Philadelphia High School for Girls
Also known as: Masterman,Julia R.,School
Why it's listed
Built as the Philadelphia High School for Girls, this Neo-Classical school building stands along the Spring Garden corridor in Philadelphia. Its original floor plans of 1932 included a large library, a music room, biological laboratories, a home economics room with a practice kitchen, a gymnasium, an auditorium, an infirmary and a doctor's office, and the roof held play space with a covered promenade. With a pupil capacity of about 1200, it was one of the larger facilities in the city's school system. The nomination regards it as the largest Philadelphia public school built for the academic education of girls before the schools became coeducational, and it is compared in scale to the Martin School and Germantown High School. The building was later converted to coeducational use for grades 3 through 9 and renamed the Masterman School. Its design is linked to the nearby U.S. Mint building, and it is described as an example of institutional public architecture of its era.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is a fine example of Neo-Classical school architecture and was the largest Philadelphia public school devoted to the academic education of girls before the schools were converted to coeducational use. Its size and monumentality are noted in comparison with other School Board buildings of the period.
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 86003302, listed December 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Seventeenth and Spring Garden Sts., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | December 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86003302 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Irwin T. Catharine (architect) |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The school was later converted to coeducational use and renamed the Masterman School; it provided secondary and college preparatory education for grades 5 through 12 in recent years. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 39.96317, -75.16565 (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 86003302.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15229841
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.