{"nrhp_refnum":"81000558","name":"Washington Square","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Locust and 6th Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94696880200007,"lon":-75.15226467899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-09-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture","Art","Conservation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An open public square in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, first seeded and planted by the City in 1816 and used as a green space of trees, grass and walkways. It is one of four public squares in the city covered by the nomination.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the square has served the neighborhood for nearly two centuries as a recreational and civic green space, and that its layout, monument and early use as a burial ground give it lasting importance. It also notes the buildings by well-known architects that line the streets around it.","narrative":"Washington Square is an open green space in central Philadelphia, first seeded and planted by the City in 1816 and opened as a public promenade in 1825. Its original planting was designed by George Bridport, and John Haviland was commissioned for its lamps. The square was granted by patent specifically as a burial ground, and from 1705 to 1795 many strangers, Revolutionary War soldiers and victims of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic were interred there. It survived an 1805 University of Pennsylvania building proposal and an 1870 City Hall proposal rejected by popular vote. Its present form dates largely to the early 1950s, under designs by Edwin Brumbaugh. The central monument includes a bronze statue of Washington cast from a 1790 Houdon sculpture, and a sarcophagus holding the skeleton of a Revolutionary soldier. Shrubs, fourteen flagpoles and a brick wall complete the design. Residents, office workers, children and tourists have used it continually.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"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 17:11:33.769171-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/81000558.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000558/382ea20189-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000558/382ea20189-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Square_northeast_entrance.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Square_northeast_entrance.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000065","name":"Society Hill Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/society-hill-historic-district-71000065/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993761","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972205"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/washington-square-81000558/"}