Anthony Wayne School

Anthony Wayne School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Anthony Wayne School entrance, May 2010
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Location	1701 S. 28th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates	39°55′53″N75°11′28″W / 39.93139°N 75.19111°W / 39.93139; -75.19111
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1908–1909
Architect	Henry deCoursey Richards
Architectural style	Late Gothic Revival, Academic Gothic
MPS	Philadelphia Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.	86003344 [1]
Added to NRHP	December 1, 1986

The Anthony Wayne School is a historic former school building located in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was designed by Henry deCoursey Richards and built between 1908 and 1909.

Named for United States Army general and statesman Anthony Wayne (1745–1786), the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. ^[2]

History and features

Anthony Wayne School in 1914 (photograph by Franklin D. Edmunds)

Designed by Henry deCoursey Richards, the Anthony Wayne School was built between 1908 and 1909.

A four-story, five-bay, reinforced concrete building, clad in brick and designed in the Late Gothic Revival-style, it features a projecting entrance with terra cotta ornament, a projecting multi-story terra cotta bay, terra cotta decorative panels and a parapet. ^[2] The school was named for United States Army general and statesman Anthony Wayne (1745–1786).

The school district stopped maintaining the building in 1976. ^[3] The School District of Philadelphia closed the building in 1981, and in 1987 Geriatric & Medical Centers (Geri-Med) purchased the building with plans to make a nursing home. However by 1993 the project had not started and the condition of the facility had deteriorated. ^[4] According to Geri-Med, by 1994, the municipal government had not yet issued the necessary permits. ^[5]

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. ^[1]

In 1995 there was a proposal to demolish the school. ^[3]

It is now used as senior housing. Redevelopment began in 2003, and there were a total of 39 units made. That phase ended in 2005. New construction made up the other phases, with the last completed in 2018. ^[6] Kenyatta Adams, a member of the Philadelphia City Council, assisted with the project. ^[7]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2012-07-07.Note: This includes B. Mintz (July 1986). "Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form: Anthony Wayne School" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-03.
3. Maryniak, Paul (1995-07-14). "Grays Ferry residents set to get a long-awaited raze". Philadelphia Daily News . Philadelphia. p. 13. - Clipping at Newspapers.com.
4. Cipriano, Ralph; Kaufman, Marc (1993-11-15). "School project gets a failing grade". Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia. pp. B1–B2. - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com.
5. Kaufman, Marc (1994-03-12). "Advocates for the aged face a nursing-home dilemma in the city". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia. pp. B1, B4. - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com.
6. "Anthony Wayne Senior Housing project completed in Philadelphia -". Philadelphia Business Journal . 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
7. Hepp, Chris (2014-07-26). "As Grays Ferry goes upscale, low-cost homes open". Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved 2023-12-29.