Over the years, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange has had a variety of names and office locations.

At its founding in 1790, the Board of Brokers was located in the Merchants Coffee House, also known as the City Tavern, at the corner of Second and Walnut Streets.

This building was severely damaged by a fire in 1834, but fortunately, in 1831, Stephen Girard’s bank had formed the Philadelphia Merchant’s Exchange Company to erect a new building to house the Board of Brokers and other groups. In 1832, the Exchange began to build its headquarters based on drawings by William Strickland. The Board of Brokers moved into the Merchants Exchange building in 1834 following the fire in the Coffee House.

In 1875, the Board of Brokers changed its name to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, but this name changed a few times in the 1950s and 60s as the exchange merged with other regional exchanges. In 1876, the exchange moved to the rear of the Girard Bank Building, formerly the First Bank of the U.S. It stayed there until 1888.

In 1888, the stock exchange moved to the Drexel Building which was located on the east side of Fifth Street between Chestnut and “Library” Streets. The Drexel Building was demolished in 1959 to make way for the new Library Hall, which today faces Independence Hall.

Between 1902 and 1912, the PHLX returned to the Merchants Exchange Building.

In 1913, it moved to a building at 1411 Walnut St. This building was recently converted into residential apartments. 

In 1951, the PHLX moved to the Central Penn Bank Building at 1401 Walnut Street. Today, this building is used for a retail store and offices. It stayed there until 1966 when it moved to a building (currently the Sofitel Hotel) at 17^th and Sansom.

In December 1968, in response to a fiscal crisis, Philadelphia imposed a $0.05 per share stock transfer tax for all transactions on the PHLX. On January 2, 1969, the PHLX moved its trading floor to an office building, then known as the Decker Building, just across a street from the city boundaries in Bala Cynwyd to avoid the tax. In February, a Court ruled that the tax was illegal, and the PHLX moved its trading floor back to its headquarters in the City.

In 1981, the PHLX moved to its current location at 19^th and Market.