Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Building

Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Building is a historic freight station, warehouse and showroom building located in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1929, and is a six-story, flat roofed building in the Art Deco style. The first floor is clad in limestone and the upper stories are of buff-colored brick. Each floor contains approximately 88,000 square feet.[2]

Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Building
Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Building, May 2010
Location3118-3198 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39°57′13″N 75°11′56″W
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1929
ArchitectUnited Engineers & Constructors
Architectural styleArt Deco
NRHP reference No.99001291[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 28, 1999

From 1956 to 1993, it was the GE Re-entry Systems facility, where "thousands of engineers and technicians who solved the problem of vehicles successfully reentering the Earth's atmosphere"[3] for NASA. Among the achievements of the men and women working at the facility is "the recovery of the first man-made object from orbit," a unique milestone for humanity.[4] Generations of University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University students who worked there know it as "The GE Building". For this work, The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) designated it as an Historic Aerospace Site in 2007.[5]

The building has been converted to residential use and is now known as the Left Bank.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[1]

  • SW corner
  • Walnut Street Entrance
  • Art Deco detail

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Cynthia Rose Hamilton (July 1999). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Building" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  3. "GE Re-entry Systems in Philadelphia Designated Historic Aerospace Site". www.spaceref.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  4. "GE Re-entry Systems | Invention & Technology Magazine". www.inventionandtech.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  5. "GE Re-entry Systems in Philadelphia Designated Historic Aerospace Site". www.spaceref.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
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