{"nrhp_refnum":"78002452","name":"Powelton, The","other_names":["Powelton Apartments"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3500--3520 Powelton Ave., 214--218 35th St., and 215--221 36th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95988756700007,"lon":-75.18987777099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Powelton is an apartment complex occupying most of a city block in Powelton Village, West Philadelphia, bounded by Powelton Avenue, Thirty-sixth Street, Lancaster Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street. It was built in two phases over eight years, beginning in 1902 for developer Frederick J. Poth.","why_significant":"The complex is important as an example of the work of two Philadelphia architectural firms, Willis G. Hale and Milligan and Webber. It is also linked to Frederick J. Poth, a brewer and major architectural patron, and is described as the keystone of the Powelton Village neighborhood, which developed as a suburban-style residential area with a distinctive social character.","narrative":"Built on a Philadelphia city block bounded by Powelton Avenue, Thirty-sixth Street, Lancaster Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street, the Powelton began in 1902 when developer Frederick J. Poth bought the lot from street car manufacturer George Martin Brill. Poth first planned a nine-story apartment building, but the design was changed to seventeen single-family houses arranged around a shared rear court. Architect Willis G. Hale designed the houses, which used Pompeiian brick with wood and granite trim. Hale's project was never finished. In 1908 Solomon Greenburg acquired the unfinished houses, and the Philadelphia firm Milligan and Webber converted them into housekeeping flats by adding stair towers and removing most individual entrances. The complex is valued for its exuberant detailing, for its link to Poth's brewing and real estate career, and for its role as the focal point of Powelton Village.","period_of_significance":"1902-1910","architect_builder":"Willis G. Hale (architect, original design); Milligan and Webber (architects of the conversion to housekeeping flats)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.718916-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002452.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002452/df76e22bbe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002452/df76e22bbe-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powellton_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powellton_Philly.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72001151","name":"Fairmount Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/fairmount-park-72001151/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997144","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Powelton","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7757905"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/powelton-the-78002452/"}