How To Find Philadelphia Apartments With Character/Style

By: The Roe Team
Historical photo of a typical classroom

Tired of the same looking cookie-cutter apartment building? Looking for Philadelphia Apartments with Character, Charm, and Style. You are not alone, and have come to the right place.

What is an apartment building with charm/style/character?

Typically, when someone is looking for apartments with charm/style/character, they are generally looking for beautiful historic buildings converted into apartments (usually pre-1940s vintage) that contain one or more unique architectural features. See advantages of renting historical building.

These could be former hotels, textile mills, chocolate factories, or even churches.

Does Philadelphia have a lot of these?

Yes, while there are a lot of cookie-cutter buildings. Fortunately, Philadelphia is the #2 city in the nation for the number of apartment buildings converted into apartments (behind Chicago). In fact, according to RentCafe, there are over 85 converted apartment buildings in the city.

Therefore, when looking for a Philadelphia apartment with character/style/charm, you have a great shot at finding what you are looking for. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Identify Neighborhoods With High Likelihood

The neighborhoods in Philadelphia with the highest likelihood of buildings are those that have high percentage of existing historic buildings, including in Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Manayunk, Old City, Brewerytown, and Center City.

Step 2: Look for Historic Buildings

By searching online for ‘historic buildings in _____ neighborhood’.

You can also go on apartments.com and click ‘more’ and enter search for ‘historic’ .

Step 3: Visit the Apartments In-Person

Visit the apartments in-person, and observe the Exterior and Interior. Pictures can be great, but until you go in-person to check out the building, you will not know if it meets your requirements (both exterior and interior) for Philadelphia apartments with character, style, and charm. As they say, you’ll know it when you see it.

Tip: We may be biased, but our historical collection at the Roe at Manayunk offers three different historic boutique buildings each with their own character, style, and charm. 

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