Cornerspotter is a Curbed Philly feature in which we show you a historical photo of the city and you tell us where the photo was taken. The prize? Your name here along with our promise to spot you for a soft pretzel. Send your guesses to our tipline: philly@curbed.com
Our first Cornerspotter contest went off without a hitch. The photo above was taken at the northwest corner of Broad and Chestnut, where the Ritz-Carlton—once the Girard Trust building—now resides.
Our big winner is Harrison Haas! Congrats to Harrison, who answered us very quickly. Harrison is a Haverford grad who's only lived here for six years but calls himself a Philaphile (yes! another convert). He came by his passion for the city when he was the Philly Fellow at the Community Design Collaborative, where he simply fell in love with Philadelphia's history and architecture. His favorite building? These days it's the Furness-designed 24th Street Station. We are sorry, Harrison, that we're unable to purchase the Furness residence we featured yesterday for you.
We also have some runners-up!
Paul Kieper provided the correct answer, along with supplemental information about the building in the background, which he correctly identified as the Pennsylvania Building at 15th and Chestnut, which now serves as an office building with a Wendy's on the first floor.
Naturally, GroJLart of Philiphilia—who we'll be interviewing later today—also guessed correctly.
Morgan Hugo and Anthony DiMarco both correctly identified the two businesses that closed: Borders and Marathon Grill. DiMarco informs us that a Cheesecake Factory may take over the Marathon spot. Yes, across from the Olive Garden.
Come back next Wednesday for another edition of Cornerspotter!
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