Camden Architecture Tour (Self Guided), Camden

The New Jersey Safe Deposit and Trust Building is a local landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This beautiful structure was built in 1886 by Arthur Truscott in the Late Victorian Eclectic style. The building is made of striking, bright-red brick and has arched windows, beautiful ornamentation and some interesting exterior decorations. Above the facade there are seven heads with crowns and two heads inscribed with the names Prudentia and Audentia. The original oak French doors still remain. Inside the building, the stairs are made of marble, and there is also a fascinating marble fireplace.

The A. S. Woodruff and Law Building is another prominent local landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1920 and features Colonial Revival-style elements. The building is notable because famous local politician A. S. Woodruff had his offices here. Woodruff was a senator and later served as vice-chancellor for Camden County.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was founded in Camden in 1830, and in 1835 the congregation raised enough funds to construct the current church, which was built in the Free Gothic Revival style. During the 19th century the church was enlarged and murals and stained glass windows were added. In 1910 the tower of the church was taken down, and in its place a narthex was built.

Camden City Hall is located in a magnificent, 113-meter-tall skyscraper, which is the tallest building in the city. The structure was built in 1931 in the Neo-Classical style. The tower rests on a large base and narrows at the top, resembling a bottle. At the top of the building there is an enormous clock tower and gorgeous art on two sides of the building. There are several expansive, engraved quotations decorating the walls.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic Cathedral located in Camden, New Jersey. It is the seat of the Diocese of Camden, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

As the number of Catholics continued to increase in South Jersey, Pope Pius XI established the Diocese of Camden on December 9 1937. The Church of the Immaculate Conception became the cathedral church for the new diocese at this time. The diocese’s first bishop, Bartholomew J. Eustace, was installed on May 4, 1938. The number of Catholics continued to increase in the diocese and Immaculate Conception’s rather modest size necessitated St. Joseph’s Church being named a pro-cathedral in the 1950s. Demographic changes in the late 20th and early 21st century necessitated changes to the parishes in Camden. On April 4, 2008 Bishop Joseph Galante announced that the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception would merge with Holy Name and Our Lady of Mount Carmel & Fatima parishes in Camden. The Cathedral was designated as the primary worship site with a secondary worship site at Our Lady of Mount Carmel & Fatima.

John Cheney House is a local historic landmark. The structure was built in 1892 by architect Arthur Truscott and was designed in the Chateauesque style. The structure has three levels, a gabled mansard and a circular tower decorating the west side of the building.

The Plaza Hotel was built in 1927 and served as a popular hotel until 1985, when it closed. Today, the former six-story hotel is sealed shut, awaiting renovation. You will notice the white, Neo-Gothic, gabled decorations on the roof trim, which recalls the Late Victorian style. This ornamentation is in striking contrast to the bleak, exposed brick walls.

The Tabernacle of Faith Church was built from 1892 to 1893 and was designed by Frank R. Watson in the Gothic Revival style. The church was built adjacent to the former chapel, which was constructed in 1868. The church is made of a very dark sandstone known as Trenton brownstone and boasts a number of amazing stained glasses. The Tabernacle of Faith Church is a Methodist Episcopal church.