Vare, Abigail, School
Why it's listed
Built in 1903-1904 on Morris Street at Moyamensing Avenue in Philadelphia, the three-story stone school was designed by James Gaw, one of Supervisor Cook's assistants in the city school system. Its square plan is organized around a single loaded corridor with six classrooms on each level, with stairs centered at the front and paired at the rear. The front elevation has a projecting pedimented frontispiece, an arched main entrance with a band course bearing the building's name, and four smooth dressed Ionic columns supporting the entablature. A balustraded balcony sits above the sign band, and a Palladian-style window fills the front gable. Straight limestone lintels and sills frame the regular double-hung sash windows, and an oversized molded cornice with decorative brackets sits beneath the hipped roof. The building is regarded as a prototypical Colonial Revival public school and as one of the last schools whose floor plan followed the Sloan plan at the turn of the century.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the school displays the stylistic transition in school design at the turn of the century and is a prototypical example of the growing influence of the Colonial Revival on Philadelphia public schools. Its floor plan is said to show the lingering influence of the Sloan plan, making it one of the last schools with a plan of that type.
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 86003339, listed December 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Morris St. and Moyamensing Ave., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | December 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86003339 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1903-1904 |
| Architect / builder | James Gaw (architect); Samuel Garley Jr. (builder) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In use as a school |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 39.92697, -75.15054 (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 86003339.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4667721
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.