{"nrhp_refnum":"86003316","name":"Penn, William, High School for Girls","other_names":["Franklin Learning Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1501 Wallace St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.96497401000005,"lon":-75.16307733999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-12-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former public high school for girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1908-09 as the William Penn High School for Girls. It stands within the boundaries of the Spring Garden Historic District.","why_significant":"The school is regarded as the only surviving example of the first generation of academic high schools for girls in the Philadelphia public school system. It broke from the long tradition of teacher-training programs for girls by offering advanced academic study. It is also described as one of the early fireproof school buildings.","narrative":"Built in 1908-09, the William Penn High School for Girls is a former public secondary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, located within the Spring Garden Historic District. It was one of a new generation of girls' high schools in the city's public system that offered advanced academic programs, a departure from earlier schools that focused almost entirely on training women as teachers. Teacher training remained part of the high school curriculum, but the academic emphasis at schools like William Penn opened new educational opportunities for female students. The building was among the early fireproof schools in the city. Its interior plan is square, with a large auditorium at the center surrounded by single-loaded corridors and staircases in each corner. The nomination argues that it is the only surviving member of this first generation of academic girls' high schools in Philadelphia, which accounts for its significance in the area of education.","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 17:11:34.155959-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86003316.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003316/6ce1a02c87-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003316/6ce1a02c87-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penn_HS_for_Girls.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penn_HS_for_Girls.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993775","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Learning_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8016757"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/penn-william-high-school-for-girls-86003316/"}