Maybe it’s just because we love cool old buildings, but our favorite part of HBO’s The Gilded Age is seeing what the fabulous mansions of the era looked like in their heyday, or at least Hollywood’s efforts to recreate them. We don’t think we’d want to travel back in time to before the creation of the cheesesteak, but living in an exquisitely decorated mansion from the late 19th century must have been quite the experience. With that in mind, we were very excited to see a zoning permit for the adaptive reuse of the Disston Residence at 1530 North 16th St. into 25 apartments. What Temple student wouldn’t want to live in a building designed for an early manufacturing titan? Though the sales pitch might be a little less impressive without the butlers, footmen, or chambermaids.
When we first covered this property in 2019 we noted that any redevelopment of this property would require approval from the Philadelphia Historical Commission, given its historic status. Albert Disston died within a few years of the building’s construction in 1875, but the 40 room building would remain in the hands of the Disston family until 1920 when it was donated to the Progress Club, which expanded the building with a two floor addition at the rear. One fairly prominent raid at the tail end of Prohibition later, and the building would be purchased by the Elks.
A bible college operated out of the building for a few years, and in 1946 the Unity Mission Church Home and Training School, part of Father Divine’s International Peace Mission movement, took possession. When Hidden City checked out the interior of the building last year before it sold, they reported the interior of the building was largely intact and looking great. With so many cool historic elements built into the body of the building, some of these new apartments are going to look like absolutely nothing else getting built these days.
The plans from CosciaMoos indicate that the adaptive reuse will only have a minimal impact on the exterior of the historic building. A few new sets of stairs and an ADA lift in the back of the building will presumably make it easier for tenants to access future apartments, but we doubt many passersby will notice these changes. Inside, it will be interesting to see how the developers lay out the units, and we expect we’ll see some unusual floor plans. From old zoning records we see the building once included 15 rooming units, but that’s a very different thing, compared to rental apartments in 2025. Getting to live in a historic building might appeal to some Temple students and recent graduates looking to try something a little different than the more contemporary buildings which have hit the market in recent years.
Because the building is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and part of the North Broad Street Mansion District, the new owners will need Historical Commission approval for any exterior changes. Considering how little the exterior of this building will be altered, we would hope this process is faster than a coal powered train. Speaking of technology of the late 1800s – even a couple days later, we’re still thinking about the thrilling season finale of the Gilded Age. That being said, we’re also pretty annoyed that we never got to see Peggy Scott’s trip to Philadelphia, even as the show used our Academy of Music as a stand in for the New York Metropolitan Opera. Eh, maybe we’ll get some more Philly shots in Season Four.