, connecting to the system via a manifold that still protrudes from the sidewalk in front of Race Street Pier. Other pumping stations followed when the system was expanded into surrounding neighborhoods.

The fifty-six-mile system lasted until about 2000, when it was decommissioned after falling into disrepair. High-pressure water service had become unnecessary due to better firefighting equipment, high-rise sprinklers and fire-resistant construction materials.

The abandoned building was renovated and opened in 2013 as the home of Fringe Arts and a restaurant space, currently La Peg.