For $545K, an Old City loft in a former 19th-century telegraph office

It has a number of industrial design elements

By Anna Merriman@Anna_Merriman Jun 20, 2018, 4:20pm EDT

When most people think of Old City, they think history, and this home that just dropped on the market for $545,000, has that in spades.

The two-bed, two-bath loft-style home, which sits smack dab in the middle of Old City, at Chestnut and Bank streets, is over a century old and still retains many of the design elements that recall its late 1800s history.

The apartment’s first floor has the building’s original hardwood floors as well as long, floor to ceiling windows that look out over Old City. In the kitchen, black and white tiled floors and dark cabinetry give the room a retro feel.

The staircase, which has a wooden, fence-like railing, leads up to the second floor, with two bedrooms. The master bedroom has an added design bonus—long wood beams run across its ceiling, along with an original iron gear.

The gear is just one of several aspects that nod to the home’s industrial past. It was built in the late 1800s as a telegraph office, then became a textile factory up until the mid-1900s. It was finally converted into condo apartments in the early 2000s, but the history of the structure is far from forgotten.

The 1,600 square foot home has HOA fees of $500 per month.