The Philadelphia Naval Asylum is a complex of buildings at Gray's Ferry Avenue in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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, ...

. 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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1834 to 1976, and was ultimately redeveloped as luxury condominiums. The site was placed 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 ...

and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

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 The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. Beginning in 1838, midshipmen approaching examinations for promotion were assigned to the school for eight months of study. In 1842,

William Chauvenet William Chauvenet (24 May 1820 in Milford, Pennsylvania – 13 December 1870 in St. Paul, Minnesota) was a professor of mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and surveying who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapo ...

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 Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolit ...

, 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.

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

See also

References

External links