text: seven walking tours through historic Philadelphia

Cast-Iron buildings

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Iron-front buildings

Returning to 2nd and Arch Streets, turn left on Arch and walk again toward the river. On the northwest corner at 101-111 Arch, there is a series of fine iron-front buildings constructed between 1855 and 1857. The group typifies the buildings the Victorians gave us, which today are appreciated for their beauty and functionalism. Warehouses, commercial buildings and lofts don't have the allure for the layman that grand town houses or even small, intimate ones have. Man likes to see the lares and penates of his ancestors — the antiques — in their proper surroundings. However, nothing reveals the character of a town or city like the buildings near its rivers and wharves. Here was the lifeblood of Philadelphia.



Historic District, North of Market Street