It’s been a while since there has been any news about the vacant Provident Life Mutual Insurance Company building, located at 4601 Market St. Its cupola hangs in the West Philly sky like an imperial spire. The structure looks something like the Capitol building in Washington, but with a smaller square central tower.

View of the building from the east

Closer look at the tower

It’s been on the city’s planning board in the past as a potential home for a new police headquarters. A string of financial hurdles stand in the way of that project getting legs, a 2008 Inquirer article reported. It’s on the wish list, the article says.

“The city is still exploring their options,” said Mandy Davis of the Philadelphia Industrial Corporation (PIDC). “They are trying to work out what works best.” PIDC, the city-wide economic development corporation, owns the building.

She said those options include either using or disposing of the property (could dispose mean sell?). She did say the city was interested in preserving the building and “hopefully by this Spring,” a statement could be made about what sort of options the city is considering.

Closer look at the ornate facade of the building

Southern end of the building

The building was finished and occupied in 1928, allowing the insurance division, newly spun off from the banking division of Provident, to move from its previous home at 4th and Chesnut Sts. Project costs topped $3M. It was built by Cran & Ferguson, of Boston, and built by the Turner Construction Company, according to an online UPENN archive. The site has twice been listed (’04 and ’10) on the Preservation Alliance’s annual list of endangered properties. That list highlights important historic places in and around Philadelphia threatened by development pressures, disuse, or neglect.

According to the Upenn site, one of the visions of Provident Mutual president Asa S. Wing at the time the land was purchased was for the site to be large enough to provide for an office building “ample for many years, with room to enlarge the building indefinitely,” and also to have land adjacent to the building available for outdoor recreation for employees…”

Perhaps some forward thinking company like Google could come into town and let their employees roam around the sprawling landscape of the building and its grounds. But that’s just one item on our wish list.

–Lou Mancinelli