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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
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: 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
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. 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 *
National Register of Historic Places listings in South Philadelphia __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in South Philadelphia. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Philadelphia, Pennsy ...


References


External links


Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections LibrariesNaval SquareRecords of the U.S. Naval Home, Philadelphia, 1831-1936, MS 247
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{authority control 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