Parkside Historic District
Also known as: Parkside
Why it's listed
Built between the 1870s and about 1910 on the western edge of Fairmount Park, the Parkside Historic District in West Philadelphia combines mansarded Victorian rows, tan and red brick porch-fronted houses, and large apartment buildings. German brewers and their associates acquired most of the land, beginning with John Baltz's brewery site at 38th and Girard, and developers such as the Blockwood Improvement Company commissioned architects including Frederick Newman, H.E. Flower and Willis G. Hale. Their work uses terra cotta, pressed metal, copper trim and Flemish or Renaissance motifs drawn from Continental sources rather than English Ruskinian models. The district is regarded as an unusually complete record of how a single social group built a neighborhood, with a surviving range of building sizes. Its streetscapes are largely intact, and the buildings are important to the history of Philadelphia's German community.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be a largely intact streetscape of turn-of-the-century housing built for a German mercantile and brewing community, showing the full range of residential types from two-story rows to large apartment houses. Its elaborately ornamented, continental-influenced architecture is presented as distinct from the English-derived styles elsewhere in Philadelphia, and its survival and the residents' later restoration efforts are cited as further reasons for importance.
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 83004248, listed November 17, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Bounded by Penn-Central RR track, 38th St., Girard, Parksid nd Belmont Aves., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | November 17, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83004248 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1877-1910 |
| Architect / builder | Willis G. Hale, Frederick Newman, et al. |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Many of the largest buildings have deteriorated, while the smaller houses have been maintained; some properties are vacant, demolished or altered. |
| Acreage | 97 |
| Within district | Fairmount Park |
| Coordinates | 39.97387, -75.20582 (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 83004248.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q131398112
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.