NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional certification comments, entries, and narrative items on continuation sheets if needed (NPS Form 10-900a). 1. Name of Property historic name Greenbelt Knoll Historic District other names/site number NA 2. Location street & number 1-19 Longford Street, roughly bounded by Holme Avenue and NA not for publication the Pennypack Park Greenway city or town Philadelphia NA vicinity state Pennsylvania code PA county Philadelphia code 101 zip code 19136 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property _ meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: national statewide local Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official Date Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Greenbelt Knoll Historic District Philadelphia County, PA Name of Property County and State 5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) (Check only one box.) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing x private building(s) 22 2 buildings x public - Local x district 1 1 sites public - State site structures public - Federal structure objects object 23 3 Total Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing) listed in the National Register The Legacy of African Americans in Pennsylvania, 1644-1965 0 6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) Domestic/single dwelling Domestic/single dwelling Domestic/secondary structure Domestic/secondary structure Recreation & Culture/outdoor recreation 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) Modern foundation: concrete block walls: wood roof: other: 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Greenbelt Knoll Historic District Philadelphia County, PA Name of Property County and State Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property. Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, setting, size, and significant features.) Summary Paragraph Greenbelt Knoll is a nine-acre development of 18 modest frame, one-story Modern houses constructed in 1955 and 1956 in suburban northeastern Philadelphia. The single-family homes are clustered efficiently along Longford Street, a cul-de-sac, on lots of approximately one-third acre each. The asphalt-paved cul-de-sac is accessed via the south side of Holme Avenue and is approximately 500 feet in length. It follows a north-south ridgeline and is bordered by concrete sidewalks. The development is heavily wooded and is bordered on three sides by the Pennypack Park Greenway. The siting of the houses and division of parcels was determined by the topography of the knoll, which drops off considerably to the west and south. Placement of the houses was intended to limit the removal of trees and incorporate the existing landscape into the design. Seventeen of the existing homes are considered contributing; one home was completely rebuilt following a fire and is considered non-contributing. An additional lot (#17) is now open-space, as the house was demolished 1997. Including the 5 detached garages, a studio, and the 2-acre community park that was part of the original neighborhood design, there are 26 resources: 22 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site (park), 2 non-contributing buildings and 1 non-contributing site (Lot #17). The development remains heavily wooded, and both the houses and landscape retain integrity. Setting and Neighborhood Plan The houses are not repetitively placed along the street, but are positioned with differing set-backs and orientations on irregularly-shaped lots (see Figure 1). While the houses follow a very similar plan and size, some are aligned with an end to the street, and others run length-wise. A few of the homes (lots #5 and #7) are “stacked” toward the rear of the neighborhood, behind other lots (#6 and 8) and are accessible by narrow right-of-way strips. An original paved “turn-around” driveway was placed at the end of the cul-de-sac in front of lots #11 and 12 for shared use by the residents of the southern end of the neighborhood. Lot #17’s home was demolished in 1997 and is now open space. There are small grass lawns on most lots, but the overwhelming effect is of a wooded property. Most of the house lots have at least a short paved driveway or parking pad. Neighbors are also able to park along Longford Street, which is 50 feet wide. The houses were sited and designed to maximize privacy and incorporate existing natural features. Fences are uncommon; currently the only permanent fence is a chain link fence surrounding part of 1 Longford’s backyard. Decks, terraces and patios all remain from the original landscape and building designs. In some cases, the original designs accommodated the landscape dramatically, modifying decks or breezeways to incorporate the growing trunks of trees through the deck floors or the breezeway roofs, and these trees remain part of the current house designs (see photos 4 and 8). In addition to the 19 building lots (which includes vacant #17), Greenbelt Knoll contained a 2-acre wooded communal park lot, located along the west border of lots #1-5. A small branch of the Pennypack Creek passes through this lot, with a railroad bed (freight spur) shadowing the west edge of the lot. This communal ground was intended to be accessed via a 10 foot right-of-way between lots #4 and 5. Part of the original design for Greenbelt Knoll included a swimming pool on the 2-acre 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Greenbelt Knoll Historic District Philadelphia County, PA Name of Property County and State lot, which was filled c.1985; no above-ground evidence remains of the pool. There is generally no distinction between private property, the park parcel, and the greater Pennypack Park Greenway, as there is an absence of fences or other barriers marking property lines. The 2-acre original park has been incorporated into the Fairmount Park Commission’s Pennypack Park Greenway (see Figure 4). The neighborhood is almost entirely surrounded by the heavily-wooded Pennypack Park Greenway, although the adjacent Pennypack Woods development is visible through the trees at the southeast corner of Greenbelt Knoll. A Pennsylvania Rail Road bed (currently a freight spur) cuts through the woods and runs along the western side of the neighborhood, particularly close to the houses at the southwest corner of the development (see photo 13 and Figure 3). The area north of Holme Avenue, across from the entrance to Greenbelt Knoll’s Longford Street, remains wooded and is also part of the Greenway. The area surrounding Pennypack Park Greenway and the small cluster of houses forming Greenbelt Knoll is intensively developed with primarily-residential areas. Greenbelt Knoll is very unusual for the area, both in design and lot size, as well as setting. The Modern-style houses set it apart, as do the lack of repetition and symmetry in building set-back and placement on the lots. The surrounding developments are dense, with uniform set-backs, and are either early 20th century row homes, post-World War II small houses, or late 20th-century townhouses or apartment complexes. Lots the size of Greenbelt Knoll’s (one-quarter to one-third acre) are non-existent in the surrounding area, as is the incorporation of nature. The Homes The 17 contributing houses share a similar Modern design and appearance. They are all rectangular, fairly narrow, single-story modest homes with flat or low-pitched roofs featuring broad eaves. While the houses are very similar, they are not exact copies of a single master design. The individual plans were influenced by each house’s orientation and siting on its lot.