6
Equitable Building
Art by: Chris Hytha
**Story by: ** Mark Houser
The crenellated turrets on top of this building resemble Grey Towers Castle, a Glenside mansion that was the first major commission for architect Horace Trumbauer. Later jobs besides the Equitable Building included the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Within a year of its opening, this became the headquarters of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and its powerful and visionary boss, Thomas Mitten. Mitten took the top floor for his management business and leased 12 floors for the transit company, putting bus waiting rooms and ticket offices on the ground floor along with his bank and securities company, which then acquired the property and renamed it the Mitten Building. Two years later, the city sued Mitten for alleged financial scams, and soon afterward his drowned body was discovered in a fishing pond on his Poconos estate.
A theater next door on Broad Street had its main lobby in the Equitable Building; its marquee still hangs over the Locust Street sidewalk, though the theater is now a parking garage and the lobby is a restaurant.
Highrises are the iconic elements of American cities. Reaching radical new heights in technological advancement, skyscrapers fused Classical, Renaissance, and Gothic motifs onto steel and defined a new architectural language with Art Deco and International.
The Highrises project reveals hidden details of remarkable buildings, including many that are underappreciated. The images showcase structures that reflect the values and ideals animating the early 20th century. The stories provide historical context and deepen our understanding of their importance and value.
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Equitable Building
Art by: Chris Hytha
**Story by: ** Mark Houser
The crenellated turrets on top of this building resemble Grey Towers Castle, a Glenside mansion that was the first major commission for architect Horace Trumbauer. Later jobs besides the Equitable Building included the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Within a year of its opening, this became the headquarters of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and its powerful and visionary boss, Thomas Mitten. Mitten took the top floor for his management business and leased 12 floors for the transit company, putting bus waiting rooms and ticket offices on the ground floor along with his bank and securities company, which then acquired the property and renamed it the Mitten Building. Two years later, the city sued Mitten for alleged financial scams, and soon afterward his drowned body was discovered in a fishing pond on his Poconos estate.
A theater next door on Broad Street had its main lobby in the Equitable Building; its marquee still hangs over the Locust Street sidewalk, though the theater is now a parking garage and the lobby is a restaurant.
Highrises are the iconic elements of American cities. Reaching radical new heights in technological advancement, skyscrapers fused Classical, Renaissance, and Gothic motifs onto steel and defined a new architectural language with Art Deco and International.
The Highrises project reveals hidden details of remarkable buildings, including many that are underappreciated. The images showcase structures that reflect the values and ideals animating the early 20th century. The stories provide historical context and deepen our understanding of their importance and value.
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