Delaware Trust Building, now known as The Residences at Rodney Square, is a historic
office
An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
building and
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
headquarters located at
Wilmington,
New Castle County, Delaware
New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...
. It was built in 1921, as a 13-story, 15-bay-by-15 bay, U-shaped steel-frame building in the
Classical Revival
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
style. The building has a watertable of gray granite, a limestone-clad two-story plus mezzanine base, and a shaft of buff-colored brick. Atop the building is a limestone
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
. The Market Street elevation features three monumental-scaled arched entrance openings reminiscent of ancient Roman buildings.
[ and ] It once had a 22-story modern office building at its center that has since been removed. The building has been converted to residential use.
It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2003.
History
The Delaware Trust Building was built in phases beginning with the first section at 9th and Market Streets in 1919–21. It was commissioned by
William du Pont and
Alfred I. du Pont to house the Delaware Trust Company and other businesses associated with the du Ponts. The original 13-story building was designed by
Dennison & Hirons and cost $1.2 million. In 1930, it was expanded into a U-shaped building with two additional wings extending north along Market and King Streets. Phillip T. Harris of Philadelphia was the architect for this project, which cost a further $1.2 million. A five-story addition was built in 1938 in the center courtyard of the building, which previously had been used for parking.
[
In 1958–60, a modernist 22-story office tower was added to the center of the building, replacing the 1938 section. This was known as the Hercules Tower after its main tenant, the ]Hercules Powder Company
Hercules, Inc. was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, incorporated in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company following the breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly by the U.S. Circuit ...
, and had its own separate entrance at 910 Market Street in addition to being connected to the existing building. The tower was designed by local architect W. Ellis Preston. At , it was the tallest building in Delaware until being surpassed by 1201 North Market Street
1201 North Market Street is a , 23-story high rise building in Wilmington, Delaware. It is the tallest building in Wilmington and the state of Delaware. The tower was designed by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and opened i ...
in 1988.
In 1997, the building was damaged by a fire that burned much of the 11th–15th floors and was ultimately determined to have been caused by arson. The fire caused the building to become contaminated with asbestos
Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
fibers and it was left mostly vacant during a protracted battle between the owners and insurer over the cost of cleanup. In 2002, the building was sold and converted to residential use with the name The Residences at Rodney Square. In order to allow more light into the apartments, the Hercules Tower was demolished and the walls facing the courtyard were reconstructed. In 2003, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Architecture
In its current configuration, the Delaware Trust Building is a 13-story, U-shaped building with the three sides of the U extending along Market, 9th, and King Streets. The building's two-story base is clad in limestone, with a granite water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
, and the upper floors are faced with buff-colored brick and limestone trim. The Market Street elevation has three large arched entrances and is ornamented with Classical Revival elements including pilasters, rusticated stonework, festoon
A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicti ...
s, and other carved details. A dentil
A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Reviv ...
ed cornice extends around the building above the second floor and there are string course
A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
s above the third and eleventh floors. Arched windows on the 13th floor mark the top of the building.[
]
References
External links
The Residences at Rodney Square website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
Neoclassical architecture in Delaware
Buildings and structures in Wilmington, Delaware
Office buildings in Delaware
National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware
Skyscrapers in Wilmington, Delaware
Residential skyscrapers in Delaware
Office buildings completed in 1921
1921 establishments in Delaware