Franklin Building, South 12th Street - Furness, Evans & Co. - The Brickbuilder November 1895

FRANKLIN BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA; Furness, Evans & Co., Architects.


PHILADELPHIA.—The dwelling builders have had things their own way for the few weeks just passed. There were many operations, and some large ones; but, as usual, there seems to be no desire to improve the dwelling-house architecture of the city by those who build three fourths of the dwellings, — the operative builders.

It would seem that there should be some desire to do better when there are new conditions imposed upon them by the revised building laws and the increased force of inspectors; but there is still the same bad wall, and the usual amount of half-burned bricks are yet to be seen. Artistically, they are worse than before, for some few strive for variety by changing the design (as they call it) every few houses; there will be four with Pompeian fronts, then four with red, and so on in alternation, all of them frightfully bad in design, and capped with the same very cheap galvanized cornice. We fear it will ever be thus.

In the larger contracts, however, there is a desire for something very much better than usual; and what is even more noticeable is the desire for speed. It no longer takes two years to put up a large building, as was clearly demonstrated in the erection of the Franklin Building, which is now pretty fully occupied, upon a site where eight months ago stood a number of old and very insignificant buildings.

Eight months, however, does not mark the time required for the erection of this building, for it has been ready for occupancy for some time. The demolition of the old buildings commenced on the 12th of last March, the first concrete for the foundations was laid on the 14th of the following April, and the work progressed so quickly from that time until the completion of the building that one could see it grow; and it seemed to grow without much effort, well was the work managed. On September 14th one of the stores was occupied for business.

The entire building, from the time of the laying of the first concrete, was completed and thrown open to the public in the surprisingly short period of five months.

It is well erected, thoroughly fire-proof, and equipped with every modern device known to the profession, making it one of the largest and best office buildings in the city.

The building was erected for W. W. Frazier, Esq,. is situated upon the corner of Twelfth and Lawson Streets, and is entirely occupied by offices, except the first story. which contains stores; it is constructed from iron, terra-cotta, and cement, the entire fronts being of terra-cotta, which is beautifully modeled, and is the work of Stephens & Co. The caryatids which support the second story are especially effective, and were designed by the eminent sculptor, Carl Bitter; the terra-cotta balcony around the entire

building at the fourth floor is also a very nice feature and serves to relieve the monotony of that part of the design. The interior, as before said is strictly fireproof, the flooring is of cement concrete and twisted steel rods, a patent construction controlled by the Fireproof Flooring Co., of this city, while the elevators are the work of Morse, Williams & Co.

To the architects, Messrs. Furness, Evans &Co., is due the credit for the management of the work; it was entirely under their supervision from the beginning, even to the letting of the contracts, which, it is well to say, were all restricted to Philadelphia firms.

This, we think, should go a great way toward removing the untrue stigma of slowness from Philadelphia, if we consider the marvelously short time consumed in the erection of such an elaborate building as the one in question. Can cosmopolitan New York or hustling Chicago beat this time record?

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