{"nrhp_refnum":"100001935","name":"Frankford Arsenal (Boundary Decrease)","other_names":["US Arsenal at Frankford"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Baird St., Frankfort Cr., Delaware R., Dietz & Watson plants and wall along Tacony St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.007778,"lon":-75.068056,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2017-12-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Engineering","Science","Invention"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A federal military installation complex at Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, comprising a historic district of 19th-century and early 20th-century arsenal buildings, quarters, storehouses and a park. The document describes buildings constructed from 1812 onward.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the arsenal was among the earliest federal munitions depots, with a 19th-century record of ammunition storage, manufacturing and research. The boundary decrease document contains a supplementary statement arguing that the arsenal's twentieth-century role in optics, fire control, standardization and early reinforced concrete construction also merits recognition.","narrative":"Frankford Arsenal in northeast Philadelphia was established after Congress authorized munitions depots in 1815, with the federal government acquiring its first 20 acres in 1816. Its district includes stone and brick quarters, storehouses and barracks built from 1812 onward, among them the West Storehouse of 1817, where President Madison laid the cornerstone, and the Officers' Club building of 1835. The arsenal was used as an ammunition depot during the Mexican War and began manufacturing percussion caps and small arms ammunition shortly before the Civil War. Later, research on smokeless propellants and explosives, and later optics and fire control devices, made it a center of military technical development. The district also contains early reinforced concrete buildings, which the nomination regards as an important collection of early examples of that construction type. Two Saratoga cannon captured in 1777 are displayed in a park on the site.","period_of_significance":"1816-1956","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Active installation; Building No. 15 is the Officers' Club and Building No. 11 houses a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.5329-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001153.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100001935/9659a68ef2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100001935/9659a68ef2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Joseph Elliott, photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FrankfordArsenal.png\" rel=\"noopener\">Joseph Elliott, photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FrankfordArsenal.png"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":null,"wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankford_Arsenal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1357068"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/frankford-arsenal-boundary-decrease-100001935/"}