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."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. Its boundaries stretch from South 22nd Street on the west to South 17th Street on the east. The southern boundary is clearly defined as the south side of Shunk Street, but its northern boundary is irregular in stretching from the north side of Porter Street between South 17th Street and South 21st Streets, along the east side of South 21st Street to West Passyunk Avenue, then along the south side of West Passyunk Avenue to its northwestern tip at South 22nd Street. It is named after

Stephen Girard Stephen Girard (born Étienne Girard; May 20, 1750 – December 26, 1831) was a French-born American banker and philanthropist. Born in Bordeaux, Girard subsequently immigrated to the Thirteen Colonies where he established himself in the Banking ...

, 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 the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

. 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 the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

for poor

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

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 (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

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

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

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, Jacobean Revival 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 arch ...

. 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Education

The

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...

operates public schools. The

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the ...

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

. Retrieved on October 19, 2012.

Notable people

(1750-1831), philanthropist, banker, and slave owner * Pat Martino (1944-2021), jazz musician * Philip Testa (1924-1981), mobster

References

External links

South Philly Review

Girard Estate Historic District

Gentilhommiere

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