Wesley Building

The Wesley Building is a historic property at 1705 Arch Street, at the intersection with North 17th Street in Philadelphia’s Logan Square neighborhood. It was commissioned by the Board of Home Missions of the United Methodist Church to provide offices and hotel accommodation for Methodist Church activities. The building was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm Ballinger & Perot in the Gothic Revival style, with terra-cotta ornamentation as one of its defining architectural features. Construction took place in two principal phases. The original six-story section was built in 1914 and 1915. An eight-story addition followed in 1921 and 1922, creating the larger configuration associated with the property today. The cornice of the original six-story structure remains visible above the sixth floor, providing a legible architectural trace of the building’s expansion. The property is also known as the Robert Morris Hotel, reflecting its historic hotel use. In 1984, the Wesley Building was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its architectural and historical significance. Its preservation status distinguishes it from a conventional contemporary real-estate development and places it within Philadelphia’s broader historic-building inventory. In 2012, the century-old structure was converted into a 111-unit rental apartment building marketed as The Arch Luxury Apartments. The adaptive-reuse project changed the building’s principal function from Methodist offices and hotel accommodation to residential housing while retaining the historic structure. The building stands directly across Arch Street from the Comcast Center, a much taller modern office tower, creating a notable contrast between Philadelphia’s early twentieth-century architectural heritage and its contemporary commercial skyline.

The Wesley Building occupies the corner of Arch Street and North 17th Street in the Logan Square section of Philadelphia. Its origins are tied to the Board of Home Missions of the United Methodist Church, which commissioned the property as a combined institutional office building and hotel serving the Methodist Church. The commission reflects the building’s original role as more than a commercial structure: it supported the administrative and accommodation needs of a major religious organization. Ballinger & Perot designed the building in the Gothic Revival style. Its exterior includes detailed terra-cotta work, giving the property a distinctive early twentieth-century architectural character. The first phase, a six-story section, was completed in 1914–1915. A larger eight-story addition was constructed in 1921–1922. The surviving cornice of the original section remains visible above the sixth floor, allowing the building’s phased development to be read from the exterior. The building has also been identified as the Robert Morris Hotel, reflecting its historical hotel function. Its location in Center City placed it within a rapidly developing urban district and later positioned it opposite the Comcast Center, Pennsylvania’s tallest building. This juxtaposition makes the property an example of the coexistence of preserved historic fabric and modern high-rise development in Philadelphia. In 1984, the Wesley Building was entered on the National Register of Historic Places. The designation recognized the importance of its history and Gothic Revival architecture. Decades later, the property underwent adaptive reuse. In 2012, it was converted into a 111-unit rental apartment building known as The Arch Luxury Apartments. The conversion shifted the property’s practical use from church-related offices and hotel accommodation to residential living while preserving and reusing the historic building envelope. Available reference material does not identify the original architect’s later career, individual property owners, operators, or current management organization.

• 2012

  Adaptive reuse as The Arch Luxury Apartments

  [1]Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org

  The historic building was converted into a 111-unit rental apartment property marketed as The Arch Luxury Apartments.

• 1984

  National Register of Historic Places listing

  [1]Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org

  The Wesley Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

• 1922

  Building expansion completed

  [1]Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org

  The eight-story addition was completed. The cornice of the original section remained visible above the sixth floor.

• 1921

  Eight-story addition begins

  [1]Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org

  A major addition to the original structure was undertaken, expanding the property beyond its initial six-story form.

• 1915

  Original six-story building completed

  [1]Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org

  The first phase of the office-and-hotel building was completed at 1705 Arch Street.

• 1914

  Construction of the original section begins

  [1]Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org

  The six-story original section of the Wesley Building was constructed for the Board of Home Missions of the United Methodist Church.

A historically significant Philadelphia property positioned through adaptive reuse as residential housing in a preserved Gothic Revival building.

• Institutional and commercial real estate · 1915

  Historic office space

  The original Wesley Building provided offices commissioned for the Methodist Church’s administrative and mission-related activities. This institutional use was central to the building’s original purpose and explains its development as a combined office-and-hotel property rather than solely as a conventional commercial office building.

• Hotel accommodation

  Robert Morris Hotel

  The Wesley Building was also known as the Robert Morris Hotel, reflecting its role in providing lodging connected with the property’s historic institutional and church-related functions. The hotel identity forms an important part of the building’s pre-conversion history.

• Rental apartments · 2012

  The Arch Luxury Apartments

  The Arch Luxury Apartments is the 2012 residential adaptive-reuse incarnation of the Wesley Building. The conversion created 111 rental units within the historic Gothic Revival structure, combining contemporary residential use with the retention of a designated historic property and its characteristic architectural details.

• 2012

  Adaptive reuse for residential housingStrategy

  Background

  After serving as a Methodist-related office and hotel property, the historic building required a new functional role within Philadelphia’s changing Center City environment.

  Action taken

  The property was converted into a 111-unit rental apartment building marketed as The Arch Luxury Apartments.

  Aftermath

  The conversion established residential use as the building’s documented modern function while retaining the historic structure and its National Register significance.

  Source

1. 1Wesley Building (Philadelphia)en.wikipedia.org