Colonial Germantown Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: Germantown Avenue Historic District (Boundary Increase); See
Why it's listed
Along Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy, northwest Philadelphia, this extension of the Colonial Germantown Historic District contains 264 buildings, most of them two-story brick or stone structures. The earliest known building dates to 1740 and the most recent to 1984. The avenue began as an Indian path and became a turnpike in 1801, and its shops, inns and taverns made it a commercial center for more than two centuries. Mid-19th-century storefronts survive at 6536-6538 Germantown Avenue, built between 1857 and 1861. The area also holds a notable group of educational institutions, including the Lutheran Theological Seminary, the Lutheran Home, and the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, whose stone Victorian Gothic buildings were designed by Cope & Stewardson and the Wilson Brothers. Architects produced buildings across most major styles in America before 1930, and the Colonial Revival designs drew on local stone and side-gabled forms. The nomination treats the district's variety of styles as part of its value.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the extension shares the existing district's significance in architecture and commerce, since Germantown Avenue has long served as a commercial artery and a mix of styles from the Colonial period to the 1930s is represented. It adds education as an area of significance, citing several historically important schools and seminary campuses within the extension.
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 87001239, listed July 30, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 6500--7600 blks. of Germantown Ave. from Ft. Washington branch of PA RR to Sharpnack St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | July 30, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001239 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1744-1940 |
| Architect / builder | Cope & Stewardson; George T. Pearson; Joseph Huston; Hazlehurst & Huckel; Geissinger & Hales; Wilson Brothers; William L. Price; Robert Killough (builder of 1910s-1920s houses and stores) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Art Deco, Art Moderne, Colonial and Federal, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Victorian Gothic, Flemish-styled commercial |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Acreage | 118 |
| Within district | Fairmount Park |
| Coordinates | 40.05719, -75.19185 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 87001239.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.