{"nrhp_refnum":"04001226","name":"Upper Roxborough Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["Upper Roxborough Reservoirs and Water Treatment Plants"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Upper: roughly bounded by Cathedral, Harner, Lare, Summitt, Eva;Lower: roughly bounded by Eva, Dearnley and Shawmont","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.05475767200005,"lon":-75.24196504295318,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A boundary increase to the Upper Roxborough Historic District in northwest Philadelphia, adding two City of Philadelphia reservoir and water treatment sites: the Lower Reservoir (built 1868-1869, on the southwest side of Eva Street) and the Upper Reservoir (built 1891-1892, between Summit Avenue, Eva Street, Lare Street and Port Royal Avenue).","why_significant":"The nomination argues the reservoirs, treatment plants and pumping stations document late nineteenth and early twentieth century hydrological engineering and municipal public works that enabled Philadelphia's growth. It also cites their role in the city's public takeover of private water-supply land through eminent domain, and their linkage to the existing district's pumping stations along the Schuylkill River.","narrative":"Two municipal water reservoirs and their treatment plants in northwest Philadelphia were added to the Upper Roxborough Historic District as a boundary increase. The Lower Reservoir was built in 1868-1869 and holds about 20 million gallons; its filtration plant, with orange brick pump houses and terra cotta trim, dates from 1901-1902. The Upper Reservoir, completed in 1891-1892, has two basins totaling 148 million gallons and is ringed by fieldstone walls and earthen embankments. The City condemned privately held land for the Upper Reservoir in 1890, including property belonging to Henry Houston, Darius Keely and the Roxborough Presbyterian Church, whose burial ground was relocated. The sites are significant for their role in Philadelphia's public water supply and early municipal water filtration, which followed engineering reports issued in 1899. Their pumping stations and filter beds show the engineering of the period, and the Upper Reservoir's pumps were described in the city's 1902 report.","period_of_significance":"1868-1940","architect_builder":"James P. McNichol Company","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The reservoirs are no longer used as part of the city's water system, though maintained by the Philadelphia Water Department; the Upper Reservoir site includes playing fields and water tanks.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.573567-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/04001226.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"01000463","name":"Upper Roxborough Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/upper-roxborough-historic-district-01000463/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997534","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/upper-roxborough-historic-district-boundary-increase-04001226/"}