The Philadelphia Bourse was a commodities exchange founded in 1891 by George E. Bartol, a grain and commodities exporter, who modeled it after the Bourse in Hamburg, Germany. The steel-framed building – one of the first to be constructed – was built from 1893 to 1895, and was designed by G. W. & W. D. Hewitt in the Beaux-Arts style. Carlisle redstone, Pompeian buff brick and terra cotta were all used in the facade. The building was sold in 1979 to Kaiserman Company and underwent extensive renovations, bringing the internal usable surface to approximately 286,000 square feet (26,000 square meters). In 2016, MRP Realty took ownership of the building and spent $40 million renovating it. MRP Realty owns the building as part of a three-building collection named The Independence Portfolio, which also includes 325 Chestnut and 400 Market Street—both located within a block of The Bourse. The building is home to nine floors of office space which includes the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia. There is also a food hall on the first floor which opened on 15 November 2018.

Upon his return from a European trip in 1890, Bartol organized the Philadelphia business community. He asked each new member to pledge $1,000 to the project. The Bourse motto was "Buy, Sell, Ship via Philadelphia."

The Bourse stopped functioning as a commodities exchange in the 1960s. The structure continued to serve as an office building until 1979, when it was sold and renovated to include upscale retail space on floors near the street level. The upper levels of the building continued to house office space. A movie theater specializing in independent films, The Ritz at the Bourse, sits across the street at 4th and Ranstead streets.

In 2018, a two-year rehabilitation created a brand new food hall with 30 vendors.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

After a two-year rehabilitation, The Bourse reopened as a modern food hall with 30 vendors in November, 2018. However, the covid pandemic severely impacted these businesses and as of June 2024 all the restaurants are closed and abandoned. It has been reported a new developer is acquiring the building to turn it into a wedding venue.

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Notes

Media related to Philadelphia Bourse at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Site for The Bourse Food Hall
• Official Site for The Bourse (whole building)
• Official site for The Independence Portfolio (three building collection that includes The Bourse)
• Virtual tour of the Bourse Food Hall
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1456, "Philadelphia Bourse, 11–21 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA", 7 photos, 1 photo caption page