26th District Police and Patrol Station
Why it's listed
Built in 1896 at the corner of East Dauphin Street and Trenton Avenue in Philadelphia's Kensington section, this three-story station house combines a police station with a patrol house. Its L-shaped plan encloses a yard where mounted police kept their horses and patrol wagons unloaded detainees. Architect John T. Windrim, working while his father was Director of Public Works, designed it with an iron post-and-beam frame and a palazzo-style facade of brownstone, brick and terra cotta, with a copper cornice and an arched Trenton Avenue entrance. The building was tied to the reorganization of police and fire services under Mayor Edwin H. Fitler, and it housed officers on the upper floors and served the public on the first floor. Its combined police and patrol use is considered rare for the nineteenth century. Part of the building later housed a food production operation. It is regarded as an important example of Windrim's early public work.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is architecturally significant as a rare surviving work from the early public commissions of John T. Windrim, and as a record of the reorganized Philadelphia police and patrol system of the 1890s. It is described as the only brick and terra cotta interpretation of its kind remaining in the city and as Philadelphia's only surviving record of a combined police and patrol station type.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84003550, listed July 12, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2136-2142 E. Dauphin St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | July 12, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84003550 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1896 |
| Architect / builder | John T. Windrim, Architect; Doyle and Doak, Builders |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now vacant; previously used as a food preparation and storage center from 1975 to 1980. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 39.98087, -75.12927 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84003550.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4632426
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.