{"nrhp_refnum":"72001173","name":"U.S. Naval Home","other_names":["Naval Asylum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Gray's Ferry Ave. at 24th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94385086200006,"lon":-75.18437514085647,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-08-21","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-01-07","areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The U.S. Naval Home is a former Naval Asylum building complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by William Strickland in the Greek Revival style and built beginning in 1827 for disabled and elderly Navy personnel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is one of William Strickland's finest works, combining a pure Greek Revival portico with a utilitarian institutional building. Its open piazzas with early cast iron colonnettes are described as among the earliest constructional uses of iron. It also served as the first home of the United States Naval Academy from 1839 until 1845.","narrative":"Built beginning in 1827 in Philadelphia as the Naval Asylum, this institutional building was designed by William Strickland as a home for disabled and aging Navy officers, seamen and marines. Its central portico has a Greek Revival design with an Ionic order, and the wings are fronted by open piazzas where convalescent residents could take in fresh air. The piazzas are supported by eighty-eight cast iron colonnettes, which the nomination describes as an early use of metal supports chosen for strength, economy and resistance to fire. The main block is built of Pennsylvania marble with granite basement walls and was fireproofed with vaulting throughout. Two flanking residences designed by Strickland in 1844 for the Governor and Chief Medical Officer carry naval ironwork of anchors, ropes and dolphins. The building also housed the United States Naval Academy from 1839 until 1845, when the Academy moved to Annapolis. It is regarded as one of Strickland's most important works.","period_of_significance":"1827-1833, 1844","architect_builder":"William Strickland (architect)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"The document states the Naval Home is still in use and presently occupied by about 200 residents.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.798571-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001173.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001173/0687467659-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001173/0687467659-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"army.arch","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naval_Asylum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">army.arch</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naval_Asylum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997348","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Naval_Asylum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7182753"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/u-s-naval-home-72001173/"}