PSFS Building
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building is regarded as the first International Style skyscraper built in the U.S. Completed in 1932, it was a radical departure from traditional bank architecture, exploiting the latest technological and structural advances.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Completed in 1932 at the depths of the Great Depression, the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building rose as America's first International Style skyscraper—a sleek tower of glass, steel, and stone that rejected the ornate columns and cornices then expected of a bank. Designed to broadcast modernity and stability, it embraced cutting-edge structural engineering, high-speed elevators, and air conditioning, announcing that the future of American architecture had arrived on Market Street.
Why it matters
The PSFS Building brought European modernism to the American skyline, proving that a functional, unornamented aesthetic could stand as a monument in its own right and shaping decades of skyscraper design to come.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- African American Museum in Philadelphia0.5 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Bridgette Mayer0.5 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center0.5 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Independence Visitor Center0.5 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall0.5 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hall0.6 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Reading Terminal0.1 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.2 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.4 mi away
- President's House0.5 mi away
- Liberty Bell0.6 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Universal Sphere0.6 mi away
Food & drink
- Burger King0.4 mi away
- Philly Pretzel Factory0.4 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe0.4 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- El Azteca0.4 mi away
- Park’s Salad Bar0.4 mi away
- Lamberti Pizza & Market0.4 mi away · 707 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Loews Philadelphia Hotelnearby · 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia
- ROOST East Marketnearby
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtownnearby · 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Canopy by Hilton Philadelphia Center Citynearby · 1180 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel0.1 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City0.1 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sigma Sound Studios
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2015
When engineer Joseph Tarsia opened Sigma Sound Studios in 1968, he gave a home to what became known worldwide as "The Sound of Philadelphia." Working with producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, the studio's lush, string-swept records by The O'Jays, the Stylistics, and others helped define soul music in the 1970s. Its reputation for sonic craft grew so large that artists like David Bowie and Stevie Wonder made pilgrimages to record within its walls.
John Wanamaker (1838-1922)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1998
John Wanamaker opened his first Philadelphia store in 1861 and, in 1876, unveiled a "new kind of store" that helped invent modern retailing. He pioneered the fixed one-price system and the money-back guarantee, treating customers with a fairness that reshaped how Americans shopped. As U.S. Postmaster General he championed rural free delivery and introduced the commemorative postage stamp.
Siegmund Lubin (1851-1923)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1994
From an optical shop on this block in 1897, Siegmund Lubin built one of America's first great motion-picture empires — six studios across five states — earning fame as the first movie mogul. A tinkerer and shrewd marketer, he helped turn flickering novelties into a popular entertainment that drew ordinary Americans into darkened theaters. The industry he helped create outgrew him; bankrupt by 1916, he died in obscurity.
Robert Cornelius
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1994
In the spring of 1840, only months after photography was announced to an astonished world, the Philadelphia metallurgist and brass founder Robert Cornelius opened one of its very first commercial studios here. Working with chemist Paul Beck Goddard, he found ways to shorten exposure times dramatically — the breakthrough that made it possible to sit for a portrait without holding still for agonizing minutes. Cornelius had already made himself one of the first people ever photographed.