Philadelphia Bourse, Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Bourse was a commodities exchange founded in 1891 by George E. Bartol, a grain and commodities exporter, who modeled it after the Bourse in Hamburg, Germany. The steel-framed building – one of the first to be constructed – was built from 1893 to 1895, and was designed by G. W. & W. D. Hewitt in the Beaux-Arts style. Carlisle redstone, Pompeian buff brick and terra cotta were all used in the facade. The building was sold in 1979 to Kaiserman Company and underwent extensive renovations, bringing the internal usable surface to approximately 286,000 square feet. In 2016, MRP Realty took ownership of the building and spent $40 million renovating it. MRP Realty owns the building as part of a three-building collection named The Independence Portfolio, which also includes 325 Chestnut and 400 Market Street—both located within a block of The Bourse. The building is home to nine floors of office space which includes a Mexican Consulate. There is also a food hall on the first floor which opened on 15 November 2018. ()