Harlan and Hollingsworth Office Building, Wilmington

The Harlan and Hollingsworth Office Building stands as a reminder of Wilmington’s industrial heyday and the enduring legacy of one of its most prominent firms. Completed in 1912, the three-story Colonial Revival structure served as the administrative heart of Harlan and Hollingsworth, a company renowned for producing iron ships and railroad cars. Situated near the Wilmington Rail Viaduct at West Street, the building was commissioned after earlier offices proved insufficient for the company’s growing operations. It was designed by architect Dallett, a pupil of Frank Furness, and built with brick, stone, and distinctive copper detailing.

The building’s most recognizable features include twin copper-faced bay windows that extend from the second story at its front corner, along with original many-paned metal windows that have been preserved through the decades. Despite the closure of the Harlan Plant in 1944, the office building was spared demolition. It later served as a laboratory facility for Gates Engineering Company before being purchased and restored by 100 South West Street Associates in 1991. Its architectural integrity and industrial significance earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The company’s broader legacy is impressive. Founded in the 1840s, Harlan and Hollingsworth built over 230 vessels-including Civil War monitors and the luxury yacht Alva for William K. Vanderbilt. During its peak in the early 20th century, the firm ranked among the nation’s leading shipbuilders and expanded production during World War I with a fleet of 24 ships. While shipbuilding ceased in 1926, railcar manufacturing persisted for some time. Today, the office building remains a rare architectural survivor of that era and a symbol of Wilmington’s industrial past.