Drake Hotel
About this property
The Drake Hotel, a historic 375-foot-tall, 33-story luxury hotel located at 1512–1514 Spruce Street at the corner of S. Hicks Street between S. 15th and S. 16th Streets in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was built in 1928–29 by the Murphy, Quigley Company and was designed by the architectural firm of Ritter and Shay in the Art Deco style with Spanish Baroque terra cotta ornamentation on themes surrounding Sir Francis Drake, including "dolphins, shells, sailing vessels and globes." The building is topped by a terra cotta dome. The building was originally proposed to be 28-stories, and the demolition work took place in April 1928. The first steel column was placed on site on September 1, 1928 and just four months later stunt reporter Vivian Shirley went to the top of the unfinished building on January 29, 1929. It was originally scheduled to open in June 1929, but the developers stated it was ready for occupancy on September 11, 1929. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1978. It was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on October 6, 1977. In 1998, the building was extensively renovated and converted to condominiums as "The Drake". In 2016, the building's ballroom was renovated into a two-theater complex by InterAct Theatre Company, who operate the space and share it with PlayPenn, Inis Nua Theatre, Simpatico, and Azuka Theatre. The Proscenium has 121 seats, while the Louis Bluver Theatre is a black box space with a capacity of 65-80 people.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Drake Hotel
This page lists Drake Hotel. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Drake Hotel listed on the National Register?
Drake Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1978.
What type of historic resource is Drake Hotel?
Drake Hotel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Drake Hotel?
The period of significance for Drake Hotel is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Drake Hotel?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Drake Hotel will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Philadelphia County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Philadelphia County.
Explore PhiladelphiaCounty ›More historic places in Pennsylvania
Browse all historic places in Pennsylvania.
View Pennsylvaniahistoric sites ›Pennsylvania history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Pennsylvaniahistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Drake Hotel will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.