{"nrhp_refnum":"72001119","name":"Lazaretto, The","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Wanamaker Ave. and 2nd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Essington","county":"Delaware County","state":"PA","lat":39.860723352000036,"lon":-75.30020867299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Lazaretto is a former quarantine station on the Delaware River at Essington, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with a mid-Georgian brick main building begun around 1799-1800. The surviving complex includes the main building, one block house and other brick buildings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant as an early quarantine station, established by the Board of Health to control epidemics arriving by sea, and for its well-preserved mid-Georgian central pavilion and interior. It also notes later use as a resort and as the site of early seaplane flying.","narrative":"Built on the Delaware River at Essington, the Lazaretto was a quarantine station established after the state legislature created a Board of Health in the 1790s. Land of ten acres was bought from Thomas Smith in May 1799, and by the end of 1800 the steward's quarters or main building, a physician's residence, a quarantine master's house, a custom house and a wharf had been completed. Its mid-Georgian brick main building has a projecting central pavilion with a center hall plan, and its original interior survives in that pavilion, including a Welford-type mantel and a graceful stair railing. The station was moved here from Fort Mifflin in 1800 and was run by the state until the Federal Government took over quarantine operations in 1880. Later the property became a resort and, in 1915, the base of an early seaplane company.","period_of_significance":"1800","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-Georgian; Federal Style (block house)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Main building, one block house, physician's residence and two small brick buildings remain; the central pavilion retains its original interior, while the ward wings have been made into apartments.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.764052-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001119.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001119/1b92d16bcd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001119/1b92d16bcd-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philadelphia_Lazaretto.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philadelphia_Lazaretto.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995557","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Lazaretto","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7182730"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/delaware-county/lazaretto-the-72001119/"}