Architecture Wednesday: Tacony Saving Fund Safe Deposit & Title Company

This is the Tacony Saving Fund Safe Deposit & Title Company building at the corner of Tulip St and Longshore Ave in Philadelphia. Designed in a monumental style intended to instill confidence and trust in their customers, the building housed the trust on the first floor, a community library on the second, and a lodge room for Tacony Lodge No. 600 on the third.

Today the Tacony building is one of Philadelphia’s finest examples of adaptive reuse, offering the most discerning buyer a glorious melding of old and new, industrial and cozy, vintage and modern. Built in 1893, this handsome red brick building boasts prominent, full-story Sullivanesqe arched windows spanning both facades with a modern entrance at the west end.

Once inside, find everything you’d expect from such a commanding structure: sun-soaked open spaces, soaring ceilings, columns, steel beams, exposed ductwork and burnished metal. The patinaed hardwood floors, tin ceilings and vault honor the building’s previous lives and history and a freight elevator is a nod to turn-of-the-century industrial design.

At ground level is a spacious open floorplan filled with incredible architectural detail, yet uniquely suited to comfortable everyday living it features defined, cozy spaces while remaining open and loft-like. Here, a piano and music area take center stage against a backdrop of colorful art and plants. A gas fireplace in the corner reading nook anchors a cozy section of the room and provides a reprieve from the chill of crisp winter evenings.

The kitchen is practical and functional with painted black flooring, open shelving, and a door to the beautiful side garden. The industrial shelving, paper lantern light fixtures, wide transom windows, and corner fireplace meld seamlessly into the design of the room. A cheerful light-filled bedroom with a gold tin ceiling, an office, and a full bath fill out the main floor. Downstairs is a full basement with laundry, a workshop with elevator access.

On the second floor is a creative’s dream. Statement arched windows line the south wall, flooding the floor with natural light. Formerly the Jack Costello Boxing Club, this space holds a rich history in the neighborhood. A wide-open blank slate with columns and soaring ceilings allow for endless uses: a workshop, painting or ceramics studio, and gym are just a few ideas. A guest suite with a full kitchen and half bath are open to allow light to bounce throughout the space.

The third floor is currently home to a full-service recording studio carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics. A state-of-the-art control room and monitoring station, soundproof isolation booth, and a spectacular live room with exposed ductwork and vaulted tongue and groove ceilings create a wow factor. Also included on the floor is a traveling musician’s guest suite complete with a kitchenette, sunny bedroom, an office, and a renovated full bath.

Nestled in the Tacony a historic neighborhood along the Delaware River you’ll find a vibrant community with a rich history, industrial heritage, and a strong sense of civic pride. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016, the Tacony Disston District is distinguished by its large park and trail system and train access to New York and Philadelphia. In a neighborhood rife with historic architecture, this adaptive reuse is an architectural marvel. A truly exceptional property with charm and thoughtful renovations in a soul-filled building.

And for just $1M USD.

As always click to emBIGGERzate …

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Architecture Wednesday: Weird Wild Philly Home

I love the idea of living in a house that used to be “something else.” I mean, a barn turned t=into a home? Sign me up. A blacksmith shop turned into a home? Get me that mortgage. An old Victorian in Philly? Yes, ma’am, Maddie, come to tea …., and by tea I mean gin.

But this home—three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 3,800 square feet—in Philadelphia, used to be a Victorian house and a barn and a Blacksmith shop, I kid you not, and now it’s Victorian and rustic and kind of Art Deco and a bit castle- and barn-like.

Unassuming from the street, you might wonder what lies behind the Art Deco-inspired wall of cascading colorful flowers. The door opens and you get your first peek at the entry gardens and realize, Who needs a McMansion when you can have all of this?

This is the unexpected blending of a 1877 blacksmith’s shop, a renovated stone barn with a Frank Weiss-designed glass atrium, and Victorian home full of stately splendor tucked within lush grounds that rival the most spectacular gardens.

The former blacksmith’s shop has been outfitted for the most modern-day use: a state-of-the-art two-car garage with polymer flooring, a new electrical system including garage doors controlled by an app, plenty of storage, and the ability to install a car lift for a third car.

The barn and house have been combined to create the most exquisite 3,800 square feet of living quarters with an Art Deco connection installed in the 1970s that adds visual interest and light as well as merging the two buildings into a single home.

A foyer of warm wood leads to the sunny two-story atrium with flagstone flooring and a custom Deco bar. You enter the formal living room, its stainless steel and antique brass hooded gas fireplace and cozy sunken seating area invite you to have a seat and a cock-a-tale and relax on a cozy winter evening in front of the fire. There are the original stone walls of the barn and a coffered ceiling, with a  floating staircase to the primary suite.

Custom double doors from the foyer lead to the Chinese garden enclosed with cedar walls and timed antique lighting, the perfect spot for a morning cup of coffee. The dining room features a wall of windows overlooking the garden and seating for 12. Down a short hallway of exposed brick and skylights, is the tidy and practical kitchen featuring flat panel European-style cabinetry, a Subzero refrigerator, and an island for food preparation and gathering. 

The original walnut staircase separates the kitchen from the Victorian sitting room-breakfast room with a decorative fireplace and built-in bookshelves, and also leads upstairs to a bedroom, a bathroom and a loft space above the dining room that also has views to the garden.

In the main living area, you head upstairs to the primary bedroom; a true sanctuary, featuring skylights, a wood plank ceiling, and a striking curved gas fireplace. There are custom floor-to-ceiling closets and an open spa-like bathroom featuring a Kohler steam shower, Italian marble counters, a sunken soaking tub with custom German fixtures, glass-tiled floors, and a separate, private water closet fit for a king or a queen with a Toto toilet-bidet with heated seat and a TV. 

A kitchenette with built-in Brew Café coffee maker, a Subzero refrigerator, and a Fisher and Paykel dishwasher gives staying in for the night a whole new meaning while up another flight of stairs is the luxurious Swedish dry sauna rounds out the suite.

As for the grounds; pastoral and private, the courtyard is completely enclosed and beautifully manicured. The perennial gardens are what dreams are made of, while flagstone patios offer space for entertaining and sculptures add visual interest. It really doesn’t get better than this.

Plunk down $2.5M and it’s all yours.

To really see the house click here for a Virtual Tour

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