Construction In the 1920s, banks such as
Girard Trust Company and other businesses such as
Wanamaker's and
Sun Oil Company were expanding by building skyscrapers in
Center City Philadelphia. To replace their
Walnut Street headquarters, the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) began planning a new building on
Market Street at the former location of the
William Penn Charter School. Under direction of bank President James M. Wilcox, they began seeking designs for a new building. The proposal submitted by architects
William Lescaze and
George Howe was accepted by the
board of directors in November 1930. During the 1920s, Howe worked for the firm Mellor, Meigs and Howe where he designed two
Beaux-Arts styled bank branches for PSFS. In 1929, Howe left the firm and partnered with Lescaze. Together, with influence from Wilcox, they designed the new PSFS Building. Construction was contracted to the
George A. Fuller Company. Completed in 1932 at a cost of $8 million, the PSFS Building was a modern departure from traditional bank architecture and other Philadelphia skyscrapers. Designed in the
International style, the building was among the first skyscrapers of its type built in the United States. Part of the modern amenities installed to attract tenants included radio reception devices installed in each of the building's offices by the
RCA Victor Company. making it only the second air-conditioned high-rise in the United States.
PSFS use The skyscraper was completed during the
Great Depression, and the neon initials of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society were kept lit throughout the economic troubles to create a symbol of hope and consistency for the city. In the early part of the Depression the initials were jokingly said to mean "Philadelphia Slowly Faces Starvation." The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society occupied of the of office space in the building. The remaining office space was available for rent by other tenants. Over the years, the building with its sign became a Philadelphia landmark. In 1989 Meritor sold 54 of its PSFS branches and the PSFS name to
Mellon Bank. The deal went into effect in 1990 and, on May 21 of that year, the building's neon sign was turned off. Meritor said that having sold the name it was inappropriate to light the sign. Turning off the sign provoked outrage and protest from the public, historians, and architecture buffs. As a result, Meritor and Mellon Bank agreed to relight the sign and keep it lit. Meritor said, "We agreed that it was in the best interest of the city to relight it." In the late 1980s, an office building boom in the Market Street West neighborhood of Center City was attracting tenants looking for larger office space away from the older PSFS Building.
Hotel conversion By 1994, the PSFS Building was looking frayed and much of Meritor's furniture and equipment was sold off at auction by the FDIC in 1993. That same year, the
Pennsylvania Convention Center opened one block away from the PSFS Building and numerous new hotels were appearing around the city. Originally thinking of turning the PSFS Building into apartments, developer Carl Dranoff decided a hotel would be best after noticing a
Marriott being built across the street. Dranoff hired Bower Lewis Thrower Architects who created a plan, which he took to commercial developer Ronald Rubin of the Rubin Organization. Rubin took over the project and hired Dranoff to oversee it. Rubin first approached
Hyatt and after negotiations that lasted a year Hyatt decided to build an entirely new property at
Penn's Landing instead. Rubin then approached the
Loews Hotels chain. On April 11, 1997, developer Rubin, hotelier
Jonathan Tisch, and Philadelphia mayor
Ed Rendell announced in the PSFS boardroom that the PSFS Building would be converted into a Loews Hotel. Over the next year, the conversion of the building into a hotel was delayed while Loews negotiated with the Rubin Organization to buy out its interest in the building. An agreement was formally reached in June 1998, and work began on the building shortly thereafter. After a year-long delay on starting the renovations, there were concerns more delays would occur if the building's conversion turned out to be more difficult than first thought. The concern stemmed from the city's attempt to attract a
political convention to the city in 2000. A key part of attracting a political convention was the number of available hotel rooms in the host city, and completion of the PSFS Building on time was an important factor. To be an effective convention hotel, the building required an extra for a ballroom and meeting spaces, without which the hotel conversion would not have taken place. Land was acquired along 12th Street and an addition was built. The decision to use the banking hall for functions instead of serving as the hotel's lobby was financially driven by allowing the hotel to rent out the large hall for events. In the banking hall, the teller counter was removed despite being a "character defining" feature. The metal and glass wall that separates the mezzanines and the hall was required by safety code. The staircase that connects the mezzanine floors had been enclosed by a modern wall, but the wall was removed in the restoration. The 33rd-floor rooms, including the boardroom, were restored, and much of the original furniture was acquired by Loews. There were few distinct features of the building on the first floor so the developers used the area for the hotel lobby. Among other changes to the first floor was creating access to the lobby from the Market Street entrance. The Loews Philadelphia Hotel opened in April 2000 with renovation costs totaling US$115 million. The year before completion, the
Republican Party had decided to hold their
2000 National Convention in Philadelphia despite the earlier concerns of hotel space. The Florida delegation would stay at the Loews Philadelphia during the event. ==Architecture==