Morrison, Andrew J., School
Why it's listed
Red brick school building of three stories on a raised brick basement at Duncannon Street and Winter Street in Philadelphia, completed in 1924 from designs by Irwin T. Catharine. Its end sections project with stone surrounds and carved panels beneath each opening, and the central entrance bay carries an arched door and a two-story stone bay with the school's name carved above. A crenellated parapet and a Flemish gable mark the roofline. The building was contracted on the same day as the John Story Jenks School and used a new School Board plan, Type Number 139, which removed many Colonial Revival and industrial features of earlier Philadelphia school designs. Its Gothic and Jacobethan ornament shows Catharine's intent to make school architecture more ornate. The building is significant as an example of this change in the city's school design during the 1920s, and it is one of the contributing properties in the Philadelphia Public Schools thematic group.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building marks a major shift in Philadelphia school design, using a new School Board type that dropped many Colonial Revival and industrial features. Its Gothic and Jacobethan details are presented as evidence that Catharine aimed to make school buildings more architecturally ornate. It is listed under Criterion C for architecture.
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 88002302, listed November 18, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 300 Duncannon St., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | November 18, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88002302 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1922-1924 |
| Architect / builder | Irwin T. Catharine (architect) |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival/Tudor Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition recorded as good and integrity as excellent on the 1987 survey; used as a school. |
| Acreage | 2.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.02953, -75.12971 (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 88002302.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4757421
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.