Northern Liberties Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Integrity Title Insurance, Trust and Safe Deposit C
Why it's listed
Centred on Fairmount Avenue in Philadelphia, the Northern Liberties district grew from a township incorporated in 1791 into a mix of houses, workshops, mills and churches. From about 1860 the area west of Second Street became a centre of German residence, craft industry and institutions, and by the 1870s small skilled businesses dominated its streets. The Salem German Reformed Church, erected in 1873, stands behind a row of Italianate brick townhouses on the 300 block of Fairmount and recreates the urban form of German communities. Other notable buildings include the Federal and Greek Revival rows on the 500 block, the 1911 Zimmerman meat packing building with terra cotta bull heads, and the Integrity Trust building. The district is valued for the way houses, shops and workplaces remained intertwined, and for surviving with more integrity than the large industrial corridors of the period.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its mid-nineteenth-century German artisan and ethnic community, with a concentration of German churches, institutions and small skilled workshops. It also cites the architecture of buildings such as the Salem German Reformed Church and the Zimmerman meat packing house, and the high degree of integrity of its streetscapes.
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 85003471, listed October 31, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Brown, Boone and Galloway, Green and Wallace, and Fifth and Sixth Sts., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | October 31, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85003471 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1793-1935 |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Of 230 buildings, about 92 percent are described as significant or contributing; about 20 percent had been renovated in the past decade. |
| Acreage | 20.5 |
| Coordinates | 39.96261, -75.14424 (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 85003471.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7058627
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.