Philadelphia Naval Asylum
- Architect
- William Strickland
- Year
- 1827
- Style
- Greek Revival
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
The Philadelphia Naval Asylum, now the gated Naval Square community in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845, before the Academy moved to Annapolis. It then continued for over a century as a retirement home for sailors and Marines, known as the Naval Home, until the facility relocated to Mississippi in 1976. Three buildings on the more-than-20-acre campus, including Biddle Hall, were designed by architect William Strickland and are considered among the best examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States.
the building
Biddle Hall and the Strickland campus. Set on more than 20 acres, the campus includes three buildings designed by William Strickland — among them Biddle Hall — regarded as some of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture built in the United States.
the style
William Strickland's three buildings here, built in the Greek Revival style, are counted among the best examples of that style anywhere in the country.
More on Greek Revivalthe architect
William Strickland, a major figure in early 19th-century American architecture, designed the three Greek Revival buildings that anchor the former Naval Asylum campus.
significance
The site is a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After the Naval Home relocated to Mississippi in 1976, the campus was redeveloped as Naval Square, a condominium community of 618 units built through a partnership between the City of Philadelphia, the Office of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, and Toll Brothers, with home prices ranging from $300,000 to $900,000.
nearby
- Edward Drinker Cope House
- Marian Anderson House
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- John C. Bell House
- Hajoca Corporation Headquarters and Showroom
- Horace Jayne House