Girard Estate, also known as Girard Estates, is part of

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Stephen Girard whose South Philadelphia property was developed in the 1920s by the City of Philadelphia.

History

Girard's country home was on a plot of land he named Gentilhommiere in what was formerly called Passyunk Township of

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsyl ...

. He was likely the richest man in the United States when he died in 1831, and he left most of his $6 million estate to the City of Philadelphia. Girard's will stated that the city must establish a ''

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

for poor

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed white boys'' in his name, and that Gentilhommiere must not be sold. To meet the second stipulation, the Board of City Trusts, trustee of the Girard Estate, developed 481 rental homes which became the Girard Estate homes. Most of the

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced hou ...

homes were designed by architects John and James H. Windrim, and were built from 1906 to 1916. The architectural styles included Bungalow,

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Jacobean Revival The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

and

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

. They are a marked difference from the typical South Philly row homes. In 1950, the city received permission to sell all 481 homes to private owners. All the homes were sold within two years. In 1979, Girard Estate became a location for "Rocky II." The crew filmed scenes on the 2300 block of S. Lambert Street for a week. In the film, the character Rocky Balboa bought 2313 S. Lambert St. with his winnings from the bout in the first film. (He even comments on the address, pointing out that the number "almost add up to nine!") All exteriors were shot on the street; house interiors were shot on a soundstage. On March 15, 1981, Philadelphia organized crime boss Phillip Testa returned to his Girard Estates twin home at 2117 Porter Street and as he was opening the door a nail bomb exploded under his front porch killing him and doing extensive damage the house. The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot and Edgar Allan Poe School are listed on 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 ...

Education

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 ...

operates public schools. The

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gover ...

Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr. Branch (formerly the Passyunk Branch) serves Girard Estate. The library received its current name in 2004.

Notable residents

* Stephen Girard (1750-1831), philanthropist, banker, and slave owner. *

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

(1944-2021), jazz musician. * Phillip Testa (1924-1981), mobster

References

External links

South Philly Review

Girard Estate Historic District

Gentilhommiere

Historic Photographs of Girard Estates
''Philly''History.org {{South Philadelphia Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Italian-American culture in Pennsylvania Little Italys in the United States South Philadelphia