General view of the Plexiglas chandelier in the Rohm and Haas Company home office building located on Independence Mall West in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constructed in the 1960's, the building was designed by architectural firm George M. Ewing Company in consultation with Modernist architect Pietro Belluschi (1899-1994).

The Rohm and Haas Company was founded in 1907 in Esslingen, Germany through the partnership of German chemist Otto Röhm and German businessman Otto Haas. In 1933, Röhm's experiments with the polymerization of methyl methacrylate led to the creation of a clear, solid plastic sheet, which he trademarked Plexiglas. During World War II, the demand for Plexiglas, which both Allied and Axis forces used for submarine periscopes and aircraft windshields, canopies, and gun turrets, helped transform Rohm and Haas into a major chemical firm.