1. NAME OF HISTORIC DISTRICT (CURRENT/HISTORIC) ______________________________________________________________________The Disston-Tacony Industrial Waterfront Historic District 2. LOCATION Please attach a map of Philadelphia locating the historic district. Councilmanic District(s):_______________6th 3. BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION Please attach a written description and map of the district boundaries. 4. DESCRIPTION Please attach a written description and photographs of the built and natural environments/ characteristic streetscape of the district. 5. INVENTORY Please attach an inventory of the district with an entry for every property. All street addresses must coincide with official Office of Property Assessment addresses. Total number of properties in district:_______________3DUFHOV 23$DFFRXQWV UHVRXUFHVLQLQYHQWRU\ Count buildings with multiple units as one. Number of properties already on Register/percentage of total:__0 ______/________0% Number of significant properties/percentage of total:__________13 __/____________31% Number of contributing properties/percentage of total:_________21 __/____________45% Number of non-contributing properties/percentage of total:_____11 __/____________24% 6. SIGNIFICANCE Please attach a narrative Statement of Significance citing the Criteria for Designation the resource satisfies. Period of Significance (from year to year): from _________1872 to _ 1955________ CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION: The historic district satisfies the following criteria for designation (check all that apply): ✔ (a) Has significant character, interest or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the City, Commonwealth or Nation or is associated with the life of a person significant in the past; or, (b) Is associated with an event of importance to the history of the City, Commonwealth or Nation; or, (c) Reflects the environment in an era characterized by a distinctive architectural style; or, (d) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or engineering specimen; or, (e) Is the work of a designer, architect, landscape architect or designer, or engineer whose work has significantly influenced the historical, architectural, economic, social, or cultural development of the City, Commonwealth or Nation; or, (f) Contains elements of design, detail, materials or craftsmanship which represent a significant innovation; or, ✔ (g) Is part of or related to a square, park or other distinctive area which should be preserved according to an historic, cultural or architectural motif; or, (h) Owing to its unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood, community or City; or, (i) Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in pre-history or history; or ✔ (j) Exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social or historical heritage of the community. 7. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Please attach a bibliography. 8.NOMINATOR7DFRQ\&RPPXQLW\'HYHORSPHQW&RUSRUDWLRQ'DWH$XJXVW 1DPH7LWOH______________________________________Alex Balloon, Executive Director ([email protected]______________________________ NameTitle $XWKRU _________________________________Oscar Beisert, Architectural Historian [email protected] Street Address___________________________________Telephone____________________________6742 Torresdale Ave 215.501.7799 City, State, and Postal Code______________________________________________________________Philadelphia, PA 19135 Nominator is ✔ is not the property owner. PHC USE ONLY Date of Receipt:_______ 8/28/2019_______________________________________________________ ✔ Correct-Complete Incorrect-Incomplete Date:______________________6/28/2021 Date of Preliminary Eligibility:____________________________________________________ Date of Notice Issuance:_______________________________________6/29/2021 _________________ Date(s) Reviewed by the Committee on Historic Designation:___________________________ Date(s) Reviewed by the Historical Commission:_____________________________________ Date of Final Action:___________________________________________________________ Designated Rejected 12/7/18 Nomination for the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Captions for Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4 are located beneath the first footnote. The DISSTON-TACONY INDUSTRIAL WATERFRONT HISTORIC DISTRICT - HENRY DISSTON & SONS’ Keystone Saw Works, Tacony Disston-Tacony Industrial Waterfront Historic District 1 Figure 5. The boundary for the proposed historic district is shown in yellow. Source: Atlas, City of Phila, 2019. Boundary Description The Disston-Tacony Industrial Waterfront Historic District is comprised of 16 tax parcels, each of which is defined by a metes and bounds description in its deed. A list of the tax parcels comprising the historic district can be found in the district inventory. Physical Description Located in the geological region known as the Piedmont Upland Section of the Piedmont Province, the Disston-Tacony Industrial Waterfront Historic District is located immediately upon the Delaware River in the northeast section of the City of Philadelphia. The subject historic district is located approximately 9 miles from City Hall, and two miles from the northeastern city limit on relatively flat topography. The district, which encompasses and/or includes approximately 8 city blocks, consisting of clusters of industrial buildings that comprised the Keystone Saw Works and were built by Henry Disston & Sons between 1872 and 1943.1 The following is a general description of the district’s physical boundary, but the legal boundary is defined by the 16 tax parcels in the historic district inventory. 1 Blocks 1, 2, 4, and 5 were are square blocks that were entirely devoted to the operations of the plant from the time of primary development to the sale of the firm in 1954. Blocks 3, 6, and 9 are partial blocks that were devoted to the operations of the plan from the time of primary development until the sale of the firm in 1954. Blocks 7 is a square block that was historically owned and partly developed for the purposes of the plant but was ultimately subdivided and sold off over time during the period of significance. Block 8 was owned, developed, and operated for the purposes of the plant, but was sold off during the period of significance. In addition, the Keystone Saw Works was a name that evolved overtime, including the Keystone Saw, Tool, Steel, and File Works. Captions from the previous page: Figure 1. Top: An illustration showing the buildings on the northeast side of Unruh Avenue in 1922. Source: The Disston Crucible. (Philadelphia: Henry Disston & Sons, 1922). Figure 2. Upper middle: The southwest elevation of Resource 2A: Saw, 2B: Saw, 6: Office, and 4: Band Saw Department on Unruh Avenue in 2008. Figure 3. Lower middle: The southwest elevations of Buildings 14: File Shop (1915-1916) and 15: File Shop (1915-1916) on Unruh Avenue in 2008. Figure 4. Bottom: An illustration showing the buildings on the northeast side of Unruh Avenue in 1922. Source: Source: The Disston Crucible. (Philadelphia: Henry Disston & Sons, 1922). Disston-Tacony Industrial Waterfront Historic District 2 The southeastern boundary of the district is the Delaware River, which was primary to the siting of the plant in the 1870s. The southwestern boundary of the district is parcel with the stone wall and iron fence on the southwest side of Unruh Avenue, extending from the southeast at the Delaware River to New State Road at the northwest. The northwestern boundary of the district is more irregular, primarily being New State Road, but also including one property to the northwest of New State Road and southeast of I-95. The northeastern boundary of the district is the curving path of a former railroad right-of-way bisecting Block 3. The path of Milnor Street runs Unruh Avenue at the southwest to Disston Street at the northeast between New State Road and the Delaware River. A small section of the street formerly known as Wissinoming runs from the southwest at Unruh Avenue to the northeast where it intersects with New State Road. The path of Knorr Street runs from the southeast at the Delaware River to the northwest beyond New State Road. Block 9 Block 8 Block 4 Block 5 Block 6 Block 7 Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Figure 6. Aerial photograph of the former Keystone Saw Works with the small block divisions, delineated for the purpose of this nomination. Source: Atlas, City of Philadelphia, 2019. BUILT ENVIRONMENT Formerly Henry Disston & Sons’ Keystone Saw Works, the Disston-Tacony Waterfront Historic District is entirely industrial in character, being defined by vignettes of late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth century factory buildings, structures, and other physical features (Figure 7). All of the buildings are of masonry construction, detached and semi-detached, and range from one to three stories in height. While some buildings are large in scale for their intended purpose, others are small, but most of the buildings are medium size industrial buildings that were design and/or reconfigured over time for specific purposes and functions. Among its other physical features, the district includes a few ruins that appear to be structurally sound, as well as stone walls and iron fences and gates. In addition, there are both public streets and shared right-of-ways within the district, several of which retain historic paving and railroad features. Disston-Tacony