Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia)

Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company Building
(Wells Fargo Building)
(2014)
Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia) is located in Philadelphia
Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia)
Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia) is located in Pennsylvania
Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia)
Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia) is located in the United States
Wells Fargo Building (Philadelphia)
Location137 S. Broad St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39°56′58″N 75°9′52″W / 39.94944°N 75.16444°W / 39.94944; -75.16444
Built1927–28
ArchitectSimon & Simon
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
Part ofBroad Street Historic District (ID84003529)
NRHP reference No.78002447[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 27, 1978

The Wells Fargo Building, originally the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company Building, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style by the architectural firm Simon & Simon, the building was erected for the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Co. in 1928. The 30-story high-rise is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building was long regarded as premier office space, but by the 1980s, tenants were leaving for newer buildings in the West Market Street neighborhood. Extensive rehab work has since drawn new tenants. Its largest tenant has always been the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company or its successor companies — today, Wells Fargo.

The 405-foot (123 m) limestone and granite skyscraper features recesses that give the building an H-shape above the fifth floor. Decorations include sculpture by Piccirilli Brothers and 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of marble. Seven medallions, mainly depicting early American coins, decorate the street-level facade. Bas-relief figures decorate the spandrels above the building's bronze doors, which are themselves decorated by high-relief panels depicting the history of commerce and civilization.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.