Gillespie, Elizabeth Duane, Junior High School
Why it's listed
Built between 1925 and 1927 at North 18th Street and Pike Street in Philadelphia, the Elizabeth Duane Gillespie Junior High School is a four-story brick building on a raised brick basement, designed by Irwin T. Catharine. Its front is organized into projecting end pavilions and a central tower with a large stone Gothic arched entrance, with carved limestone decoration and tracery. The building is one of five identical junior high schools of type JHS-6 that the School Board commissioned in the mid-1920s. Catharine departed from the Georgian Revival style used on the earlier junior high schools and chose Collegiate Gothic, a style used by many eastern colleges, to link the schools with traditions of learning. The building is significant for its role in the history of education and school architecture in Philadelphia. It retains very good integrity. It shares its site with Simon Gratz High School, and the nomination covers the portion of the tax parcel that contains this school.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant for its place in the history of education and of school architecture in Philadelphia. It was one of a set of identical junior high schools (type JHS-6) that adopted the Collegiate Gothic style to connect the schools with traditional architecture associated with learning. The document states the building retains very good integrity.
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 88002275, listed April 10, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 3901--3961 N. 18th St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | April 10, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002275 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1925-1927 |
| Architect / builder | Irwin T. Catharine (architect) |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 1.7 |
| Coordinates | 40.01328, -75.15628 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 88002275.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5362697
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.