The Overbrook School for the Blind in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

was established in 1832. Its present site, in the city's Overbrook neighborhood, was acquired in 1890. Along with the

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is the third-oldest school of its kind in the United States. Its founder, David G. Seixas (1788–1864), was a Philadelphia crockery maker-dealer who became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf childr ...

, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children and the

Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) is a school for deaf and hard of hearing children in Edgewood, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1869. The school is listed as a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark. ...

, it is one of four state-approved charter schools for blind and deaf children in Pennsylvania. The school produced the first embossed book in America (the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

) and the first magazine for the blind.

History

Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind by John Caspar Wild

The school was established in March 1832, as The Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, by Julius Reinhold Friedlander (1803–1839), a German who had recently come to Philadelphia. On 27 October 1836, a new building was dedicated on the northwest corner of Schuylkill Third (now Twentieth) and Sassafras (now Race) Streets on what is today the site of the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

in the

Logan Square Logan Square may refer to: * Logan Square, Chicago, a neighborhood on the north side of the city * Logan Circle (Philadelphia) or Logan Square, a park in Philadelphia **Logan Square, Philadelphia Logan Square is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Bou ...

neighborhood of Philadelphia. Friedlander died on 17 March 1837, after years of poor health. At the time of his death, he was not quite 36 years old. In the 1890s a larger building was needed. The new building was designed by

Cope and Stewardson Cope and Stewardson (1885–1912) was a Philadelphia architecture firm founded by Walter Cope and John Stewardson, and best known for its Collegiate Gothic building and campus designs. Cope and Stewardson established the firm in 1885, and were jo ...

and was built in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. A swimming pool was built in 1906. In 1946 the school changed its name to the Overbrook School for the Blind. In 1960 the school had a fire. During the early 1900s, the school offered athletic programs for its students. In June 1907, Overbrook's track and field team members defeated their rivals from the Baltimore School for the Blind in the annual intercollegiate competition held between the schools. That same month, Professor Olin H. Burrit became the new superintendent of the school. He had previously been employed as the superintendent of the New York State School for the Blind. In December 1907, the school's forty-member choir performed at the dedication of Philadelphia's Grace Baptist Temple. Anne V. Ward (1877–1971) was both an alumna and a faculty member of Overbrook. Elisabeth Freund (1898–1982) developed a Touch and Learn Center for the school that was a model for other blind centers internationally.Hirsch, Luise. 2013. From the shtetl to the lecture hall: Jewish women and cultural exchange.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 39.982932, -75.248853, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Schools in Philadelphia 1832 establishments in Pennsylvania Schools for the blind in the United States Educational institutions established in 1832 Private schools in Pennsylvania Overbrook, Philadelphia