PSFS Building

Loews Philadelphia Hotel (Former PSFS Building)
The PSFS Building in 1985, before its conversion into Loews Philadelphia Hotel
Location within Philadelphia Show map of Philadelphia PSFS Building (Pennsylvania) Show map of Pennsylvania PSFS Building (the United States) Show map of the United States
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Hotel
Location	1200 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	39°57′5.51″N 75°9′38.21″W / 39.9515306°N 75.1606139°W / 39.9515306; -75.1606139
Opening	1932; 92 years ago (1932)
Cost	US$8 million (1932)
Owner	Loews Hotels
Height
Antenna spire	794 feet (242 m)
Roof	491 feet (150 m)
Technical details
Floor count	36
Design and construction
Architect(s)	William Lescaze George Howe
Developer	Philadelphia Saving Fund Society
Main contractor	George A. Fuller Company
Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania state historical marker
Architectural style	International style
NRHP reference No.	76001667[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 8, 1976
Designated NHL	December 8, 1976
Designated PHMC	November 11, 2005[2]

Loews Philadelphia Hotel, previously known as the PSFS Building, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A National Historic Landmark, the building was the first International style skyscraper constructed in the United States.

It was built for the Philadelphia Saving (later Savings) Fund Society in 1932 and was designed by architects William Lescaze and George Howe. The skyscraper's design was a departure from traditional bank and Philadelphia architecture, lacking features such as domes and ornamentation. Combining Lescaze's experience with European modernism, Howe's Beaux-Arts background and the desire of Society President James M. Wilcox for a forward-thinking, tall building the skyscraper incorporated the main characteristics of an International style architecture.

Called the United States' first modern skyscraper, and one of the most important skyscrapers built in the country in the first half of the 20th century, the building featured an innovative and effective design of a T-shaped tower that allowed the maximum amount of natural light and rentable space. The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's offices and banking hall featured custom-designed furniture, including custom Cartier clocks on every floor. The top of the skyscraper featured the bank's boardroom. The building was the second high-rise in the U.S. to be equipped with air conditioning. The skyscraper is topped by a red neon sign with the PSFS initials. Visible for 20 miles (32 km), the sign has become a Philadelphia icon.

In the 1980s, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society lost millions. In 1992, the bank and its building were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). That same year, the skyscraper was 85 percent vacant. The FDIC auctioned the building off, and it was bought by developers to turn into a Loews Hotel. The Pennsylvania Convention Center opened in 1993 a block away. Conversion into a hotel began in 1998, and the Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in time for the 2000 Republican National Convention.