Washington, George, School
Why it's listed
Built as a Philadelphia public school under the supervision of Superintendent of Buildings Irwin T. Catharine, the George Washington School is a clear example of the shift from heavy, boxy Art Deco design to the lighter, streamlined Moderne style. Its entrance is decorated with figures in historical dress shown lighting the path to knowledge, a feature the nomination describes as unusually skillful for an institutional building. The design is compared with the Robert Fulton and George Meade Schools, which share a similar sophisticated approach. The school's construction is treated as a high point in the Philadelphia School Board's building program during the first seventy years of its existence. Later decades of school construction are described as far more plain, with undecorated boxy structures becoming common. For these reasons the building is valued chiefly for its architecture and for its record of a distinctive period in the city's school design.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the school is a high point in the Philadelphia School Board's building program under Superintendent of Buildings Irwin T. Catharine. Its design is presented as a transition from boxy Art Deco to the more streamlined Moderne style, with an entrance decorated with figures in historical dress. The nomination describes it as exceptionally significant for architecture.
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 86003343, listed December 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Fifth and Federal Sts., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | December 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86003343 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Art Deco/Moderne |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 39.93345, -75.15270 (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 86003343.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5546022
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.