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Glass ceiling | Scene Through the Lens

Cleaning up

August 5, 2024: A window washer dangles over the (dirty) glass canopy at the front door of the Notary Hotel, in the former City Hall Annex, the neoclassical building designed in 1926 by architect P.H. Johnson across from City Hall.
August 5, 2024: A window washer dangles over the (dirty) glass canopy at the front door of the Notary Hotel, in the former City Hall Annex, the neoclassical building designed in 1926 by architect P.H. Johnson across from City Hall.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

When the city moved out in 1989, the annex remained rat-infested, vacant, and boarded up for more than a decade. The National Historic Register building was restored — and the canopy added — and opened as a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in 1999. It was later renovated again and the current boutique hotel opened in 2019.

Since 1998, a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color: