Bower Lewis Thrower Architects, Ltd. (BLTa) was an American

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countr ...

, founded and headquartered in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, with offices in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The firm designed, oversaw the renovation, or was the

architect of record Architect of record is the architect or architecture firm whose name appears on a building permit issued for a specific project on which that architect or firm performed services. Issuance of building permits Building permits are issued by a ...

for numerous projects throughout the

Mid-Atlantic states The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virg ...

. It merged with

Perkins Eastman Perkins Eastman is an international architecture, urban design, planning, strategic consulting, and interior design firm. Headquartered in New York City, the firm is led by founding Principals Bradford Perkins (architect), Bradford Perkins and M ...

in 2022.

Company background

BLTa was founded as "Bower & Fradley Architects" in 1961 by John Bower and Fred Fradley.Diane Mastrul
''Rebuilding after the recession''
Philly.com, Aug 14, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-04. In 1978, the firm was renamed to "Bower Fradley Lewis Thrower Architects." The firm kept this name until 1980 when the title changed to "Bower Lewis Thrower Architects." This was shortened in the late 2000s to BLTa for marketing purposes.

People

*Michael L. Prifti, FAIA, Principal *Eric M. Rahe, AIA, LEED AP, Principal

Notable projects

Residential

** International House Philadelphia(1970) under Bower & Fradley Architects ** 101 Walnut Street (2007) ** Symphony House (2007) ** The Phoenix (2002) ** Venice Lofts (2007) ** Alexander (2018) **Lincoln Square (2019) **

Nipper Building The Nipper Building is a colloquial name for ''The Victor'' condominiums, and formerly, Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant. The structure is a historical building located in Cooper Grant, Camden, Cooper Grant neighborhood of Camden, Ne ...

** The St. James luxury apartments, Philadelphia. Assisted Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates

Hospitality

** The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa (2003) **

Loews Philadelphia Hotel Loews Philadelphia Hotel, previously known as the PSFS Building, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A National Historic Landmark, the building was the first International Style skyscraper constructed in the United Stat ...

(2000) ** Reading Terminal Headhouse Marriott (1997) ** Revel Resort and Casino (2012)Len Vermillio
''Restarting Revel''
, Lodging Magazine, June 2, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2012. (with

Arquitectonica Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and urban planning design firm headquartered in Miami, Miami, Florida’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The firm also has offices in ten other cities thr ...

) ** The Bourse ** Caesars Atlantic City Hotel ** The St. James (assistant architects)

Mixed use and retail

** Amtrak

30th Street Station 30th Street Station, officially William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, is a major intermodal passenger transport, intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The station opened in 1933 as Pennsylvania Station– ...

Rail Yard (2004) ** DC USA (2008) ** The Borgata Hotel and Spa Retail Piazza **

One Theater Square One Theater Square is a mixed-use (residential and commercial) building in Newark, New Jersey. It is located across from Military Park and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, which inspired its name. Completed in 2018, it includes the first ...

, Newark **

Forrestal Village Forrestal Village is a , mixed-use retail and office complex in Plainsboro Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, along U.S. Route 1. Despite being in Plainsboro it has a Princeton address. It is just north of Princeton University's Forrest ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Parking and intermodal

** Amtrak

Parking Garage (2004) **

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...

Garage (2003) **

Suburban Station Suburban Station is an Art Deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center in Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the t ...

(2006) ** UPENN Module 6 Utility Plant and Garage (1995)

Office

** FMC Tower at Cira Centre South (with

Pelli Clarke Pelli Pelli is the surname of: * Arttu Pelli (born 1996), Finnish ice hockey * César Pelli (1926–2019), Argentine architect * Denis Pelli (born 1954), Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University * Fulvio Pelli Fulvio Pelli ...

) **

Duane Morris Duane Morris LLP is a law firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded in 1904 as Duane, Morris, Heckscher, & Roberts, and has offices in the United States, London, Singapore, Vietnam, Oman, Myanmar, Shanghai, and Taiwa ...

Headquarters (2005) ** Tower Bridge Corporate Campus (2000)

Awards and recognition

*2011 **Top 50 Hotel Design Firms - ''

Building Design+Construction A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...

'' **Top 100 Architecture Firms - ''Building Design+Construction'' **No. 142, Top 200 Architecture Firms - ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...

'' **No. 27, Top Design Firms, ''HA+D Magazine'' **IDP Firm Award - The Intern Development Program Advisory Committee (IDPAC) *1970 **Gold Medal (

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Philadelphia) for International House Bower & Fradley awarded for design of International House
Temple University Libraries

References

External links

BLT Architects
* *{{cite web, url=https://www.emporis.com/companies/102414/blt-architects-philadelphia-pa-usa, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512194719/http://www.emporis.com/companies/102414/blt-architects-philadelphia-pa-usa, url-status=usurped, archive-date=May 12, 2015, title=BLT Architects , website=

Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...

, access-date=5 March 2019 Architecture firms based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Philadelphia