Historic Resource Survey Form Key #______PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION ______Bureau for Historic Preservation
Name, Location and Ownership (Items 1-6; see Instructions, page 4) 1vhIi1'1 1EEE HISTORIC NAME St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum CURRENT/COMMON NAME St. Vincent's Catholic Social Services Archdiocese of Philadelphia STREET ADDRESS 7201 Milnor Street ZIP 19135 LOCATION Bordered on the northwest by Milnor Street, northeast by Cottman Avenue, southwest by Princeton Avenue, and southeast by the Delaware River and property of the Quaker City Yacht Club. MUNICIPALITY Philadelphia COUNTY Philadelphia TAX PARCEL #778229000 YEAR 2007 USGS QUAD Frankford
OWNERSHIP Private El Public/Local [] Public/County El Public/State El Public/Federal OWNER NAME/ADDRESS Archdiocese of Philadelphia. 222 North 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 CATEGORY OF PROPERTY Z Building []Site El Structure El Object El District TOTAL NUMBER OF RESOURCES 9
Function (Items 7-8; see Instructions, pages 4-6)
Historic Function Subcategory Particular Type Religion Church-Related Residence Dormitory Religion Church School Classrooms Religion Church-Related Residence Staff 1-lousing/Garage Religion Church-Related Residence Staff 1-lousing Religion Church School Restroom Religion Church School Restroom Religion Church School Classrooms Religion Church School Classrooms Religion Religious Structure Grotto Current Function Subcategory Particular Type Vacant/Not in Use
Architectural/Property Information (Items 9-14; see Instructions, pages 6-7)
ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFICATION Classical Revival No Style
EXTERIOR MATERIALS and STRUCTURAL SYSTEM Foundation Stone Concrete Walls Brick Aluininuni Sidin Roof Asphalt Shingle Bitumen Other Sills-Granite Lintels/Arches-Gran lie Structural System Brick Masonry
WIDTH N/A (# bays) DEPTH N/A(# rooms) STORIES/HEIGHT N/A Key #______
ER#______
Property Features (Items 15-17; see Instructions, pages 7-8)
Setting Industrial/Highway Ancillary Features
Cemetery Stone and Wrought Iron Gate Pavilion Pavilion
Acreage 15.4 acres (round to nearest tenth)
Historical Information (Items 18-21; see Instructions, page 8)
Year Construction Began 1857 El Circa Year Completed 2002 Z Circa Date of Major Additions, Alterations 1860 ElCirca 1901 El Circa 1960 El Circa Basis for Dating N Documentary Z Physical Explain: Dates of construction and alterations based upon grave markers, date stones, research, and historic maps and photographs. Cultural/Ethnic Affiliation(s) German Catholic Associated Individual(s) None
Associated Event(s) None Architect(s) George C. Dietrich Builder(s) Unknown
Submission Information (Items 22-23; see Instructions, page 8)
Previous Survey/Determinations Pennsylvania Historic Resource Form, P.A.C. Spero & Company, April 1994, determined individually eligible for National Register under Criteria A and C. Threats El None El Neglect NPublic Development El Private Development El Other Explain The property is located within the Area of Potential Effects (APE) for the Tacony Holmesburg Trail. This submission is related to a El non-profit grant application El business tax incentive NHPAIPA History Code Project Review El other
Preparer Information (Items 24-30; see Instructions, page 9)
Name Title& Samantha Driscoll. Architectural Historian Date Prepared February 2015 Project Name lacony Holmesburg Trail
Organization/Company A.D. Marble Company& Mailing Address 375 East Elm Street, Suite 101. Conshohocken, PA 19428
Phone 484-533-2537 Email sdriscoll(dadmarb1e.com
National Register Evaluation (Item 31; see Instructions, page 9) (To be completed by Survey Director, Agency Consultant, or for Project Reviews ONLY.)
Not Eligible (due to El lack of significance and/or Mlack of integrity) El Eligible Area(s) of Significance Criteria Considerations Period of Significance El Contributes to Potential or Eligible District District Name
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 2 Key
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Bibliography
Bromley, G.W. Bromley and Co. 1895 Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. G.W. Bromley and Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1910 Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. G.W. Bromley and Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1929 Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 25th and 41st Wards. G.W. Bromley and Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Department of Commerce and Bureau of the Census 1913 Benevolent Institutions. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Dougherty, Frank 1992 "St. Vincent's Provides A Respite Orphanages Role With Kids Has Changed." Daily News. http://articles.philly.com/1992-09- 10/news/26020675 I children-orphans-civil-war, accessed September 2014.
Franklin Survey Company 1954 Philadelphia 1954 Vol. 6- Greater Northeast. Plate 032.
Griffin, Martin I.J. 1882 History of Old St. Joseph's" Philadelphia. 1.C.B.U. Journal Print, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
McAlester, Virginia Savage 2013 A Field Guide to American Houses. Alfred A. Knopf Publisher, New York, New York.
Roth, Reverend Francis Xavier, U.S.A. 1934 History of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum, Tacony, Pennsylvania: A Memoir of Its Diamond Jubilee 1855-1933. Nord- Amerika Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company 1950 Philadelphia 1916 - May 1951 Vol. 27, 1928-Sept. 1950. Plates 2610-2611.
(Continued on page 4)
Additional Information The following must be submitted with form. Check the appropriate box as each piece is completed and attach to form with paperclip. Narrative Sheets—Description/Integrity and History/Significance (See Instructions, pages 13-14) Current Photographs (See Instructions, page 10) Photograph List (See Instructions, page 11) Site Map (sketch site map on 8.5x1 1 page; include North arrow, approximate scale; label all resources, street names, and geographic features; show exterior Photograph locations; See Instructions, page 11) El Floor Plan (sketch plans on 8.5x11 page; include North arrow, scale bar or length/width dimensions; label rooms; show interior Photograph locations; See Instructions, page 11) USGS Map (submit original, Photograph copy, or download from TopoZone.com; See Instructions, page 12)
Send Completed Form and Additional Information to: National Register Program Bureau for Historic Preservation/PHMC Keystone Bldg., 2nd Floor 400 North St. Harrisburg, PA 17120-0093
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 3 Key #______ER#______
Bibliography (Cont.)
Smedley, Samuel L. 1862 Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
U.S. Bureau of the Census 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ward 23, Page 43-46. http://ancestry.com, accessed September 2014.
Internet Sources
Bing Maps website http://www.bing.com/maps/, accessed September 2014.
Catholic Social Services website "History of Catholic Social Services." http://www.catholicsocialservicesphilly.org/history.php, accessed September 2014.
Encyclopedia Britannica website "Redemptorist." http:/!www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/494652/Redemptorist, accessed September 2014.
Historic American Building Survey (HABS) website "Tacony, St. Vincent's Catholic School, Bounded by Princeton, Delaware, & Cottman Avenues & Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA." http://www.loc.gov/pictures/itern/pa3912!, accessed September 2014. l-listoricaerials.com "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." www.historicaerials.com, accessed September 2014.
Historical Northeast Philadelphia website "Historical Northeast Philadelphia Stories and Memories 1994: Tacony." http://nephillyhistory.com/hnep1994!tacony.htm, accessed September 2014.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania website "German Settlement in Pennsylvania: An Overview." http :!/hsp.org/sites/default/fi les/legacy uiles!migrated/germanstudentreading.pdf accessed September 2014.
Philadelphia: Cradle of Religious Liberty website "Holy Trinity." http:/!www.holyexperiment.org/pages/trinity.html, accessed September 2014.
St. Vincent's Homes website "St. Vincent's Homes." http://www.stvincenthome.org/, accessed September 2014.
The National Shrine of St. John Neumann website "St. Peter the Apostle Parish: Home to the Neumann Shrine." http://www.stjohnneumann.org/parish.html, accessed September 2014.
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 4 Key #______
E R#______Photograph List See pages 10-11 of the Instructions for more information regarding Photographs and the Photograph list. In addition to this Photograph list, create a Photograph key for the site plan and floor plans by placing the Photograph number in the location the Photographer was standing on the appropriate plan. Place a small arrow next to the Photograph number indicating the direction the camera was pointed. Label individual Photographs on the reverse side or provide a caption underneath digital Photographs.
Photographer name Russell Stevenson Date September 2014
Location Negatives/Electronic Images Stored A.D. Marble & Company. 375 E. Elm St., Suite 101, Conshohocken, PA 19428
Photograph # Photograph Subject/Description Camera Facing The St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum as visible from Milnor Street, facing southeast. Note Building SE
I in the center and the roof of Building 2 visible on the right. 2 The northwest (front) property line of the site as defined by Milnor Street, facing northeast. Note NE
the 1-95 interchange on the left and the stone front gate of St. Vincent's on the right. 3 View from the southwest (side) property line on Princeton Avenue, facing northeast. Note NE
Building 4 in the center of the photograph. 4 View from the southeast (rear) property line facing west. The dense tree line bordering the W Delaware River is to the left of the photograph, and the grounds of the southeast quadrant of the
site are to the right. The rear elevations of Building 2 and Building I are to the right. 5 The northwest (façade) elevation of Building 1, facing southeast. SE 6 The northwest (façade) elevation of the 1884 block of Building 1, facing southeast. Note the SE southwest elevation of the main block on the left. The connection between the main block and
he 1884 block is visible on the second story of bay one. 7 The southwest (side) elevation of Building 1, facing northeast. The three-story elevation of the NE
main block is on the left. The 1884 block of Building I is in the center of the photograph. 8 The southeast (rear) elevation of Building 1, facing northwest. Building 2 is on the far left. The NW 1884 block, 1927 block, and circa-2002 stair and elevator tower are visible in the foreground. Visible above the elevation is the gable and chimney of the main block. On the far right is
Building 7. 9 The northeast (side) elevation of Building I, facing northwest. Starting on the left, the 1927 NW block, chimney, circa-2002 stair and elevator tower, circa-1960 second story addition, and main
block are all visible. 10 The northwest (façade) elevation of Building 2, facing southeast. Note the location of the front SE
driveway leading to the entrance, as this is the former location of the 1860 Main Building. 11 The southwest (side) and southeast (rear) elevations of Building 2, facing north. Note Building 1 N
is visible on the far right. 12 The northeast (façade) and northwest (side) elevations of Building 3, facing south. Note S
Building 6 is visible on the far left. 13 The southwest (rear) elevation of Building 3, facing northeast. NE 14 The southeast (side) elevation and northeast (façade) elevation of Building 3, facing west. W 15 The southeast (façade) elevation of Building 4, facing northwest. Note the main block of the NW
masonry garage on the left and the dwelling block on the right. 16 The northeast (side) elevation of the dwelling block of Building 4, facing southwest. SW 17 The northwest (rear) elevation of Building 4, facing south. Note the dwelling block on the left S
and garage main block on the right. 18 The southwest (side) and southeast (façade) elevations of Building 4, facing northeast. NE 19 The northwest (front) elevation of Building 5, facing southeast. SE 20 Partial northwest (façade) and southwest (side) elevations of Building 5, facing east. E 21 The southeast (rear) elevation of Building 5, facing northwest. NW 22 The northeast (side) elevation of Building 5, facing southwest. Note the projection with stairs in SW bay two indicating a former entrance location.
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 5 Key#
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Photograph # Photograph Subject/Description Camera Facing 23 The northeast (side) and northwest (façade) elevations of Building 6, facing south. S 24 The northeast (side) elevation of Building 6, facing northeast. Note the shed-roofed addition in NE
the center of the photograph. 25 The southwest (façade) elevation of Building 7, facing northeast. Note the corner of Building 1 NE
on far left and Building 8 on the near left. 26 The southeast (side) and northeast (rear) elevations of Building 7, facing northwest. In the NW
background, Building 2 is on the far left and Building 1 is on the right. 27 The southwest (façade) elevation of Building 8, facing north. Note the two-story main block on N
the left and the one-story contemporary addition on the right. 28 The southeast (side) elevation of Building 8, facing northwest. NW 29 The northeast (rear) elevation of Building 8, facing southeast. Note the cemetery in the SE
foreground. 30 The southwest (façade) elevation of Building 9 and the northwest (side) elevation of Building 8, SE
facing southeast. 31 The southeast (side) elevation of Building 9, facing southwest. Note the northeast (side) SW
elevation of Building 8 on the left (obscured by tree) and the cemetery in the foreground. 32 The northeast (rear) elevation of Building 9, facing south. S 33 The northwest (side) elevation of Building 9, facing southeast. SE 34 The southwest (façade) and southeast (side) elevations of Building 10, facing northeast. NE 35 The northeast (rear) elevation of Building 10, facing southwest. SW 36 View of the cemetery, looking southwest. Note the Crucifixion statue in the center of the SW photograph and the large tree on the right. Also note Building 8 (left) and Building 9 (right) in
the middle ground and Building I (center) in the background. 37 Crucifixion statue, facing northwest. Note Building 8 behind the statue and Building 9 on the far NW
right. 38 Common arched stone markers, facing northwest. Note Building 9 in the background. NW 39 View facing northwest from Building 2 to the front gate. Note the length of the stone wall. NW 40 Detail of the front gate showing vehicular and pedestrian iron gates separated by crenelated top NW stone piers. View facing northwest. 41 View facing east showing the modern pavilion (Feature Q. E 42 View facing northwest showing the circa-1929 pavilion (Feature D). NW 43 View facing east showing the 1919 pavilion (Feature E). E 44 View facing southwest showing the exterior of the grotto. SW 45 lView facing southeast showing the interior of the grotto. SE 46 IView facing northwest showing the overgrown path to the grotto. NW
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 6
Figure 1 Topographic Map St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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7 ID. Building/Landscape Feature 1 Dormitory Building (1901) 1A Laundry (1884) lB Annex (1927) 2 Admin Building (Ca. 1990) 3 School Building (1893) 4 Garage and Dwelling (ca. 1929) 5 Dwelling (ca. 1929) 6 Restroom (ca. 1901) 7 Restroom (Ca. 1901) 8 School Building (1960) 9 School Building (1963) 10 Office (Ca. 1990) A Cemetery (Ca. 1855) B Front Gate (1884) C Pa1lion (Ca. 1990) D Pailion (Ca. 1929) E PavWon (1919) F Grotto (1912) Data Source: Digital Globe (Microsoft) via ESRI World lmage,y Map Service Aerial Date 2/19/2011 9 Data Source Digital Globe (Microsoft) via ESRI World lmageiy Map Service Aerial Date 211912011 10 Key #______
Historic Maps ER#______St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Figure 5: 1855 map showing planned lots of the Tacony Cottage Association. Note plots N and M were never developed and remained St. Vincent's property; plots L, D, and C were demolished for 1-95; and plots A, B, E, F, G, H, I, and K were mostly reconfigured into larger lots of industrial development. (Source: Roth 1934)
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c.'., Ar Figure 6: 1862 map showino the 1860 Main Building (demolished in 1984). (Source: Smedley 1862) 02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 11 Key #______I ER#______\ / :id r:2 lk- *4 4
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02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 12
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02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 13 Key #______ER#______
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02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 14 Key #______E R#______
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02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 15 Key #______Historic Aerials E R#______St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Figure 15: Site Changes between 1967 and 2014 -
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02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 16 Key Historic Photographs #______St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum E R#______7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I iii I 18 00 Main I ii 'liii .. H loic 1920 ( demolished in 1 984). (Source: Historical Northeast Philadelphia ehsite. accessed September 2014)
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02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 17 Key #______ER#______
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 18 Key #______ER#______
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 19 Key #______
E R#______Physical Description and Integrity
Physical Description
The St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum property is a complex often buildings and six landscape features on a 15.44-acre lot (tax parcel 778229000). The ten buildings include a 1901 three-story masonry dormitory building (Building 1), a circa-1990 two-story masonry administrative building (Building 2), an 1893 three-story masonry school building (Building 3), a circa-1929 one-story masonry garage with attached dwelling (Building 4), a circa-1929 two-story wood frame dwelling (Building 5), two circa-1901 one-story masonry restrooms (Buildings 6 and 7). a 1960 two- story masonry school building (Building 8), a 1963 one-story masonry school building (Building 9), and a circa-1990 wood frame office building (Building 10). The six landscape features include a circa-1855 cemetery (Feature A), an 1884 stone and iron front gate (Feature B), three wood frame pavilions (Features C, D, and E) dating from 1919 to 1990, and a 1912 grotto (Feature F). The site is located on the southeast side of Milnor Street between Cottman Avenue and Princeton Avenue in the neighborhood of Tacony in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The complex is oriented to face northwest toward Milnor Street (Photograph 1). The northeast quadrant contains a cluster of six buildings (Buildings 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10) and Landscape Features A and B that form the heart of the complex. The complex is set back from Milnor Street by approximately 125 feet of lawn interspersed with trees and includes adjacent surface parking lots. The southeast quadrant contains Building 6, Building 7, and Landscape Features D, E, and F, surrounded by surface parking lots and lawn interspersed by trees. The northwest quadrant is open lawn. The southwest quadrant contains Building 4, Building 5, and Landscape Feature C surrounded by lawn interspersed by trees and an asphalt road connecting the complex to Princeton Avenue. The northwest (front) property line of the site is defined by Milnor Street (Photograph 2). The northeast (side) property line is defined by Coltman Avenue, and the southwest (side) property line is defined by Princeton Avenue (Photograph 3). The southeast (rear) property line is defined by a dense tree line along the Delaware River on the eastern half and land occupied by the Quaker City Yacht Club on the western half (Photograph 4). Two asphalt driveways provide vehicular access to the lot from Milnor Street, with an additional asphalt driveway located on Princeton Avenue. The property's setting is industrial, as a result of Tacony's development into an industrial hub in the late nineteenth century. The industrial buildings surrounding the property today are mostly run down, and the construction of Interstate 95 (1-95) to the northwest of the property in 1965 to 1967 caused a divide from the rest of the Tacony neighborhood.
Building 1: Dormitory Building The 1901 building is a Colonial Revival three-story dormitory building of masonry construction (Photographs 1, 5, and 9) with several additions. The main block of the building has a cruciform plan with a gable roof at each elevation containing a triangular roof pediment. The building has a stone foundation and the exterior cladding is brick. The medium-pitched roof is covered in asphalt shingles. On the northwest, northeast, and southwest elevations, the pediment contains a wood, modified Palladian window with a four-light central arch, two-light flanking arches, a granite surround, and keystone detail. The southeast elevation contains a chimney. Typical windows throughout the building are one-over-one, aluminum, double-hung sash, with granite sill and jack arch with keystone, except where noted below. The corners of each wing of the cruciform plan have coining detail in brick, and a terra cotta double belt course runs below the third-story windows on all elevations. The 1901 construction of Building I incorporated an existing 1884 two-story masonry building with granite clad foundation, side gable asphalt roof, and a corbeled brick cornice. The 1884 block is located on the southwest corner of Building I (Building IA). A 1927, two-story, masonry annex addition with stone foundation and flat roof was added to the rear of the 1901 main block (Building IB). A circa-1960, masonry, second-story addition with flat roof was added on to an original one-story annex on the southeast corner. An original three-story masonry fire tower on the southwest elevation has a 1925 second story, corrugated metal hallway addition. A circa-2002 three-story masonry stair and elevator tower with concrete block foundation, clad in stucco, and a flat roof was added to the southeast corner of the 1901 main block. A concrete Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible (ADA-accessible) ramp has been added to the northwest elevation.
The northwest (façade) elevation of the 1901 main block is nine bays wide (Photograph 5). Bays one, two, and three (from the north) each contain a single window on the first story and a wood, one-light basement widow. Bays four, five, and six are located on the projecting northwest wing of the cruciform plan and form the entrance bay. The circa- 2002 staircase and ramp with metal rail are located along bays four, five, and six. On the first floor, bays four and six
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 20 each contain a brick niche with granite arch that has a keystone Key #______detail and granite sill. Bay five, the central bay, is the primary ER#______entrance to the building and contains modern, aluminum, two- light double doors and an aluminum, 12-light, modern window surround. A veneer of Permastone has been added to surround the entrance and is detailed with a central peak containing a cross symbol. Bay seven contains a single window on the first story and a modern metal door with concrete stair at the basement level. Bays eight and nine each contain a single window on the first story and a glass block basement window. Bay nine also contains a date stone reading, "May 6h 1901." On the second story, bays one, two, three, seven, eight, and nine each contain a single typical window. Bays four and six contain a granite arch with keystone detail above a terra cotta carving of a lion's head, fruit, and the year "1901." In bay five, there are three aluminum, one-over-one, double-hung sash windows, which are slightly overlapped by the Permastone veneer. A modern sign placed above the windows reads, "St. Vincent's Catholic Social Services Archdiocese of Philadelphia." On the third story, bays one, two, three, seven, eight, and nine each contain a single typical window. Bays four and six contain glass block panels. Bay five contains three typical windows. Immediately south of the 1901 main block described, the northwest elevation of the 1884 block is visible and contains two bays (Photograph 6). The first story contains two windows with granite arches. The second story contains a connection to the 1925 second-story hallway addition and a typical window with a granite arch. The attic level contains a wood, two-light over louvered panel, fixed, gothic-head window with granite sill.
The southwest (side) elevation contains 14 bays (Photograph 7). Bays one through six (from north) are the 1901 main block, and bay seven is the three-story fire tower. Bay eight is a semi-enclosed entrance bay containing the 1925 metal hallway addition. Bays nine through 14 are the 1884 block. On the main block, bay one contains a window mid- way between the first and second story due to an interior stairwell and a glass block panel window on the basement level. Bays two through six each contain a single typical window. In bay six, a one-story masonry entrance bay with metal one-light-over-one-panel double doors is located on the basement level. Bay seven contains a stairwell and has a single window located mid-way between the second and third stories. Bays two through six each contain a single window on the second story. Bay seven contains a window mid-way between the second and third stories. On the third story, bay one contains a glass block panel window. The third story of bays two through six contains a single window. Bay eight is open on the first story, with concrete stairs, and the second story contains a single aluminum, one-by-one, sliding window. On the 1884 block, bays nine, ten, 12, 13, and 14 contain a single window with a granite arch. One-light basement windows appear in bays 11, 13, and 14. Bay 11 is an entrance bay with an arched opening containing a metal, two-light, modern double door with metal surround and corrugated metal transom. The bay includes a concrete stair with metal rail. Bays ten through 14 each contain a single typical window on the second story.
The southeast (rear) elevation contains ten bays (Photograph 8). Bays one, two, and four (from east) are the 1901 main block. Bay three is the circa-2002 stair and elevator tower addition. Bays five, six, and seven are the 1927 annex addition. Bays eight, nine, and ten are the 1884 block. The first floor of bay one contains a former window converted into an entrance, with a wood, one-story entrance vestibule with shed roof and metal stairway. The first floor of bays two and four contain a window and a glass block basement window. The second story of bays one and two contain the circa-1960 infill addition of the original piazza, containing an aluminum, three-by-three, casement window in each bay. Bay four contains a single window. On the third floor, bays one and two contain a single window on the recessed wall of the main block. Bay four contains a single window. The bay three circa-2002 stair and elevator tower has metal, one-light, fixed windows on the second and fourth stories. On the first story on the 927 annex, bay five has a single typical window, bay seven has two windows, and each contain a partially boarded, glass block basement window. Bay six is the entrance bay, with a former window infilled with a metal door and glass block transom, with an iron stair and corrugated metal awning. The second floor of the 1927 annex addition contains a single typical window in bays five and six, and a metal door and concrete infill of a former window in bay seven. A metal fire escape leads to bay seven. Bays eight, nine, and, ten of the 1884 block each contain a single typical window with granite arch on the first story and a one-light basement window. On the second story, bays eight and ten contain a single typical window with a granite arch. Bay nine is an entrance bay, with a former window opening infilled with a metal door and glass block transom. A metal fire escape leads to bay nine. An original, wood, two-light-over-louvered panel, fixed, gothic-head window with granite sill is located in the attic level.
The northeast (side) elevation contains 13 bays (Photograph 9). From the north, bays one through nine are the 1901 main block. Bay ten is the circa-2002 stair and elevator tower. Bays 11, 12, and 13 are the 1927 annex addition. Bay one contains a boarded window mid-story between the first and second story, and a boarded basement window. Bays two through eight each contain a single typical window on the first story and a one-light basement window. Bay nine
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 21 contains a wood, one-story entrance vestibule with shed roof Key #______supported by metal poles, and a partially visible single window ER#______and one-light basement window. Bays two through six and bay nine contain a single window. Bays 7 and 8 each contain an aluminum, four-light, fixed window in the second story. On the third story, bay one contains a glass block panel and bays two through nine contain a single window. Bays 11 and 13 each contain a single typical window on the first floor and a boarded basement window. Bay 12 is a loading bay with a former window opening infilled with a metal door and metal transom with a masonry and concrete pad, metal rail, and metal awning. The second story of bays 11, 12, and 13 each contain a single typical window.
Building 2. Administration Building Building 2 is a modern, circa-1990, two-story administration building in the location of the former 1860 Main Building (demolished in 1984, Photographs 10 and 11). Building 2 is of red rusticated cement block construction and has a medium-pitched side gable roof covered in asphalt shingles. Typical windows throughout the building are aluminum, one-over-one, double-hung sash. A one-story covered walkway with concrete supports and a hipped roof is located on the southeast elevation.
Building 3: School Building Building 3 is an 1893 three-story school building of masonry construction (Photographs 12 to 14). The building rests on a parged masonry foundation, and the exterior cladding is brick. The low-pitched side gable roof is clad in asphalt shingles and the cornice is original, profiled wood. Typical windows throughout the building are aluminum, one-over- one, double-hung sash with metal transom topped with a brick arch and granite sill, except where noted below.
The northeast (façade) elevation is five bays wide (Photograph 12). The first story of bays (from south) one, two, four, and five each contain a single typical window, and bays one and five contain a one-light basement window. Bay three is the central entrance bay. A former arched opening has ben infilled with a wood two-light-and-four-panel door and wood and stucco surround. Concrete stairs with metal rails lead to the entrance and are flanked with concrete planters. The entrance has an adjacent sign reading "Koenig Administration Building" and is topped by a metal awning. Above the awning is a date stone reading "St. Vincent's School 1893." The second and third floors each contain a single window in bays one through five. The northwest (side) elevation is two bays wide. On the first floor, the east bay contains a single window on the first floor and a metal cellar door in the basement level. The west bay contains a single window on the first floor and a one-light basement window. The second and third stories each contain a single window in each bay. The attic level contains two wood, four-light, fixed windows. The southwest (rear) elevation is five bays wide (Photograph 13). The first, second, and third floors of bays one through five each contain a single window. A three-story metal fire escape is located in bays two, three, and four. The southeast (side) elevation contains two bays. On the first floor, each bay has a single window and a one-light basement window. The second and third floors contain a single typical window in each bay. The attic level contains two wood, four-light, fixed windows.
Building 4: Garage and Dwelling Building 4 is a circa-1929 garage of masonry construction (Photographs 15 to 18). The building rests on a parged concrete foundation and the exterior is clad in stucco, except where noted below. The roof is flat and covered in rolled asphalt, except where noted below. Typical windows throughout the building are wood, two-over-two, double-hung sash with aluminum storm window and wood surrounds, except where noted below. A full-width, two-story wood frame dwelling is attached to the northeast elevation of the garage. The contemporary addition rests on a parged foundation, is clad in aluminum siding, and has a side gable roof covered in asphalt shingles, except where noted below.
The southeast (façade) elevation is five bays wide (Photograph 15). Bays one, two, and three (from the west) are part of the garage and each contain a metal garage door with wood frame. Bay four is the entrance to the dwelling and contains five aluminum, louvered windows and a wood, six-light-over-two-panel door with wood surround and concrete steps. Bay five contains a series of three windows on the first floor and a metal cellar door on the basement level. Bay five has a single window in the second story and is topped with a shed roof. The northeast (side) elevation contains three bays (Photograph 16). Bays one, two, and three (from the south) each contain a single window on the first story, and bays one and three contain a one-light basement window. Bays one and three also contain a single window on the second story. The northwest (rear) elevation contains six bays (Photograph 17). Bays one, two, and three (from the west) are the main block garage, and each contains a single glass block panel window. Bay four is an entrance bay containing a wood, three-light-over-three-panel door with metal storm door, a wood stair with metal rail, and a double window. Bays five and six each contain a single typical window. Bay six has a single window on the
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 22 second story. The southwest (side) elevation is three bays wide Key #______(Photograph 18). The central bay contains a metal door with wood ER#______surround, and the other two bays each contain a single glass block panel window.
Building 5: Dwelling Building 5 is a circa-I929 detached, two-story dwelling of wood frame construction (Photographs 19 to 22). The dwelling rests on a concrete block foundation and the exterior walls are clad in aluminum siding. The roof is a medium-pitched, front gable roof covered in asphalt shingles. Typical windows throughout the dwelling are wood, two-over-two, double-hung sash with aluminum storm windows, except where noted below. A full length, partially enclosed porch runs along the southeast (rear) elevation and has a hipped roof covered in asphalt shingles.
The northwest (façade) elevation contains four bays (Photograph 19). Bay one (from the east) has a metal cellar door on the basement level. Bay two is the entrance bay, with a wood, one-light door with metal storm door and a concrete stair with metal rail. Bays three and four each have a single typical window on the first floor. On the second floor, bays one, three, and four each contain a single typical window. There are two aluminum, one-over one, double-hung sash windows in the attic level. The southwest (side) elevation contains three bays (Photograph 20). On the first story, bay one (from the north) contains a single aluminum louvered window. Bay two is an entrance bay, containing a wood, three-light-over-three-panel door with metal storm door and concrete stair. Bay three is the open porch with concrete stair; metal rail; wood posts; and another wood, three-light-over-three-panel door with metal storm door on the rear wall. The southeast (rear) elevation is five bays (Photograph 21). Bays one and five (from the west) contain an open porch on the first floor with a single window on the rear wall. Bays three and four each contain a double window. On the second floor, bays one, two, and five each contain a single typical window. There are two aluminum, one-over-one, double-hung sash windows in the attic level. The northeast (side) elevation is four bays wide (Photograph 22). On the first floor, bay one (from the south) is the open porch with concrete stair; metal rail; wood posts; and another wood, three-light-over-three-panel door with metal storm door on the rear wall. Bay two is the central bay and contains a one-story projection with concrete stairs, likely the former front entrance. Bays three and four each contain a single typical window and a one-light louvered basement window. On the second floor, bays two and four each contain a single window.
Building 6: Restroom Building 6 is a circa-1901 detached, one-story restroom of masonry construction (Photographs 23 and 24). The building rests on a concrete foundation and the exterior walls are clad in stucco. The pyramidal roof is covered in asphalt shingles and has exposed decorative rafter tails. The roof is topped with a steel, six-light, monitor skylight. A full-width, shed-roofed addition is located on the southeast elevation. The northwest (façade) elevation is three bays wide (Photograph 23). Bay one (from west) has a steel, eight-light hopper window, and bay three has a glass block panel window. Bay two is the entrance bay and contains a metal door topped with a louvered glass transom. The southeast (rear) elevation is obscured by foliage. The northeast (side) elevation contains a wood door in the rear addition (Photograph 24).
Building 7: Restroom Building 7 is a circa-1901 detached, one-story restroom of masonry construction (Photographs 25 and 26). The building rests on a concrete foundation and is clad in stucco. The pyramidal roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has exposed plain rafter tails, and a flat skylight surrounded with copper flashing at its peak. The southwest (façade) elevation has three bays (Photograph 25). Bays one and three contain metal doors with wood surrounds. Bay two contains a glass block panel window. The northeast (rear) elevation has two glass block panel windows with vents (Photograph 26).
Building 8: School Building Building 8 is a 1960 two-story school building of masonry construction (Photographs 27 to 30). The building rests on a stone veneer over concrete foundation, the exterior walls are clad in brick, and roof is flat bitumen. Typical windows throughout the building are aluminum, four-over-two pivot windows with concrete lintels and sills, except where noted below. A full-width, one-story, masonry contemporary addition with flat roof is located on the southeast elevation of the main block.
The southwest (façade) elevation is six bays wide (Photograph 27). Bays one through four (from the north) are in the two-story main block, and bays five and six are in the one-story contemporary addition. On the first story, bays two
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 23 and four are entrance bays, and each has a metal, one-light door Key #______topped with a metal awning. The first story of bays five and six ER#______each contain a set of two wood, four-light, hopper windows with concrete lintels and sills. The second story of bays one through four contains a set of three windows in each bay. The southeast (side) elevation contains four bays. Bay one (from the west) contains a wood door with concrete lintel and stair and a set of two wood, four-light pivot windows with concrete lintels and sills. Bay two contains a double wood door with concrete lintel and metal awning. Bay three contains a wood door with concrete lintel and stair, a metal awning, and a set of two wood, four-light pivot windows with concrete lintels and sills. Bay four contains a wood door with concrete lintel and stair, a metal awning, and a single wood, four-light pivot window with concrete lintel and sill. The second story of the main block contains eight windows on the second story. The northeast (rear) elevation contains four sets of three windows on the second story. The northwest (side) elevation contains eight windows on the second story. The easternmost section of Building 8 on the northwest elevation adjoins the southeast elevation on Building 9 (Photograph 30).
Building 9. School Building Building 9 is a 1963 one-story school building of masonry construction (Photographs 30 to 33). The building rests on a stone veneer over concrete foundation, the exterior walls are clad in brick, and roof is flat bitumen. Typical windows throughout the building are aluminum, five-light hopper windows. All windows have concrete sills and lintels.
The southwest (façade) elevation contains five bays (Photograph 30). Bays one, two, and four (from the north) contain double typical windows. Bay three is the entrance bay with a metal, one-light, double door; concrete stair; and is topped with a metal awning on metal posts. Bay five contains two aluminum, three-light hopper windows. The southeast (side) elevation is five bays wide (Photograph 31). Bay one (from the west) is the connection to Building 8. Bay two contains a double aluminum, three-light hopper window. Bays three, four, and five each contain a series of eight typical windows. The northeast (rear) elevation contains three bays (Photograph 32). Bays one and three (from the south) each contain a series of three windows. Bay two is an entrance bay with metal, one-light, double doors topped with a metal awning on metal posts. The northwest (side) elevation contains four bays (Photograph 33). Bays one, two, and three (from the east) each contain a series of eight windows. Bay four contains two aluminum, three- light hopper windows and a double window. Bay four also contains "St. Vincent's" in metal lettering.
Building 10: Office Building Building 10 is a modern, circa-1990, one-story, prefabricated office building (Photographs 34 and 35). Building 10 is of wood frame construction on a cinderblock pier foundation, is clad in vinyl siding, and has a flat roof (Photograph 34). Typical windows throughout the building are aluminum, one-by-one sliding windows covered in iron security grates (Photograph 34). The door is a metal, one-light door with iron security grate.
Landscape Features
Feature A: Cemetery (for St. Vincent's Parish) The circa-1855 cemetery is located on the northeast quadrant of the site and is bounded by Building 8 on the southwest, Building 9 on the northwest, Cottman Avenue on the northeast, and a tree line along a former access driveway from Cottman Avenue (now overgrown) on the southeast. The cemetery is mostly open aside from one large tree on the north side and the tree line along the southeast edge (Photograph 36). A concrete statue of the Crucifixion, approximately 10 feet in height, is located in the northwest corner of the cemetery, facing southeast (Photograph 37). The earliest visible grave marker dates to 1854. The material of the grave markers is primarily limestone, with the majority of the visible headstones illegible due to significant weathering. The types of markers are primarily common arched stone markers (Photograph 38). The latest visible grave marker is dated 1934, and most legible grave markers indicate the deceased were adult members of the parish. The cemetery appears to have closed for burials at the time St. Vincent's ceased operating as a parish in the I 930s.
Feature B: Front Gate The 1884 stone and iron gate is located along Milnor Street on the northwest property line of the property, at the former location where Wellington Street (previously St. Vincent Street) once reached the property. The central gate is aligned to a driveway leading to the northwest elevation of Building 2, the former location of the 1860 Main Building (Photograph 39). The entrance bay contains a 10-foot vehicular entrance with a double wrought iron gate and two 3- foot pedestrian entrances with single wrought iron gates. The gates are separated by crenelated top stone piers 5 to 6
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 24 feet in height (Photograph 40). Extending approximately 60 feet Key #______to the northeast and southwest of the gate is a stone wall with ER#______crenelated top.
Features C, D, and E: Pavilions The grounds of St. Vincent's contain three pavilions located to the rear of the complex. The Feature C pavilion is of modern construction (Photograph 41). The circa-1929 pavilion (Feature D) is of the same configuration, with an open-framed roof with decorative rafter tails and covered in asphalt shingles (Photograph 42).The oldest pavilion was built in 1919 and is described as a 33-foot by 63-foot cement floor topped with a 10-foot roof supported by 16 columns (Roth 1934:90). The 1919 pavilion (Feature E) has an open-framed roof with decorative rafter tails and is covered in asphalt singles with copper flashing (Photograph 43).
Feature F. Grotto The Our Lady of Lourdes grotto was built in 1912 and is located in the southeast quadrant of the site. The grotto is circular, approximately 9 feet in diameter, with a 10-foot rough-cut stone wall and a 2-foot plaster dome (Photograph 44). The dome is topped by a plaster cross. The entrance is located on the northwest elevation. An alter 2 feet in height is topped by a niche 4 feet in height, and is located in the interior (Photograph 45). A path leads northwest from the grotto and is lined with overgrown shrubs (Photograph 46).
Integrity
The property of St. Vincent's maintains integrity of location, as it remains situated on the Delaware River with much of the original grounds. The property has lost integrity of setting due to the numerous changes in the surroundings. Once in a rural setting, surrounded by farmland and sparse development, the St. Vincent's complex is now set amidst a large expanse industrial development along the Delaware River. St. Vincent's was once part of the neighborhood of Tacony, but the construction of 1-95 in 1965 completely severed St. Vincent's from the community. Wellington Street formerly terminated at Milnor Street, at the gates of St. Vincent's. There is no longer accessibility between Wellington Street and Milnor Street due to the location of 1-95. The property of St. Vincent's has maintained a portion of the original coastline along the Delaware River, but infill has occurred on the adjacent sites, changing the sightlines significantly.
The property of St. Vincent's has lost integrity of workmanship due to the replacement and modification of original details. The 1860 Main Building has been lost entirely, as it was demolished in 1984. The 1901 dormitory building (Building I), although Colonial Revival in style, has been modified through replacement windows and the loss of the main entrance portico. The 1893 school building (Building 3) has been modified by a replacement door and windows. Buildings 4, 5, 6, and 7 have all been modified by replacement doors, windows, and exterior cladding. The integrity of design of the St. Vincent's complex has been compromised by the loss of the 1860 Main Building and farm as well as the addition of the modern buildings (Figure 15). The 1860 Main Building was the central point of the complex, as evidenced by the location of the front gate. The locations of the 1893 school building (Building 3) and the 1901 dormitory building (Building 1) were due to the proximity to the Main Building. Individually, the 1901 dormitory building (Building 1) has suffered an integrity loss in the design due to the loss of the entrance portico and staircase, which were the defining features of the original façade. The integrity of materials has been compromised due to the replacement windows and doors in all buildings of the St. Vincent's complex dating from before 1960.
The integrity of feeling has been compromised by the loss of the 1860 Main Building and the various changes to the setting. The complex of St. Vincent's, once centered around the 1860 Main Building, has a disconnect between the historic buildings due to the central location of a modern building (Building 2). The dormitory building (Building I) and school building (Building 2) have maintained integrity of feeling as institutional buildings, but the feeling of a unified complex has been lost.
The property has lost integrity of association through changes in the setting and design. The existing buildings of St. Vincent's are institutional, but the addition of Buildings 8 and 9 have changed the association from that of an orphanage to that of a school complex. Although St. Vincent's had always included education, the association, as of the early 1960s, became entirely of education. The loss of the 1860 Main Building, once the location of the chapel and topped with a bell tower with dome and cross, has resulted in the loss of any visible religious association to the Catholic Church. The religious association can now only be found in the sign of "St. Vincent's," the hidden Our Lady of Lourdes grotto, and the barely visible cemetery. The previously bucolic setting on the Delaware River was once
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 25 Key associated with the care and wellness given to the orphans, and #______the grounds were a recognizable part of the neighborhood of ER#______Tacony. Now surrounded by industrial development and 1-95, the setting is no longer associated with health, and any association with the neighborhood has been lost.
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 26 Key #______ER#______History and Significance
Historical Narrative
Catholic Orphanages in Philadelphia The first organized care of orphans in Philadelphia came following the yellow fever epidemic of 1797. The Catholic Women's League formed the "Roman Catholic Society of St. Joseph's for the Maintenance and Education of Orphans," in which orphans were cared for in private homes (Catholic Social Services website, accessed September 2014). In 1807, St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum was established by members of the Society (Griffin 1882:6). In 1814, St. Joseph's was taken over by the Sisters of Charity. At this time, there were five Catholic parishes in Philadelphia, which all contributed to St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum. Of those five parishes, the only German parish was Holy Trinity.
By 1829, St. Joseph's became overcrowded and a new orphanage was founded: St. John's Orphan Asylum. The two orphanages accepted both boys and girls in the early years of operation. The main sources of revenue were contributions from "orphan societies" connected with each institution. There was no significant support from the Catholic Diocese, as orphan asylums across the United States were funded primarily by the parishes that founded them.
The orphanages were again overcrowded soon after the founding of St. John's. The limited space soon caused both orphanages to begin only accepting girls. As early as 1834, Philadelphia had only the two orphanages for girls, yet none for boys. Seeing the need for a new facility, Reverend Francis Guth, pastor of Holy Trinity parish, founded "St. Vincent's Male Orphan Asylum" in 1836 on Spruce Street. The orphanages were reorganized soon after St. Vincent's formation so that St. Joseph's would be for only girls and St. John's and St. Vincent's would merge to become only for boys. The merger kept the name of St. John's Orphan Asylum, and St. Vincent's ceased to exist (Roth 1934:13- 16).
Early German immigrants to Philadelphia were not predominantly Catholic. While Mennonite German immigrants had been arriving since 1683, the immigrants through most of the eighteenth century were commonly from the southwest region of Germany and part of the Lutheran or Reformed Church (Historical Society of Pennsylvania website, accessed September 2014). By the 1780s, German immigrants were approximately half of Philadelphia's Catholic population. Holy Trinity parish was established in 1789 at Sixth and Spruce streets as the first parish in the United States created for a specific national group (Philadelphia: Cradle of Religious Liberty website. accessed September 2014). After the 1820s, immigrants from northern and eastern Germany arrived, many of whom were Catholic. Redemptorists, part of the Catholic Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, had come to the United States as early as 1832 to care for German Catholic immigrants (Encyclopedia Britannica website, accessed September 2014). Their work in Philadelphia began when Redemptorists were invited by the Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia to assist with the expanding German Catholic population. The Redemptorists formed the parish of St. Peter the Apostle in 1843, which was located at Fifth Street and Girard Avenue (The National Shrine of St. John Neumann website, accessed September 2014).
Philadelphia began to see an influx of German immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century. The number of German immigrants rose from 57,500 in 1846 to 215,009 in 1854. In addition to German immigration increases, Irish and other Catholic immigration numbers rapidly increased as well. The result was a strain on the existing Catholic orphanages of St. Joseph's and St. John's. The majority of the poorer German immigrants also did not speak English. Redemptorist parishes in other cities formed to create German Catholic churches, schools, orphanages, hospitals, and cemeteries. German Catholic orphanages included St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum in New York City (1851), German Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum in Buffalo (1852), St. Anthony's in Baltimore (1852), and St. Joseph's in Rochester (1861). These German Catholic orphan asylums were managed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame from Munich.
The fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Rt. Reverend John Neumann, was a Redemptorist. In 1841, he argued that existing orphanages in Philadelphia had been founded by Irish Catholics or French Catholics, and therefore Irish and French orphans were given preference. He declared a German Catholic orphanage was needed to help German orphans. The combination of orphanage overcrowding, successful Redernptorist orphanages elsewhere, and the linguistic and 02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 27 Key # cultural barriers for newcomers resulted in the establishment of a Catholic Orphanage for Germans in the Diocese of Philadelphia: ER#_ St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum (Roth 1934:16-17).
Land Acquisition in Tacony By this time, more German Catholic parishes had been established, but the oldest were Holy Trinity and St. Peters Church. These two parishes jointly established the "St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum Society" in 1855. The goal of the Society was to raise funding to erect the orphanage building. The city of Philadelphia had just been consolidated in 1854, offering a real estate opportunity in cheaper lands on the outskirts of the city. The Society planned to purchase 38 acres in Tacony for between $16,000 and $17,000. Of the 38 acres, 20 acres were planned to be building lots to be sold off at profit. The remaining 18 acres would provide the site of the orphanage and be paid for by the real estate transactions. The land purchase occurred on October 5, 1855, resulting in 49 acres purchased for $19,400. The 49 acres comprised the land between the New York Trenton Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Delaware River between Township Line Road (now Cottman Avenue) and Monroe Street (now Princeton Avenue). Figure 5]
After the land was purchased, the St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum Society formed the "Tacony Cottage Association" on November 1, 1855, to sell off the divided lots. There were 275 divided lots, most 20 feet wide and 120 to 200 feet long. There were also some "select river-cottage lots" that were 50 feet wide and 200 feet long. By the end of the month, 200 of the 275 lots had been purchased for a total of $29,000. The buyers were chiefly the members of Holy Trinity and St. Peter's parishes, and 98 out of 107 buyers in the first year were German. The result of these purchases formed the basis of German population in Tacony. By 1859, the Tacony Association had made $32,339, with a net gain of $0,739. The Association remained in existence until 1886 when it merged with the Board of Managers of St. Vincent's (Roth 1934:19-22). The former lots of the Tacony Cottage association are bordered by Princeton Avenue to the southwest, the Delaware River to the southeast, Cottman Avenue to the northeast, and a SEPTA rail line to the northwest. The area between Milnor Street and the Delaware River remained the orphanage property and never developed with planned residential plots N and M. Plots L, D, and C were minimally developed prior to the 1960s and were completely demolished with the construction of 1-95. Plots A, B, E, F, G, H, I, and K have been changed into larger industrial lots, with only small pockets of residential buildings.
Initial Development of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum Bishop John Neumann had stated the need for a German Catholic Orphan Asylum and was supportive of the development of St. Vincent's. On November 20, 1856, Bishop Neumann attended the ceremonial ground breaking. The first building of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum was constructed in 1857 and described as a 40-foot-by-4 I-foot, three-story, brick building with a slate roof. The first floor contained a chapel, parlor, and classroom. The second floor was the priests' quarters and the third floor contained the bedrooms and infirmary. This section was the south wing of the larger planned building, the 1860 Main Building. St. Vincent's was also intended to serve as a church for the community. The first Mass was given in 1858 (Roth 1934:25, 39).
The first residents were 11 children overseen by three School Sisters of Notre Dame. Within nine months, there were over 30 orphans. The rising German immigration to Philadelphia encouraged the completion of the building. The building was designed by architect J.H. Mahony. The building was described as a cruciform plan 120 feet by 70 feet. The central portion of the building was four stories, with three-story wings. The central portion had a 30-foot bell tower that was topped with a dome and cross. The exterior cladding was brick, and windows were circular-headed with brown stone sills. The cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1860. The majority of the building was completed in 1861, the bell tower in 1864, and the north wing in 1866. The central portion of the building contained a two-story chapel, the boys' dormitory on the third floor, and girls' dormitory on the fourth floor. The refectory remained in the basement, and the former chapel in the 1857 southern wing was converted to a school. The northern wing contained classrooms and dormitories. By the end of 1866, there were 131 orphans at St. Vincent's overseen by four sisters and five candidates of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (Roth 1934:23-26). The building was considered to be the "most beautiful building in Tacony" and built in "a Renaissance style popular in Philadelphia at the time" (Roth 1934:27). The building is no longer extant (Figure 16).
In the 1862 Philadelphia atlas, the development of Tacony is concentrated between the New York Trenton Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, tracks to the northwest; the Delaware River to the southeast; Township Line Road to the northeast; and Penn Street (no longer extant) to the southwest. At the northeast edge of the development, on the southwest corner of the intersection of Township Line Road and Oxford Street (now Milnor Street) and situated on the Delaware River, was a plot of land labeled "St. Vincent Born Cath. Orphan Asylum." The lot is bisected by a
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 28 street labeled "St. Vincent." Between St. Vincent Street and Key #______Township Line Road, facing Oxford Street, is the cruciform 1860 ER#______Main Building. Two lots on the north side of Oxford Street, stretching to Wissinoming Street, were bisected by the same St. Vincent Street (now Wellington Street) and are labeled "Asylum Property" (Figure 6; Smedley 1862).
St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum was established just before the outbreak of the Civil War, at which time the need for orphanages became even more apparent. There were too many war orphans to place in private homes, and so Pennsylvania began to place war orphans in existing institutions. St. Vincent's received 16 war orphans: 14 from Philadelphia and two from Chester. The state provided $100 annually per child, and the Director of the Orphans' Schools of Pennsylvania would visit regularly to monitor the institutions. The last Civil War orphan left St. Vincent's in 1875 (Roth 1934:44).
German immigration to Philadelphia saw another influx between the end of the Civil War and 1873 (Roth 1934:45). The 1870 census offers an early view into St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum. At this time, there were seven Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Vincent's: five from Germany, one from Bavaria, and one from Pennsylvania. Two Sister Candidates from Virginia and Wisconsin were also present. Listed between the Sisters and the orphans is a farmer, a domestic servant, a shoemaker, and a carpenter, all of German descent. The location on the census indicates all may have been residents of the grounds.
A farm was reported to be on the grounds in later accounts (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1870:43; Roth 1934:70). The southwest quadrant of the site is assumed to be the location of the farm complex, and two frame buildings first appear on the 1895 map (Bromley 1895). The census labeled the orphanage "St. Vincent's Catholic Asylum for Foundling Children, infant to 16 years." A total of 128 children were listed in 1870: 92 males and 36 females. All of the children are listed as white and born in Pennsylvania, with documented ages ranging from one to 17 years old (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1870:43-46).
An advertisement for St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum from April 1876 states the orphanage had the capacity for 250 children in the 1860 Main Building. Both boys and girls were admitted, with boys remaining until age 12 and girls remaining until age 18. The girls were kept longer because they assisted with housework and, until 1914, all the clothes for the orphans were handmade by the girl orphans, overseen by the Sisters. The boys were responsible for helping with the farm, painting, or working in the yard. At age 12, boys were apprenticed to become bakers, gardeners, tailors, barbers, or other needed trades. A member of the Board was appointed a guardian to apprenticed children to monitor their well-being (Roth 1934:28, 64, 70). The children at St. Vincent's were instructed in English, German, and industrial work. The ad stated that since the time of organization, St. Vincent's had admitted 673 orphans: 403 boys and 270 girls. As of 1876, St. Vincent's had 135 children: 80 boys and 55 girls, of which 28 were under the age of five (Roth 1934:28).
The years of 1880 to 1890 had the highest amount of German immigration in the history of the United States. As new parishes were established, Our Lady of Help of Christians formed in 1885 and became a major financial supporter of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum. As the number of German-speaking Catholics increased in Philadelphia, the number of orphans arriving at St. Vincent's rapidly increased, overcrowding the 1860 Main Building. St. Vincent's recognized the need for more buildings, and St. Vincent's formed two newspapers and created "Orphan Festival" events to raise money. "Orphan Events" were affairs drawing in members of all German parishes in the city, becoming the center of German Catholic activity in Philadelphia (Roth 1934:45, 53). St. Vincent's role as a parish had been established in the initial plans of the Tacony Cottage Association. The first Mass of St. Vincent's parish was in 1858, located in the chapel of the 1857 building. When the 1860 Main Building was constructed, services were located in the chapel. St. Vincent's Chapel was the only Catholic Church in Tacony until 1884 (Roth 1934:39).
St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum undertook much-needed improvements in 1884. The building was repaired, and an iron fence was erected (partially extant; Landscape Feature B). The basement level was excavated further and a new kitchen was installed. The building was fitted with steam heating, resulting in a 5,000-gallon water tank installed on the roof that allowed for running water. The oil lamps were removed and gas lighting was installed. Iron fire escapes were added. A second building was constructed (a 60-foot-by-30-foot, two-story brick building) to serve as the laundry (extant, 1884 block of Building 1). The first floor contained the laundry and had three iron and 20 wood washtubs. The second floor was intended to be an infirmary, but was instead used for boys' dormitories (Roth 1934:6).
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 29 Also in 1884, St. Vincent's began allowing German Catholic Key #______children from age two to 11 from the Philadelphia Almshouse; the ER#______City of Philadelphia provided a weekly allowance of $1.75 to these children. That same year, the Board of St. Vincent's decided to refuse orphans younger than two years old; previously, children as young as one month had been accepted (Roth 1934:64).
By the 1890s, Tacony had expanded due to the industrial success along the Delaware River. German immigration continued, and St. Vincent's received applications for more than 300 orphans. St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum was supported financially by St. Vincent's parish, as well as the other Philadelphia German Catholic parishes of Holy Trinity, St. Peter's, St. Aiphonsus, and St. Boniface's. The Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia first organized a collection for orphans in 1891. The money collected in German parishes was given to St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum. The diocese-wise collections continued until 1910 (Roth 1934:60).
St. Vincent's was the only Catholic school in Tacony until 1908, and German Catholic residents requested their children attend; for these reasons, St. Vincent's constructed a new school building in 1893 (extant Building 3). The building was a 64-foot-by-30-foot, three-story brick building with a basement. The school building was described as having a central staircase that divided each floor into two classrooms that were 28 feet square. There were six 8-foot windows in each classroom. The building had gas heating with a heating plant in the basement, which connected by tunnel to the other buildings (Roth 1934:39, 61; Figure 18).
The lot of "St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum, "as depicted on the 1895 Philadelphia Atlas, is bounded on the northwest by Milnor Street, to the northeast by Cottman Street, and to the southwest by Princeton Street (formerly Monroe Street; Bromley 1895). In 1895, Milnor Street had not yet been extended between Washington Street (now Disston Street) and St. Vincent Street. Princeton Street had not yet been extended between Wissinoming Street and the Delaware River. The former land held by St. Vincent's north of Milnor Street reflected the subdivisions allotted in the 1 855 land map of the Tacony Cottage Association, although most remain undeveloped. St. Vincent Street (now Wellington Street) ran south to Milnor Street, terminating at the St. Vincent's property line in front of the 1860 Main Building (Figure 7).
The St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum lot contained the 1860 cruciform Main Building, and the brick building with the U- shaped footprint is the 1884 laundry (1884 block of Building I). A square brick building to the southwest of the Main Building is the 1893 school building (Building 3). The building is only mapped as half the 64-foot-by-30-foot building described above; this could indicate the school was not finished at the time of survey. The southwest quadrant of the site contained the same frame buildings shown in 1895. The land along the northeast edge of the St. Vincent's property was divided into three large lots facing the Delaware River and 15 narrow lots facing Cottman Street. On the southwest end of the St. Vincent's property, nine lots were divided facing the Delaware River and five lots facing Princeton Street. The southwest corner lots were occupied by the "Keystone Club Boat House," with a total of four frame buildings. On the southeast border of the site, within the border of the Delaware River, is a planned road called "Eugene" (Bromley 1895).
By the end of the nineteenth century, the orphanage had become overcrowded again. A new dormitory building was designed by architect George C. Dietrich to be the largest within the St. Vincent's complex. The dormitory building was built in 1901 (extant. Building 1). The dormitory building was described as 45 feet wide, 90 feet long, three stories, and built in the "plain old colonial style." It is documented to have been built in close proximity to the laundry, with Holmesburg Granite on the foundation and first and second floors, brick cladding, terra cotta trim, and a slate roof. The front staircase was noted as made of granite.
The projection on the façade contained a vestibule and stairway. The first floor of the dormitory building had 14-foot ceilings and contained two large dining rooms. The second and third floors were 12 feet in height and were used as dormitories for the boys. The rear had a projection that contained the kitchen and dining room. The second and third floors of the rear projection contained private rooms and bathrooms. A one-story annex on the east side of the building was the sisters' refectory, and above it was a piazza. A fire escape was located on the rear. The building had hot water heat and gas lights. All rooms and hallways were stated to have wainscoting, and all interior woodwork was chestnut. The windows had transoms for ventilation. The construction of the dormitory building allowed for the separation of boys and girls. Boys occupied the new building, while the girls occupied the 1860 Main Building (Figure 19; Roth 1934:77-81).
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 30 By 1910, St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum in Tacony Station was Key #______listed as one of 36 orphanages listed in Philadelphia. Only three of ER#______these orphanages specifically identify as Catholic, although there were likely others. The two other Catholic orphanages were the Catholic Home for Destitute Children, with 194 orphan girls; and the St. Joseph's House, with 170 orphan boys. St. Vincent's had 280 orphans: 144 males and 136 females. Interestingly, St. Vincent's, under the column for "Class of Children Received," is the only orphanage to specify Catholic orphan children." This could indicate that while the other two Catholic orphanages were run by the Catholic Church, they accepted all orphans. St. Vincent's seems to specify the orphans be Catholic before being accepted. Although the Catholic specification remains, there is no mention of German heritage as a requirement. The orphanage was still run by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The orphanage had 29 employees overseeing 280 children. Throughout the year, St. Vincent's had received 109 new orphans into their care: 57 male and 52 female. Four children had been brought in by public officials, while the other 105 had been placed by "relatives or friends of child." St. Vincent's reported 56 children discharged during 1910. The column for "children placed in families during year" remains blank, indicating the discharged children were likely those that aged out of the orphanage; therefore, with 109 children received in 1910 and only 56 discharged, the population of the orphanage was still on the rise. The valuation of the property at the close of 1910 is $40,000, comprised of the land, buildings, and equipment. The total income of St. Vincent's in 1910 was $24, 932. The income was split to approximately 38 percent from donations, 6 percent from appropriations, and 16 percent from "care of the inmates." The remaining 40 percent of the income was listed as "other." St. Vincent's expenses for 1910 were $23,932, with 77 percent applied to running expenses and 23 percent toward permanent improvements (Department of Commerce 1913:144-145).
The growth of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum is apparent on the 1910 Philadelphia Atlas. The 1860 Main Building remained, and the 1901 dormitory building is visible and fully connected to the 1884 laundry. A small brick building had been built (extant, Building 7) to the rear of the dormitory building. The 1893 school building appears to have doubled in size from the 1895 map to the 1910 map, likely realizing its size described above (extant, Building 3). Another small brick building had been built to the south of the school building (extant, Building 6; Figure 8; Bromley 1910).
In 1912, a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes was erected on the grounds of St. Vincent's to the rear of the school building and Main Building. The grotto was circular in form, 12 feet high, and 9 feet wide (extant, Landscape Feature F). The interior contained a statue of the Immaculate Conception, a statue of Blessed Bernadette, and an iron entrance gate (all no longer extant). A path lined with trees and shrubbery was added before 1934 (Roth 1934:88-89). In 1915, the Main Building was upgraded and electricity was installed. The chapel within the Main Building was renovated, including new stained glass windows. A new pavilion was constructed in 1919 on the foundation of a former shed, 33 feet by 63 feet in size. The floor was cement, and 16 10-foot columns supported the roof (extant, Landscape Feature E). The Main Building was covered by white cement in 1920 (Figure 17). A covered iron bridge was constructed in 1925 to connect the Main Building to the dormitory building. A large two-story annex was added to the dormitory building in 1927 (1927 block of Building 1). On the first floor, the annex joined the laundry building to the dormitory building and was used as a dining room, reception room, and pantry. The second story was boys' dormitories, and the basement held a new heating plant (Roth 1934:90, 113-114).
In the 1929 maps of Philadelphia Ward 23, the site of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum lot was no longer subdivided along Princeton Street, Cottman Street, or the Delaware River as it had been on the 1910 map. St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum also purchased the lot on the northwest corner of St. Vincent Street and Milnor Street. Some infill had occurred along the southeast border of the property on the Delaware River. The location of the Keystone Club Boat House was changed to the Keystone Yacht Club and built up with a large amount of infill around a pier. The previously mentioned additions of the 1925 iron covered bridge and 1927 annex to the dormitory building were included. A cluster of frame buildings were located in the southwest quadrant of the site, the assumed location of the farm. The frame buildings have a different footprint than in 1910, and seemingly new buildings built between 1910 and 1929 (Buildings 4 and 5; Figure 9; Bromley 1929).
By 1930, St. Vincent's ceased to operate as a parish church and devoted all efforts to the orphanage. Information about the financial repercussions or changes as a result of this were not available. The total number of orphans received into St. Vincent's had been documented in ten-year increments for comparison. In the 1860s, the early years of development, St. Vincent's received 162 orphans, and steadily increase through the years. St. Vincent's received 353 in the decade of the 1890s, 726 in the 1900s, and remained at peak levels through the 1910s. The 1920s saw a sharp decrease to 467, indicating a downward trajectory (Roth 1934:149).
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 31 Key The historic aerial from 1940 shows evidence of the farming #______operation at St. Vincent's. The majority of land, especially on the ER#______western half of the site, was active fields. Additional fields are in the northeast corner of the site as well. The blocks above Milnor Street (still incomplete) are minimally developed, lending more evidence of bucolic landscape. A grove of trees almost perfectly square is located on the east end of the site, indicating the cemetery labeled in later maps. The cluster of assumed farm buildings was located in the southwest corner of the site (Figure 12; Historic Aerial 1940, Historicaerials.com, accessed September 2014).
The 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company survey maps provide more information on the uses of the buildings over time. The Main Building was labeled "Administration & Dormitory," indicating the switch of the former chapel to administrative purposes. The dormitory building was listed as "Dormitory & School," indicating the evolution of some space for classrooms. The laundry building, fully connected to the dormitory building by the construction of the 1927 annex, was labeled "Dormitory." The school building remained labeled as such. The small brick buildings to the rear of the school building and dormitory building appear as early as the 1910 map and are later identified as "WC," or water closets. The pavilions are labeled as sheds, and the grotto is included but unlabeled (Figure 10; Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company 1950). The cluster of frame buildings is labeled on the southwestern quadrant of the site. The southern building (Building 5) is a dwelling, with a porch addition. The northern building main block (Building 4) is not labeled except that it is two stories, with a two-story wagon shed and two-story dwelling addition. The other frame buildings are labeled as a shed and coops, further verification that this was the location of the farm buildings (Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company 1950). A Franklin Survey Company map from 1954 provides further information. The main block of Building 4 and wagon shed section are indicated to be only one story in 1954. The 1954 map also shows a cemetery adjoining the dormitory building (Building 1) in the northeast corner of the site. The cemetery is separated by a driveway from the "play area" in the southeast corner of the site. The 1954 map is also the first instance that the path leading to the Main Building is shown, aligned with Wellington Street, formerly St. Vincent Street (Figure 11; Franklin Survey Company 1954).
Two school buildings (Buildings 8 and 9) were constructed on the northeast corner of the site between 1960 and 1963, next to the northeast elevation of the dormitory building. The two buildings form an L-shape to accommodate the location of the cemetery. The two-story building (Building 8) forms the southwest edge of the cemetery, while the one-story building (Building 9) forms the northwest border. The same driveway shown on the 1954 map indicates the southeastern border of the cemetery. A survey of the cemetery found the earliest headstone to be dated 1 854 and the latest 1934. The dates reflect the approximate years of St. Vincent's in operation as a parish, and it can be assumed that burials ceased around the time of the parish dissolution in 1930.
The context of the neighborhood of Tacony had been rapidly changing through industrialization along the Delaware River. By the 1950s, St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum's neighbors were primarily industrial (Franklin Survey Company 1954). The biggest change in context, however, was the result of 1-95. On the historic aerial of 1963, the lands remain mostly similar to the 1940 aerial. In the 1965 aerial, the surroundings to the immediate northwest of the St. Vincent's are completely demolished. Although the buildings remain, the entire northwest quadrant of the present site has been cleared. The demolition also severed St. Vincent's from the rest of Tacony. Wellington Street, formerly St. Vincent Street, had led right to the gates of St. Vincent's, aligning with a driveway and the Main Building. The construction of 1-95, shown as complete by the 1967 aerial, shows the highway and a series of on- and off-ramps just across Milnor Street (Figures 13 and 14; Historic Aerials 1963, 1965, 1967, Historicaerials.com, accessed September 2014).
In the 1970s, the role of St. Vincent's changed for good with the changing ideas regarding orphan welfare. It was determined unhealthy to contain children to an institution for long periods of time. The evolution of orphan care moved almost entirely to group living arrangements, foster homes, or reuniting with family members. A fire in May 1984 started in the attic of the 1860 Main Building, and it was destroyed. By 1992, a two-story concrete block building (Building 2) had taken its place. A 1992 article gives insight into the new role of St. Vincent's: residents were not necessarily orphans, but rather children facing neglect or abuse. Children arrived primarily as part of emergency services provided by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. Children between the ages of two and 12 were taken in but stayed between one month and one year. As of 1992, St. Vincent's had a staff of 130, including nuns, social workers, teachers, psychologists, administrators, and maintenance workers, but only had 69 residents and 22 children in extended care (Dougherty 1992:1).
The dormitory building (Building I) was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) sometime between 1992 and 2002. A comparison between a 1933 photograph of the original façade, the HABS photographs,
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 32 and a present-day visit to the site shows the obvious changes to Key #______the northwest façade of the dormitory building. The 1933 ER#______photograph shows wood, one-light, two-panel double doors flanked by sidelights and topped with a transom. The entry is located within a portico containing a pediment roof, with entablature, and Doric columns. The staircase contains a flight leading to the east and west, and is recorded as being granite in material. The photograph shows the staircase with granite detailing around the edges and clad in a patterned stone lighter in color than the red brick of the façade. The windows throughout the northwest façade are primarily wood, nine-over-six, double-hung sash that slide down for transom ventilation (Figure 19; Roth 1934:78). The HABS photograph shows the major changes to the front entry. The entire entrance portico has been removed. The stairs maintain the same configuration but are clad in brick, indicating replacement or removal of the granite cladding. The original wood doors had been removed. The entry contained metal, one-light, double doors with a five-light metal window surround. A veneer of Permastone had been added to surround the entrance, detailed with a central peak containing a cross symbol. The niches flanking the front entry contain statues, an element not present in the 1933 photograph. The windows had been replaced with metal, one-over-one, double-hung windows. Air conditioning units are present in a few of the windows (HABS website, accessed September 2014). Present-day conditions show more intervention. The front entry doors have been replaced again with aluminum, two-light, modern, double doors and an aluminum, 12-light, modern window surround. The entrance stairs have been modified with concrete stairs exiting to the west and a concrete ADA ramp on the east. The niches flanking the front entrance no longer have statues in them. The air conditioning units in the previous photograph have disappeared, indicating an upgrade to central air (HABS website, accessed September 2014). A 2002 aerial shows the construction of a modern fire tower on the southeast elevation of Building I (Bing Maps, accessed September 2014). It is assumed the fire tower, ADA ramp, and central air upgrades were all completed at approximately this time.
In 2008, St. Vincent's changed their programs to focus entirely on teenage girls and young mothers. St. Vincent's Homes was developed, and grew to own five group homes in Philadelphia. St. Vincent's moved out of the Tacony campus and into the neighborhoods of those they served. The move out of Tacony was based on national trends indicating the benefit of short-term stays for youth within their own neighborhoods. St. Vincent's Homes now operates out of offices at 1509 Church Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19124 (St. Vincent's Homes website, accessed September 2014). The site of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum is still owned and maintained by the Catholic Social Services Archdiocese of Philadelphia, but remains vacant since 2008.
National Register Evaluation
The St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum complex, located at 7201 Milnor Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:
That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or That are associated with the lives of significant persons in our past; or That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or That have yielded or may be likely to yield information important in history or prehistory.
St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum is not eligible under Criterion A due to a loss of integrity. The role of St. Vincent's as the first German Catholic orphanage in Philadelphia was directly tied to the construction of the Main Building in 1860. St. Vincent's Chapel was the only Catholic Church in Tacony until 1884, which was also located within the Main Building. The loss of the 1860 Main Building, once the dominant building on the site and topped with a bell tower with dome and cross, has resulted in the loss of any visible, physical association to the Catholic Church. Through the loss of that building in 1984, the integrity of association with the first German Catholic orphanage in Philadelphia has been lost.
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 33 St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum included education for the orphans Key #______starting in 1857. Due to the requests from members of its ER#______congregation. St. Vincent's began offering school to Tacony residents in 1893 with the construction of the school building (Building 3). St. Vincent's was the only Catholic school in Tacony until 1908. The school building remains extant and St. Vincent's role in education continued, but the existing buildings do not represent a significant contribution to broad patterns, overall history, or the general development of Tacony. Although once a social backbone of the early neighborhood of Tacony, the integrity of association with the neighborhood of Tacony has been lost due to the physical separation of the site from the surrounding area in 1965.
The property is not associated with the lives of significant persons in our past; therefore, the St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum is not eligible under Criterion B.
St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum lacks the integrity and architectural significance necessary to qualify it for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C.
The 1901 dormitory building (Building 1) is an example of an institutional building built in the Colonial Revival style. However, historic photographs revealed a former main entrance portico containing a pediment roof, with entablature; Doric columns; and a granite staircase. Although some Colonial Revival elements remain, the main entrance was the defining feature of the original façade design. Removal of the portico and the resulting additions of the Permastone veneer, modern doors and surround, and concrete stairs with ramp have caused a loss of integrity and architectural significance. The remaining Colonial Revival elements are not distinctive stylistic features and do not embody the distinctive characteristics of that period. The 1893 school building (Building 3) is an example of a vernacular institutional building. The school building has lost integrity of design and materials through the replacement of all doors and windows. The remaining architectural features are not distinctive stylistic features and do not embody the distinctive characteristics of that period. The circa-1901 restrooms (Buildings 6 and 7) and circa-1929 garage and dwelling (Buildings 4 and 5) are vernacular and have been modified through changes in configuration and replacement doors, windows, and exterior cladding. The architectural details are not distinctive stylistic features and do not embody the distinctive characteristics of that period. The 1960 and 1963 school buildings (Buildings 8 and 9) retain integrity, but lack the architectural significance to qualify them for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C. The buildings are of common design and have no distinctive stylistic elements of that period.
The buildings of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum listed above, are not representative of contemporary methods of construction, do not represent the work of a master, and do not possess high artistic value.
Eligibility under Criterion D cannot be fully addressed at this time since the property has not been subjected to archaeological testing.
02/05/15 PA Historic Resource Survey Form 34 St Vincent's ( )rphan As ILIrn KCN # 7201 Milnor Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet I ER #
Photograph 1: The St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum as visible from Milnor Street, facing southeast. Note Building 1 in the center and the roof of Building 2 visible on the right (September 2014).
Photograph 2: Ihe northwest (front) property line of the site as defined by Milnor Street, lacing north- east. Note the 1-95 interchange on the left and the stone front gate of St. Vincent's on the right (September 2014).
St Vincent ( )rphiii As lam Km # 7201 Milnor Street. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 2 ER #
Photograph 3: View from the southwest (side) property line on Princeton Avenue, facing northeast. Note Building 4 in the center of the photograph (September 2014).
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Photograph -I: Vies Iroin the southeast (rear) Ioperty lute Idenig est. I he dense tree line horderiitg die Delaware River is to the left of the photograph, and the grounds of the southeast quadrant of the site are to the right. The rear elevations of Building 2 and Building I are to the right (September 2014). St. Vincent's Orphan As ILirn Ke # 720 1 Milner Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 3 ER #
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Photograph 5: The northwest (façade) elevation of Building 1, facing southeast (September 2014).
Photograph 6: The northwest (façade) elevation of the 1884 block of Building 1, facing southeast. Note the southwest elevation of the main block on the left. The connection between the main block and the 1884 block is visible on the second story of bay one (September 2014). St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum Key # 720! Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 4 LR #
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Photograph 7: The southwest (side) elevation of Building I. facing northeast. The three-story elevation of the main block is on the left. The 1884 block of Building I is in the center of the photograph (September 2014).
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Photograph 9: The northeast (side) elevation of Building 1, facing northwest. Starting on the left, the 1927 block, chimney, circa-2002 stair and elevator tower, circa-1960 second story addition, and main block are all visible (September 2014).
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Photograph 10: Ihe northsest (façade) elevation of Building 2, facing southeast. Note the location of the front driveway leading to the entrance, as this is the former location of the 1860 Main Building (September 2014).
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Photograph 11: The southwest (side) and southeast (rear) elevations of Building 2, facing north. Note Building I is visible on the far right (September 2014).
Photograph 12: The northeast (front) and northwest (side) elevations of Building 3, facing south. Note Building 6 is visible on the far left (September 2014).
St Vincent s Orphan Asylum ' Key # 720! Milnor Street, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 7 ER #
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Photograph 13: The southwest (rear) elevation of Building 3, facing northeast (September 2014).
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Photograph 14: The southeast (side) elevation and northeast (façade) elevation of Building 3, facing west (September 2014). St Vincent's Orphan Asylum Key # 720 1 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Photograph 15: The southeast (façade) elevation of Building 4, facing northwest. Note the main block of the masonry garage on the left and the dwelling block on the right (September 2014).
Photograph 16: The northeast (side) elevation of the dwelling block of Building 4. facing southest (Sep- tember 2014). St. Vincent s Orphan Asylum ' Key ft 7201 Milnor Street Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 9 ER ft
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Photograph 17: The northwest (rear) elevation of Building 4, facing south. Note the dwelling block on the left and garage main block on the right (September 2014). Orphan Asylum St Vincent's Key # 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 10 ER #
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Photograph 19: The northwest (front) elevation of Building 5, facing southeast (September 2014).
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Photograph 20: Partial northwest (façade) and southwest (side) elevations of l3uilding 5, facing east (Sep- tember 2014). St. Vincent ( )rphan As I uiii 7201 MOnor Street. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet II
Photograph 21: The southeast (rear) elevation of Building 5, facing northwest (September 2014).
Photograph 22: The northeast (side) elevation of Building 5, facing southwest. Note the projection with stairs in bay two indicating a former entrance location (September 2014).
St Vincents Orphan A s I urn Ke\ 7201 M I nor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 12 ER S
Photograph 23: The northeast (side) and northwest (façade) elevations of Building 6, facing south (Sep- tember 2014).
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liiii'i1di 24. 1 Ii' ItoItlh,'sl (i(Ic) cIe\IIort 01' 1311ilding 6 facing northeast. Note the shed-roofed addi- tion in the center of the photograph (September 2014). St Vincent Orphan A\ lurn Ke\ # 7201 Milnor Street Philadelphia Pennsyl ania
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Photograph 25: The southwest (façade) elevation of Building 7, facing northeast. Note the corner of Build- ing I on far left and Building 8 on the near left (September 2014).
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l'liotograpli 2t: I itt southeast (side) and itottlteast (tear) e!eatiotts ol Iui!dttt 7. lacing tior1Itcsi. lit the background, Building 2 is on the far left and Building I is on the right (September 2014).
St Vincents Orphan Asyluni Ke # 720! Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 34 ER #
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Photograph 27: The southwest (façade) elevation of Building 8, facing north. Note the two-story main block on the left and the one-story contemporary addition on the right (September 2014).
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Photograph 28: The southeast (side) elevation of Building 8, facing northwest (September 2014). St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum Key # 7201 M ilnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 15 ER #
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Photograph 29: I he northeast (rear) elevation of Building 8. facing southeast. Note the cemetery in the foreground (September 2014).
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Photograph 30: The southwest (!cade) elevation of 13ui1d1ti' 9 and the not lliet (side) cicvatloll Of Building 8, facing southeast (September 2014). St Vincent s ( )rphan As ]urn Key # 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 16 ER #
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Photograph 31: The southeast (side) elevation of Building 9, facing southwest. Note the northeast (side) elevation of Building 8 on the left (obscured by tree) and the cemetery in the foreground (September 2014).
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Photograph 32: 1 tic northeast (rear) elevation ul Ruildinu 0, l,tLilte SOLIth )SLptLtuhcr 20 14). St Vincent's Orphan As\ I urn 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 17 ER#
Photograph 33: The northwest (side) elevation of Building 9, facing southeast (September 204).
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Photograph 34: The southwest (façade) and southeast (side) elevations of Building 10. theitig northeast (September 2014).
St. Vincent's ( )rphan As turn Key 720! Mi lner Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 18 ER#
Photograph 35: The northeast (rear) elevation of Building 10, facing southwest (September 2014).
Photograph 36: View of the cemetery. looking soulhscst. Note the Crucifixion statue in the center of'the photograph and the large tree on the right. Also note Building 8 (left) and Building 9 (right) in the middle ground and Building I (center) in the background (September 2014). St Vincent's Orphun As I urn Key # 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 19 ER #
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Photograph 37: Crucifixion statue, facing northwest. Note Building 8 behind the statue and Building 9 on the far right (September 2014). St Vincent's Orphan AsN I tim Key # 7201 Milnor Street Philadelphia, Penns Ivania Photograph Sheet 20 ER l
Photograph 38: Common arched stone markers, facing northwest. Note Building 9 in the background (September 2014).
Photograph 39: 'v Ie\\ lieing northest fiotu Building 2 to the front gate. Note the length of the stone wall (September 2014). icents Orphan Asv I urn St. Vi Key 7201 Milner Street, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 21 ER #
Photograph 40: Detail of the front gate showing vehicular and pedestrian iron gates separated by crene- lated top stone piers. View facing northwest (September 2014).
Photograph 41: View facing east showing the modern pavilion (Feature C; September 2014). St Vincents Orphan Ass turn Kes # 720! Milnor Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 22 ER #
Photograph 42: View facing north w est showing the circa-1929 pavilion (Feature D; September 2014).
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Photograph 43: View facing cast Showing the 1919 pavilion (Feature L September 20 14). St Vincent's Orphan Asylum Key ft 720 1 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 23 ER ft
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PIlogritpIi 44: View Iaeine souihssest 'lioss lug the exterior of the grotto (September 2(1141. Orphan Asylum St Vincent's Key 4 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 24 ER 4
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Photograph 45: View facing southeast showing the interior of the grotto (September 2014). St. Vincent s Orphan Asylum ' Key # 7201 Milnor Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photograph Sheet 25 ER #
Photograph 46: View facing northwest showing the overgrown path to the grotto (September 2014). PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM — PHOTO/SITE PLAN SHEET Pennsylvania Historical nd Museum Commission Bureau of Historic Preservation Box 1026, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1026
' ' rIIrIueuIJuuua 'UI Survey Code/Tax Parcel/Other No.: County: - Municipality: Philadelphia, PA Address: 7201 Milnor Street Historic Name/Other Name: St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum SITE PLAN PHOTO INFORMATION
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Number Description of View - of Camera 7 : T7.14 Main building, Building #1 SE T7.15 Chapel, Building #2 SE 17.16 Dormitory, Building #3 SE PRLJCE TON AVENUE 17.18 St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum from Princeton Street NE 17.13 Modern classroom bldg., Building #4 SE 17.22 Residence at south corner of property, Building #5 SE / D. Scherkoske Photographer Name: Date: P.A.C. Spero & Co., Baltimore, MD / - - - - MA1iM- &wr Negative Location: T7.15, Chapel, Building #2, SE T7.16, Dormitory, Building #3, SE
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17.18, St. Vincent Orphan Asylum from Princeton Street, NE T7.13, Modern classroom bldg., Building #4, SE Survey Code: T31 Address: 7201 Milnor Street, St.Vincent's Orphans' Asylum
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17.22, Residence at south corner of perty, Rui!ding #5, SE T7.21, Rear of St. Vincent's, NE
arage, building #b, PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM - DATA SHEET Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historic Preservation
IDENTIFICATION AND LOCATION
Survey Code: T31 Tax Parcel/Other No.: County: Philadelphia 101 Municipality: Philadelphia, PA Address: 7201 Milnor Street Historic Name: St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum Other Name: Owner Name/Address: Owner Category: Private Resource Category: Building Number/Approximate Number of Resources Covered by This Form: 6 USGS Quad: Frankford, PA UTM: 18 498660 4430020 References:
HISTORIC AND CURRENT FUNCTIONS
Historic Function Category: Subcategory: Code: Domestic Institutional housing 01E Education School 05A
Particular Type: A. Orphans' Asylum - Main building
Orphans' Asylum - Dormitory
Orphans' Asylum - Chapel (modern)
Orphans' Asylum - Classroom building (modern) Current Function Category: Subcategory: Code: Education School 05A Religion Religious structure 06A
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Classification: A. Classical Revival 52 B. C: D. Other: Exterior Materials: Foundation: Stone 40 Roof: Asphalt 63 Walls: Brick 30 Walls: Other: Structural System: 1. Brick 21 Width: 11 bays F Depth: 3 or more rooms C Stories/Height:3 stories C T31 HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Year Built: c. 1870-1970 Additions/Alterations Dates: Basis for Dating: Documentary and Physical Explain: Based on historic maps and architectural assessment
Cultural/Ethnic Affiliation: 1. N/A Associated Individuals: 1. Unknown Associated Events: 1. N/A Architects/Engineers: 1. Unknown Builders: 1. Unknown
MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
(See Continuation Sheet)
PREVIOUS SURVEY, DETERMINATIONS
N/A
EVALUATION (Survey Director/Consultants Only)
Individual NR Potential: Yes Contributes to Potential District: No District Name/Status: N/A Explain: See Evaluation Section
SURVEYOR INFORMATION P.A.C. Spero & Company Date: 04/94 40 W. Chesapeake Avenue, Suite 412 Baltimore, MD 21204
ADDITIONAL SURVEY DOCUMENTATION Continuation Sheets: 6 pages CONTINUATION SHEET
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM RESOURCE NAME: I St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum SURVEY CODE No: T31 ADDRESS: 7201 Milnor Street
Architectural Descriotion:
Located on the east side of Milnor Street, St. Vincent's Orphan's Asylum was established between 1855 and 1860 by the Tacony Cottage Association for Catholic orphans of German decent. It is a complex of six buildings: four dating to the mid-to-late nineteenth century and two modern buildings.
The main building, originally the school and dormitory, is a 3-story, 9-bay, brick Classical Revival structure (Building #1). This building first appears in detail on the 1876 atlas. The cruciform plan building has a high stone foundation and brick quoins accentuating the corners. The front facade is marked by a 3-bay center projection with 3-bay sections on either side. The center section is articulated by a pedimented roof with a decorative window in the eave. The center bay of this section is marked by sets of triple windows on each floor and the main entrance on the first floor. The original pedimented entrance has been replaced with formstone infill. The center bay is flanked by arched niches on the first and second stories and windows on the third story. The 3-bay flanking sections consist of three windows on each floor. There is a belt course between the second and third stories on all three sections. All of the windows have stone sills and lintels with keystones.
Building #2, located on the southeast side of the main building, is a modern brick building. This is the site of the original administration and dormitory building. The present building is a front gable, 2-story building. It has a centered entrance on the front facade. There is a single-story, shed roof section on the north corner of the front facade. This building was built circa 1970.
Located southeast of Building #2, Building #3 is a 3-story building, originally a school. Built circa 1900, this building is 5 bays wide, 2 bays deep (2-bay facade faces Milnor Street), and it sits on a stuccoed stone foundation. It has a side gable roof with a pronounced cornice and small paired windows in the gable ends. The main entrance is centered on the north, 5-bay facade. There are stone sills and brick arch lintels around the windows.
The modern school building, Building #4, is located on the north side of the main building (Building #1). Built circa 1960, this single-story building is brick with a flat roof. The building has two sections forming an ell-plan building with a rear courtyard. The northern section is a long classroom section with continuous windows on the Milnor Street facade. The southern section is a large area, likely a gymnasium or cafeteria.
On the southern end of the property, near Princeton Street, are two buildings. Building #5 is a frame domestic building, dating to circa 1870. It is a 21/2-story, 4-bay wide, 2-bay deep building with a front gable roof. The house is covered with aluminum siding and sits on a stone foundation. The asymmetrical entrance is a replacement door and the windows are modern 1-over-1 sash windows. Across from this building is a single-story concrete block garage. This building is in the same location and of the same size as a 2-story building identified on the 1924 map. The core of this building is 3 bays wide and 3 bays deep. The front facade consists of three garage doors and the side facade has a central entrance flanked by a multi-light window on either side. It has a flat roof. Attached to the north side of this building, there is a 2-story, vinyl-sided section with a shed roof. CONTINUATION SHEET
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM RESOURCE NAME: /St. Vincent's Orphans Asylum SURVEY CODE No: T31 ADDRESS: 7201 Milnor Street
National Register Eligibility
St. Vincent's Orphan's Asylum is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for its role in the social history of the Tacony area. St. Vincent's, founded between 1855 and 1860 by the Tacony Cottage Association for Catholic orphans of German decent, is a mostly intact complex of community-oriented buildings. This orphanage and school has served the Tacony community since the mid nineteenth century, and it is currently used as school.
National Register Boundary Description and Justification
The National Register boundaries follow the tax parcel boundaries, forming a rough rectangle bounded by Cottman Avenue, Milnor Street, just north of Princeton Street, and Eugene Avenue. These boundaries include all buildings associated with St. Vincent's Orphan's Asylum.
Historical Significance:
Tacony originally belonged to Oxford Township, first noted in a 1693 road docket. Oxford Township was consolidated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854. Initially prospering as a small post town and antebellum summer resort located between the Delaware River and the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad (laterthe Pennsylvania Railroad), Tacony was transformed into a thriving industrial community and company town by Henry C. Disston, the pioneering American saw and file manufacturer who moved his entire plant to the area between 1872 and 1899. The phenomenal growth of Tacony under Disston during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries prompted other firms to establish in the area; these included the Tacony Iron Works (1881), Erben Search Textile Mill (1885), Frank Schumans American Wire Glass Company (1891), France Packing Company (1890-1900), Delaney Company glue factory (1894), Luther Martin Lamp-Black Works (1894), Ross-Tacony Crucible Company (1902) and Gillinder & Sons Glass Works (1910) (Silcox 1994:60-61). In 1954, the Disston firm was sold. Nonetheless, a significant amount of industrial development occurred in Tacony after 1945.
Architectural History
The Tacony survey unit is characterized within the 1-95 project corridor by late nineteenth and twentieth century residential, commercial, civic, transportation and industrial resources associated with the golden age and decline of heavy industry, as exemplified by the Disston Saw Works Company located in this survey unit.
Civic and community buildings established in Philadelphia and other eastern American cities during the 1791-1860 and 1861-1919 periods included orphan asylums established for the care and raising of orphaned children. Such institutions were often located beyond the limits of the developed city, reflecting the nineteenth century reform belief that natural surroundings and a rural atmosphere might better form proper character. Intended specifically for the care of Catholic orphans of German background, St. Vincent's Orphanage was established between 1855 and 1860, through efforts of the Tacony Cottage Association, a private group which purchased two Tacony farms (49 acres) for $19,000 and divided half the land into vacation cottage lots offered for sale. Henry Disston's brother Thomas was an early purchaser of one such lot, some seventeen years before the Disston factory was moved to Tacony (Silcox 1994:7). CONTINUATION SHEET
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM RESOURCE NAME: I St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum SURVEY CODE No: T31 ADDRESS: 7201 Milnor Street
Block History
As revealed by historical maps, the 7200 block of Milnor Street (south side) served as a block of community/socially oriented buildings (of which the buildings comprising 7201 are extant structures) from the mid-to-late nineteenth century.
An 1862 atlas (Smedley 1862) showed that the 7200 block of Milnor Street (south side) was occupied by St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum. Specific structures, however, were not shown. An 1876 atlas (Hopkins 1876) revealed that the property contained a large brick or stone cruciform shaped building (Building #1, extant structure) directly southeast of the intersection of St. Vincent Street (now Cottman Avenue) and Oxford Street (now Milnor Street). Southwest of this structure, the map showed two outbuildings/stables and one frame building (Building #5, extant structure). The 1887 edition of the atlas (Hopkins 1887) indicated the construction of one building (material unknown) immediately east of the main (masonry) building. A 1910 atlas (Bromley 1910) showed the construction of several brick/stone buildings near the main, earlier one (Buildings #1 and #3, extant structures). This map also showed the existence of one frame stable and three frame buildings in the south corner of the property (Building #5, extant structure). A 1924 fire insurance map (Sanborn 1924) revealed a 3- story school building (Building #3, extant structure), a 3- and 4-story administration and dormitory building, a "bridge" between buildings, a 2-story dormitory and school building with two fire towers and a 2-story porch, two sheds, and two water closets. The south corner of the property contained a 2-story dwelling (Building #5, extant structure), a 2-story wagon shed, a 2-story stable, four coops, one shed, two garages and a 2-story dwelling with an attached garage. The 1929-1950 revision of the fire insurance map (Sanborn 1929-1950) indicated the transference of the southernmost garage to the Quaker City Yacht Club. CONTINUATION SHEET
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM RESOURCE NAME: I St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum SURVEY CODE No: T31 ADDRESS: 7201 Milnor Street
Bibliography:
Aaronson, Stephen, et al. 1969 Old Northeast Philadelphia County, 1609-1854. The Pied Typer Press, Northeast High School, Philadelphia.
Allen, William 1828 Plan of the City of Philadelphia... William Allen, Philadelphia.
Alotta, Robert I. 1975 Street Names of Philadelphia. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Baist, George William 1888 Baist's Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, Penna. G.W. Baist, Philadelphia.
Bromley, George W. and Walter S. Bromley 1910 Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. George W. and Walter S. Bromley, Philadelphia.
Burgess, George H., and Miles C. Kennedy 1949 Centennial History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 1846-1946. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Philadelphia.
Burk & McFetridge 1886 Philadelphia in 1886. Bird's eye view published by Burk & McFetridge, Philadelphia.
Daly, John, and Allen Weinberg 1966 Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions. City of Philadelphia Department of Records, Philadelphia.
Davis, Allen F. and Mark H. Hailer., eds. 1973 The Peoples of Philadelphia: A History of Ethnic Groups and Lower-Class Life, 1790- 1940. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Hershberg, Theodore, ed. 1981 Philadelphia: Work, Space, Family, and Group Experience in the Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford.
J.H. Hexamer & Company 1884 Fire Insurance Maps of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. J.H.Hexamer & Company, 1889.
Kitao, T. Kaori 1977 "The Philadelphia Row House: Is it Peculiarly American, or Even Uniquely Philadelphian?" Swarthmore College Bulletin (Apr. 1977):6-11.
Longstreth, Richard 1987 The Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to American Commercial Architecture. The Preservation Press, Washington, DC.
Murtagh, William John 1957 "The Philadelphia Row House'. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 16, no. 4 (Dec., 1957):8-13. CONTINUATION SHEET
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM RESOURCE NAME: I St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum SURVEY CODE No: T31 ADDRESS: 7201 Milnor Street
Bibliography: (Continued)
Oliver Evans Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology 1990 Workshop of the World: A Selective Guide to the Industrial Archeology of Philadelphia. The Oliver Evans Press, Wallingford, PA.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company 1916-29 Maps of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company, New York.
1929-51 Maps of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company, New York.
Scott, James 1855 Plan of the City of Philadelphia, as Consolidated in 1854. James Scott, Philadelphia.
Scranton, Philip, and Walter Licht 1986 Worksiqhts: Industrial Philadelphia, 1890-1950. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Silcox, Harry C. 1990 "Henry Disston's Model Industrial Community: Nineteenth-Century Paternalism in Tacony, Philadelphia." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 114, No. 4 (Oct. 1980) :483-515.
1994 A Place to Live and Work: The Henry Disston Saw Works and the Tacony Community of Philadelphia. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA.
Webster, Richard J. 1976 Philadelphia Preserved: Catalog of the Historic American Buildings Survey. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Ho USGS Resource Location Map ° do n'l Frankford, Quad Block
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5 493 1 494 (CAMDEN) 1 495 '96 2'30" 497 1 900 000 FEET (N 5963/NE 15M/ TO U.S. 130 SCALE 124000 NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE 7 MI. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Bureau for Historic Preservation Commonwealth Keystone Building, 2nd Floor 400 North Street Harrisburg, PA 17120-0093 www. phmc. state.pa. us
13 February 2015 Brian Thompson, Director Bureau of Project Delivery Attn: Monica Harrower, District 6-0 PA Department of Transportation P 0 Box 2966 Harrisburg, PA 17105
Re: ER 2015-8053-101-B(MPMS No. 79832) SR, Section SC3 N. Delaware Greenway Trail Sec 3-Tacony Holmesburg City of Philadelphia Determination of Eligibility: St. Vincent's Orphans Asylum
Dear Mr. Thompson:
Thank you for submitting information concerning the above referenced project in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, and the implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800) of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. We offer the following comments on the identification of historic properties for the above-referenced project.
We concur within the findings of the agency that St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum (Key No. 103635) is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places due to a lack of integrity as a result of the loss of the main building/chapel and compromised setting.
Our determination of eligibility is based upon the information provided and available in our files for review. If National Register designation for this property is sought in the future, additional documentation of the property's significance and integrity may be required to both verify this determination of eligibility and satisfy the requirements of the National Park Service (36 CFR Part 60). Thus, the outcome of the National Register listing process cannot be assured by this determination of eligibility.
If you need further information concerning this review, please contact Emma Diehl at (717) 787-9121.
Sincerely, -,K4 Andrea L. MacDonald, Chief Division of Preservation Seivies
ALM/ekd MacDonald, Andrea
From: Hess, Katie Sent: Monday, February 09, 2015 9:33 AM To: MacDonald, Andrea Subject: FW: PennDOT Project Status Update Philadelphia - Sec SC3 - ER 2015-8053-101
Ready for review:
N:\NR Digital PennDOT - OTHER Review\Philadelphia\Philadelphia - Sec SC3 - ER 2015-8053-101\103635
Original Message----- From: PH, DOT Projects Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 10:58 AM To: Diehl, Emma; Hess, Katie Cc: MacDonald, Andrea
Subject: FW: PennDOT Project Status Update Philadelphia - Sec SC3 - ER 2015-8053-101
ER# 2015-8053-101-B, HRSF FOR ST. VINCENT'S ORPHAN ASYLUM, FOR CONCURRENCE
Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 2:14 PM To: PH, DOT Projects
Subject: PennDOT Project Status Update Philadelphia - SR
PennDOT has posted updated information on the Project PATH website for the project listed below.
If you have any comments, please reply to PennDOT's Cultural Resources Professional by 03/07/2015
COUNTY: Philadelphia MUNICIPALITY: PHILADELPHIA SR: SECTION: SC3 PROJECT NAME: N. Delaware Greenway Trail Sec 3-Tacony Holmesburg MPMS: 79832 ER NUMBER: PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
SECTION 106 Effect: SECTION 106 Stage: Posting Name: St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum PHRS Form
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The associated documents for this consultation are available at: http://search.paprojectpath.org/PostingDetails.aspx?ProjectlD=14805&PostinglD=22534
The PennDOT contact is Monica Harrower and can be reached at [email protected]. The Project PATH contact is Preservation Pennsylvania and can be reached at infopaprojectpath.org.
To learn more about Section 106 Consultation and ProjectPATH, please visit: http://www.paprojectpath.org Harrower, Monica
From: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 2:14 PM To: Harrower, Monica
Subject: PennDOT Project Status Update Philadelphia - SR
PennDOT has posted updated information on the Project PATH website for the project listed below.
If you have any comments, please reply to PennDOT's Cultural Resources Professional by 03/07/2015
COUNTY: Philadelphia MUNICIPALITY: PHILADELPHIA SR: SECTION: 5C3 PROJECT NAME: N. Delaware Greenway Trail Sec 3-Tacony Holmesburg MPMS: 79832 ER NUMBER: PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
SECTION 106 Effect: SECTION 106 Stage: Orpt nAsyhim PHRS Form
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The associated documents for this consultation are available at: http://sea rch.paprojectpath.org/PostingDetails.aspx?ProjectlD=14805&PostinglD=22534
The PennDOT contact is Monica Harrower and can be reached at [email protected].
The Project PATH contact is Preservation Pennsylvania and can be reached at [email protected].
To learn more about Section 106 Consultation and ProjectPATH, please visit: http://www.paproiectpath.org
1 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Bureau for Historic Preservation Post Office Box 1026 Harrisburg, Pennsylvani' 17108-1026
July 14, 1994
Fred W. Bowser, Director Bureau of Design Department of Transportation 1118 Transportation & Safety Bldg. Harrisburg, PA 17120 TO EXPEDITE REVIEW USE Re: ER 94-1057-042-F BHP REFERENCE NUMBER S.R. 0095, Section EAP Historic Resource Survey Tacony and Pennypack Units
Dear Mr. Bowser: The above named project has been reviewed by the Bureau for Historic Preservation (the State Historic Preservation Office) in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended in 1980, and the regulations (36 CFR Part 800) of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. These requirements include consideration of the project's potential effect upon both historic and archaeological resources. Tacony It is the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Officer that the following properties are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places: 1. Gillinder & Sons Glass Company/United States Converting, Inc, (T6), 6141 Tacony St., Philadelphia: This resource meets National Register criterion A for its association with the former Gillinder & Sons Glass manufacturers. Though the company opened business in another location in Philadelphia in 1861, it became one of the most highly respected glass manufacturers in the city. The company made glass for gas fixtures and pioneered in the manufacturing of glass for electric features. This industrial building, c.1910, with expansions in 1921 and 225 employees was one of the largest firm of its type in the United States. This industry contributed to the late 19th and early 20th century growth and identity of Tacony. The Bureau agrees with the boundaries selected for this resource which include the tax parcel currently associatcd with the property. Page 2 F. Bowser July 14, 1994
Dodge Steel Company M O), 6501. New State Road, Philadelphia: The publication Workshop of the World, ed. by John Bowie, cites the significance of Dodge for its foundry technology. Workshop also notes that the principal building of the company is sti. extant. This resource meets National Register criterion A for its industrial significance. Please develop a boundary for this resource. Disston Historic District (T11,12,13a,14,19), Philadelphia: The Bureau agrees with the consultant's statement of significance, as follows: The Disston Historic District is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under criteria A and C. This district is a good example of a late 19th to early 20th century manufacturing complex and accompanying company town associated with the Disston family, makers of saws for more than 75 years. The period of significance of the district ranges from 1872, when Disston broke ground for his first building in Tacony, to 1954, when the Disston plant was sold. The Bureau agrees with the boundaries as drawn for the purposes of this project, however, the district may extend beyond Torresdale Avenue to the northwest. Delany & Company, Inc./Chestnut Hill Auto, Inc. (T16), 7301 Milnor St., Philadelphia: This property meets. National Register criterion A for its industrial history in the context of Tacony and criterion C as a locally significant, intact, industrial complex in the local Tacony context. The Bureau agrees with the boundaries selected for this resource which include the tax parcel currently associated with the property. Philadelphia Forge Company/Precision Coil (T17), 5135 Bleigh Ave., Philadelphia: The remaining press mill building was part of an important locally industry and is an unusual Art Deco style industrial building. This resource meets National Register criteria A and C. Please develop boundaries for this resource. St. Vincent's Orphans' Asylum (T31), 7201 Milnor St., Philadelphia: This resource is eligible under criterion A for its role in the social history or Tacony. The main building and dormitory are also eligible under criterion C. This property maybe eligible under criterion D, however, an archaeological investigation must be completed before this evaluation can be made. The Bureau agrees with the boundaries selected for this resource which include the tax parcel currently associated with the property. I
Page 3 F. Bowser July 14, '1994
It is the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Officer that the following properties are not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This resources are not L. orically or architecturally significant and many have suffered a loss of integrity. MicroCision Swiss Screw Machine Parts (FR19), 5809-5827 Keystone St., Philadelphia 5901-5923 Keystone St., Philadelphia (FR20) Frank L. Hawk Company (FR21), 5000 Block Van Kirk St., Philadelphia 5911-17 Tacony St. (T2), Philadelphia 5002-5016 Homestead St. (T3), Philadelphia 5015-5021 Homestead St. (T4), Philadelphia 5004-5012 Comly St., (T5), Philadelphia Foster, Miller & Bierly, Inc. (T7), 6225-6245 Tacony St., Philadelphia Philadelphia Ceramics, Inc./Northeast Aluminum Window Corporation (T8), 6005-6059 Keystone St., Philadelphia B & B Foundry, Inc. (T9), 6101 Keystone St., Philadelphia Frankford Ordnance Depot/JDM Materials/U.S. Army Ordnance Warehouse (T13b), 7000 blk. Milnor St., Philadelphia Sun Chemicals Corp/Quaker City Chemicals (T15), 7300-7360 Milnor Ste, Philadelphia 7029 State Rd., Philadelphia 5001-5005 Barton St. (T21), 7039-7043 State Rd., Philadelphia 5013-5015 Princeton Ave. (T22), Philadelphia 7101-7123 State Rd. (T23), Philadelphia S. Libertavem Hall (T24), 4945-4961 Princeton Ave., 7100 State Rd., Philadelphia 7100-7110 James St. (T25), Philadelphia 7139-7159 State Rd., (T26), Philadelphia 7201-7215 State Rd., (T27), Philadelphia 5020-5022Cottman Ave. (T28), Philadelphia 7204-7208 Wissinoming St. (T29), Philadelphia 7162-7164 Wissinoming St. (T30), Philadelphia Janney Cylinder Co./Brann & Stuart (T33), 7411-7425 State Rd., Philadelphia C.W. Thomas Inc. (T34), 5000 Rhawn St., Philadelphia Because your request does not include sufficient information, we are unable to proceed with our review until the following information is provided. Please prepare a survey card to be reviewed for the Tacony/Palmyra Bridge. Page 4 F. Bowser July 14, 194 Pennypack It is the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Officer that the following properties are eligible for listing in the National Re_ of Historic Places: Eden Hall Chapel/Fluehr Park at Eden Hall (P11), 4800 Grant Ave., Philadelphia: The Eden Hall Chapel is eligible under Criterion C as a good example of ecclesiastical Gothic Revival style architecture. The Bureau agrees with the boundaries selected for this resource which include the tax parcel currently associated with the property. Torresdale Filter Plant Pumping Station (P13), 8535 State Rd., Philadelphia: This property is significant under Criterion A for its association with the development of Philadelphia's waterworks system. It is also eligible under Criterion C for its Romanesque style architecture. Please develop a boundary for this resource. It is the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Officer that the following properties are not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This properties are n0t historically or architecturally significant and many have suffered a loss of integrity. Holmesburg Business Center (part) (P4), 8300 blk. Hegerman St., Philadelphia Jerry Davis Inc., Electrical Contractor/Al Pike Co. (P5), 8400 blk. Hegerman St., Philadelphia 9215-9239 Hegerman St. (P7), Philadelphia 4804 Arendell Ave. (P8), Philadelphia 9232-9240 Edmund St. (P9), Philadelphia 9301 Edmund St. (PlO), Philadelphia National Association of Letter Carriers/Lydia's Beauty Salon (P12), 9601-9639 James St., Philadelphia If you need further information in this matter please consult Susan M. Zacher at (717) 783-8946 or 783-8947.
,/"erel,
Bren a Barrett0 Director cc: Federal Highway Administration D. Suciu Smith, PDOT, Bureau of Environmental Quality Esther McGinnis, Dept. of Transportation, District 6-0 BB/smz