Castor Gardens Middle School, which was previously known as Woodrow Wilson Middle School, is an historic, American

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

that is located in the Castor Gardens neighborhood of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

. It is part of the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

. The school was initially named after the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson; however, its name was later changed to reflect the name of the neighborhood in which it is located, Castor Gardens. Castor Gardens Middle School has been a certified International Baccalaureate School since 2012.

History and notable features

This building was designed by

Irwin T. Catharine Irwin Thornton Catharine (October 22, 1883 – March 3, 1944) was the chief architect of Philadelphia Public school (government funded), public schools from 1920 until his retirement in 1937. Buildings built during Catharine's tenure ranged from ...

and built in 1892. It is a three-story, fifteen-bay, brick and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

building that was created in the

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style. It features a projecting center entrance pavilion, four

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

columns supporting an entablature, and a

balustraded A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. ''Note:'' This includes The school was named after the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson; however, it was later changed to Castor Gardens Middle School, which is the name of the neighborhood in which the building is located. This historic school building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986.

Present day

On November 14, 2017, the school was placed on lockdown at 1:45 p.m. due to reports of a gun in the school. Police surrounded the school and moved from classroom to classroom to search for the reported gun and later that same afternoon to dismiss classes. The lockdown was officially declared over at 5:23 p.m. No one was hurt and no gun was found. On March 15, 2019, the school was placed on lockdown again, this time for approximately two hours due to reports that a teenage boy had brought three live rounds of ammunition into the building. Police took the alleged suspect into custody. No weapon was found inside the school and no one was hurt during the incident. Castor Gardens Middle School has been a certified International Baccalaureate School since 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Woodrow, Junior High School School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Neoclassical architecture in Pennsylvania School buildings completed in 1928 Northeast Philadelphia Public middle schools in Pennsylvania School District of Philadelphia 1928 establishments in Pennsylvania