The Philadelphia Naval Asylum is a complex of buildings at Gray's Ferry Avenue in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Built in 1827 as a hospital,
it later housed the Philadelphia Naval School, served as a
home for retired sailors for the
United States Navy from 1834 to 1976, and was ultimately redeveloped as luxury condominiums. The site was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places and designated a
National Historic Landmark in 1971, primarily for its architecture.
Set on more than , the campus includes three buildings designed by architect
William Strickland that are considered some of the best examples of
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
architecture in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
: Biddle Hall (the 1833 main building), the surgeon's residence and the governor's residence.
For seven years, from 1838 until 1845, the campus housed the Philadelphia Naval School, a precursor to the
United States Naval Academy.
Beginning in 1838,
midshipmen approaching examinations for promotion were assigned to the school for eight months of study. In 1842,
William Chauvenet was placed in charge of the school and formalized much of the study. When the Naval Academy was formed in 1845, four of the seven faculty members came from the Philadelphia school.
On July 1, 1889, its name was changed to Naval Home. In 1976, the Naval Home was moved to
Gulfport, Mississippi, after it was determined that the Philadelphia facility could not be economically expanded and modernized.
In 1988, the property was sold to residential developer
Toll Brothers
Toll Brothers is a company which designs, builds, markets, sells, and arranges financing for residential and commercial properties in the United States. In 2020, the company was the fifth largest home builder in the United States, based on home ...
. The main building was damaged by
arsonists in 2003. It has since been restored as
luxury condominiums.
See also
*
Schuylkill Arsenal
*
Naval Square, Philadelphia
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia
*
References
External links
Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections LibrariesNaval SquareRecords of the U.S. Naval Home, Philadelphia, 1831-1936, MS 247held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
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Hospital buildings completed in 1827
Hospital buildings completed in 1833
Military academies of the United States
History of Philadelphia
National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
Hospitals in Philadelphia
Closed installations of the United States Navy
Old soldiers' homes in the United States
Southwest Center City, Philadelphia
1827 establishments in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia