Upper Roxborough Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: Upper Roxborough Reservoirs and Water Treatment Plants
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Two municipal water reservoirs and their treatment plants in northwest Philadelphia were added to the Upper Roxborough Historic District as a boundary increase. The Lower Reservoir was built in 1868-1869 and holds about 20 million gallons; its filtration plant, with orange brick pump houses and terra cotta trim, dates from 1901-1902. The Upper Reservoir, completed in 1891-1892, has two basins totaling 148 million gallons and is ringed by fieldstone walls and earthen embankments. The City condemned privately held land for the Upper Reservoir in 1890, including property belonging to Henry Houston, Darius Keely and the Roxborough Presbyterian Church, whose burial ground was relocated. The sites are significant for their role in Philadelphia's public water supply and early municipal water filtration, which followed engineering reports issued in 1899. Their pumping stations and filter beds show the engineering of the period, and the Upper Reservoir's pumps were described in the city's 1902 report.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the reservoirs, treatment plants and pumping stations document late nineteenth and early twentieth century hydrological engineering and municipal public works that enabled Philadelphia's growth. It also cites their role in the city's public takeover of private water-supply land through eminent domain, and their linkage to the existing district's pumping stations along the Schuylkill River.
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 04001226, listed November 12, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Upper: roughly bounded by Cathedral, Harner, Lare, Summitt, Eva;Lower: roughly bounded by Eva, Dearnley and Shawmont, Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | November 12, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04001226 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1868-1940 |
| Architect / builder | James P. McNichol Company |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The reservoirs are no longer used as part of the city's water system, though maintained by the Philadelphia Water Department; the Upper Reservoir site includes playing fields and water tanks. |
| Within district | Upper Roxborough Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.05476, -75.24197 (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 04001226.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.