In 2015, One Liberty Place in Philadelphia opened a public observation deck that offered a birds-eye view of the city and a stunning tribute to one of the nation’s founders.

Constructed of geodesic patterned metal, Benjamin Franklin’s head and shoulders rose 20 feet from the building’s 57th floor. The three-dimensional likeness was illuminated by LED lights installed by Hatzel & Buehler Inc., Wilmington, Del., the nation’s oldest electrical contractor.

“There are not many projects with LED color-changing illuminated kite strings, nor LED ceiling panels that were meant to represent a cloudy sky,” said Will Goeller, vice president at Hatzel & Buehler “The lights themselves were controlled through an extensive low-voltage control system that involved use of PoE [power over ethernet]. I don’t know that the technology itself was cutting edge, but the applications of this technology were certainly new.”

One Liberty Place in Philadelphia displayed this homage to America’s first electrician, Benjamin Franklin, until the pandemic caused the building’s observation deck to close permanently. America’s oldest electrical contractor, Hatzel & Buehler Inc., installed related lighting. Its subsidiary, Bluestone Communications, installed PoE-powered controls. Photos by Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.

Bluestone Communications Inc., Folcroft, Pa., a subsidiary of Hatzel & Buehler, was hired as a subcontractor to install related low-voltage and communications wiring.

While that was 11 years ago, many in the electrical industry are now just beginning to appreciate the value of PoE, which transmits data and low-voltage DC over structured cabling. PoE offers greater flexibility for coordinating building functions, plus energy savings and other benefits.

Though the observation deck closed permanently in 2020 due to the pandemic, those lucky enough to have visited got to see a simulation of stormy skies and a 150-foot-long rendition of Franklin’s famous kite string illuminated by LED lights.

On June 10, 1752, Franklin used a kite outfitted with a lightning rod and wet kite string bearing a housekey to correctly identify lightning as electricity.

In the same dangerous moment that would transform the world, he also managed to store the powerful charge in Leyden Jars, forerunners of battery storage and capacitors. Other scientists of the day died trying to do the same.

Franklin’s other experiments affirmed rudimentary concepts of positive and negative charge, conduction through certain materials and the importance of grounding. His famously unpatented lightning rod served as a grounding device to protect countless homes and buildings from fires and damage caused by lightning strikes.

As the United States’ 250th anniversary draws near, it’s worth noting that one of those devices protected the Pennsylvania State House—home to the Liberty Bell and later known as Freedom Hall—when Franklin and other signatories were hammering out the Constitution during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Today, the whereabouts of the geodesic Franklin sculpture remain unclear, but the spirit of the innovator, tradesman, printer, newspaper publisher, statesman and guardian of free speech lives on in the silver spire atop One Liberty Place. Piercing the sky at 959 feet above street level, it serves as a signal source for television broadcasters and FM radio stations.

Likewise, present-day Hatzel & Buehler and Bluestone Communications continue to innovate, as did their company founders who also were early pioneers of the electrical industry.

In 1882, John D. Hatzel and Joseph Buehler worked with Thomas Edison as master electricians, installing the first publicly owned and operated electric generating station in New York City. Two years later they opened their own office there.

Since then, the company has grown exponentially and operates 15 locations throughout the Northeastern United States. Established in 2006, Bluestone also has grown in number of employees, revenues, office locations and technology offerings. Its 12 branch offices serve healthcare, financial, higher ed and pharmaceutical clients.

In this era of booming business and compressed timelines, Hatzel & Buehler faces new challenges related to staffing, planning and executing the work.

“There are megaprojects popping up all over the place on almost a weekly basis that make strategic decision-making even more important,” Goeller said. Even so, the company holds tight to a time-honored tradition of focusing on long-term clients.

 “Much like the country itself, the company has endured through multiple wars, the Great Depression, pandemics and a whole host of other world events by maintaining core principals of being a partner to our clients and prioritizing our people,” Goeller said.