University City Historical Society

Sites & Districts

Listed on the
National Register of Historic Places

Spruce Street, East of 40th, 1909. Photo from the collection of Joseph M. Minardi.

About West Philadelphia and the National Register of Historic Places

Map of Historic Sites & Districts in University City

Map of Historic University City

About Historic Sites & Districts in West Philadelphia

Books and resources about the history of West Philadelphia

Historic Districts in West Philadelphia

Historic Districts in West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1998
National Register Nomination
Where the streetcar made possible transformation of Philadelphia's rural farmland into urban residential development by providing easy access to Center City.
announcement boundary description
UPenn campus, Woodlands Cemetery, Poweltown Ave, 52nd St, Woodland Ave
Garden Court
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1984
National Register Nomination
Planned by Clarence Siegel as a fashionable garden suburb accommodating different needs for housing and the automobile age.
46th to 50th Sts, Pine St to Larchwood Avenue in West Philadelphia
Powelton Village
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1985
National Register Nomination
A District with a density of architecturally significant landmarks from three distinct periods dating from early 19th through late 20th centuries.
interactive map and street-by-street inventory at Powelton Village website
32nd to 39th Sts, Lancaster Avenue to Spring Garden St in West Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania Campus
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1978
National Register Nomination
The University of Pennsylvania's third and present site, defined by a core of historic architecture protected within a vast network of buildings, trees, and pedestrian walkways.
Hamilton Walk, South St, 32nd St, Walnut St, 36th St, Spruce St, 39th St
Drexel Development
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1982
National Register Nomination
Outstanding example of mid-to-late 19th century community development in Philadelphia and the role played by speculative developers in the community formation process.
Pine, Delancey, 39th, and 40th Sts
Parkside
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1983
National Register Nomination
A complex District with major architectural landmarks from the Centennial Exposition, suburban transit, and wealth of the mercantile middle classes at the end of the 19th century.
Penn-Central RR Tracks, 38th St, Girard, Parkside, & Belmont Aves
Haddington
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1988
National Register Nomination
The best preserved example of transit-related development along the Market–Frankford Elevated line in the early 20th century.
6000 Blocks of Market, Ludlow, & Chestnut Sts
Overbrook Farms
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1985
National Register Nomination
A planned, turn-of-the-century, railroad suburb incorporating outstanding architectural styling.
City Line Avenue, 58th St, Woodbine Avenue, & 64th St
Cobbs Creek Automobile Suburb
Historic District
Placed on National Register 1998
National Register Nomination
A District with buildings in Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow/Craftsman architectural styles.
Cobbs Creek Parkway, Spruce, 62nd, & Angora Sts

Historic Sites in West Philadelphia

John Bartram House and Gardens
Placed on National Register 1975
National Register Nomination
House and gardens of John Bartram are a living memorial to the pioneer American botanist and the rise of scientific inquiry in the English colonies of the eighteenth century.
54th St and Eastwick Avenue
The Woodlands
Placed on National Register 1986
National Register Nomination
Two-story house of gray fieldstone with Doric columns, among the most advanced examples of Federal Architecture, utilizing Adamesque features.
4000 Woodland Avenue
in the Cedar Park Area
Fairmount Park
Placed on National Register 1972
National Register Nomination
Considered the finest urban park in the United States, and possibly in the world. It is without doubt the world's greatest 19th century city park.
Along Schuylkill & Wissahickon, from Art Museum to Northwestern Ave
Fort Mifflin
Placed on National Register 1999
National Register Nomination
Group of buildings with a long history of building activity corresponding chronologically with major phases of the nation's past.
Marina Road and Penrose Ferry Road
Regent–Rennoc Court
Placed on National Register 1985
National Register Nomination
Group of flat houses designed by E. A. Wilson, Philadelphia's principal architect of mass-produced housing.
5100 Block of Regent St, 1311–1327 S. 52nd St
in the Cedar Park Area

Sites in Powelton Village

Frederick A. Poth Houses
Placed on National Register 1979
National Register Nomination
Brick houses with brownstone trimming.
3301–3311 Powelton Avenue
in the Powelton Village Historic District
Poth & Schmidt Development Houses
Placed on National Register 1983
National Register Nomination
Important group of large double houses by A.W. Dilks from post-Centennial Philadelphia.
3306–3316 Arch Street
in the Powelton Village Historic District
The Powelton Apartments
Placed on National Register 1978
National Register Nomination
Pompeiian brick buildings with wood and granite trim, almost certainly designed by Philadelphia architect Willis G. Hale.
3500–3520 Powelton Ave, 214–218 N. 35th St, 215–221 N. 36th St
in the Powelton Village Historic District
John Shedwick Development Houses
Placed on National Register 1982
National Register Nomination
The most intact group remaining in Powelton Village marking transition from an antebellum suburb of country villas to the post-Civil War city.
3433–3439 Lancaster Ave
in the Powelton Village Historic District
30th Street Station
Placed on National Register 1978
National Register Nomination
A last of the former "gateways" to major American cities, the station was part of an overall central city improvement program begun in 1925.
in the Powelton Village Historic District
Centennial Bank
Placed on National Register 1971
National Register Nomination
A major surviving work (1876) of Frank Furness, architect.
3200 Market Street
in the Powelton Village Historic District

Sites in Spruce Hill

The Hamilton Family Estate
Placed on National Register 1979
National Register Nomination
Well-preserved mid-19th century suburban streetscape of complex unity.
4039–4041 Baltimore Ave and 4000–4018 Pine St
in Spruce Hill
The Pinehurst Apartments
Placed on National Register 1987
National Register Nomination
Three-story, walk-up apartment building with colonnaded porches in Neo-Classical Revival style.
4511–4523 Pine St & 324–334 S. 45th St
in Spruce Hill
Woodland Terrace
Placed on National Register 1972
National Register Nomination
Block of Italianate houses designed by Samuel Sloan.
501–519, 500–520 Woodland Terrace
in Spruce Hill

Sites at UPenn

College Hall
Placed on National Register 1978
National Register Nomination
Large masonry structure at the heart of the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
Quadrant bounded by Walnut & Spruce Sts, 34th & 36th Sts.
in the UPenn Campus Historic District
Furness Library
Placed on National Register 1972
National Register Nomination
Terra cotta building designed by the firm of Furness, Evans and Co.
Bounded by 34th St below Walnut St
in the UPenn Campus Historic District
Sansom Row
Placed on National Register 1977
National Register Nomination
Block of 18 houses with brownstone facades.
3400 Block of Sansom St, bounded by 34th below Walnut St
in the UPenn Campus Historic District
University Avenue Bridge
Placed on National Register 1994
National Register Nomination
Paul Philippe Cret, architect
University Avenue to South 34th St in the Grays Ferry section.
in the UPenn Campus Historic District

Sites in Walnut Hill

Breslyn Apartments
Placed on National Register 1982
National Register Nomination
Three-story, walk-up apartment building with colonnaded porches in the florid Beaux-Arts style.
4624–42 Walnut St, 201–213 S. 47th St
in Walnut Hill
LaBlanche Apartments
Placed on National Register 1985
National Register Nomination
Large apartment building in the Georgian Revival Style.
5100 Walnut Street
in Walnut Hill
WFIL Studios
Placed on National Register 1986
National Register Nomination
Site of American Bandstand broadcasts.
4548 Market Street
in Walnut Hill
Kirkbride's Hospital
Placed on National Register 1975
National Register Nomination
Also known as Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital.
111 N. 49th Street
in Walnut Hill
Paul Robeson House
Placed on National Register 2000
National Register Nomination
Where Paul Robeson lived the last years of his life, now a museum.
4951 Walnut Street
in Walnut Hill
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