Schools and libraries in Philadelphia
This tour visits schools, colleges, academies and libraries. Some are still in use for teaching and some have been converted to other work. More of the Philadelphia register is schools than any other kind of building, 178 listings of it in all.
The stops that carry a construction date run from 1857 to 1987. 11 stops, 2.2 miles end to end. One stop is a National Historic Landmark.
Distances are straight lines between the coordinates in the National Park Service Register data, so the walk on the street will be longer. Nobody has walked or checked this as a route, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. Stops last changed Oct 16, 2026.
All walking tours in Philadelphia → · Every listing in Philadelphia →
Map
Coordinates come from the National Park Service National Register spatial data, or from Wikidata where the spatial data has no point. The solid line joins the stops in walking order and is not a street route. Listings with a restricted address in the Register are never mapped and never become stops. Data refreshed November 02, 2026.
Walking order
- 1Philadelphia College of ArtNW corner of Broad and Pine Sts.Building · built 1987 · listed 1971start
- 2Philadelphia College of Art (Boundary Increase)Broad and Pine Sts.Building · listed 1978294 ft from stop 1
- 3Thomas Durham School1600 Lombard St.Building · built 1909 · listed 19880.2 mi from stop 2
- 4Jeremiah Nichols School1235 S. 16th St.Building · listed 19880.1 mi from stop 3
- 5Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy419 S. 19th St.Building · built 1930 · listed 20030.2 mi from stop 4
- 6Academy of MusicNHLBroad and Locust Sts.Building · built 1857 · listed 19660.4 mi from stop 5
- 7Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania310 S. Quince St.Building · built 1889 · listed 19790.4 mi from stop 6
- 8J. Sylvester Ramsey SchoolPine and Quince Sts.Building · listed 1986432 ft from stop 7
- 9Nathaniel Hawthorne School712 S. Twelfth St.Building · listed 19860.3 mi from stop 8
- 10Bartlett School1100 Catharine St.Building · listed 19860.1 mi from stop 9
- 11Edwin M. Stanton School1616--1644 Christian St.Building · built 1926 · listed 19880.5 mi from stop 10
2.2 straight-line miles over 10 legs.
Taking it along
- Download the route as GPXFor a handheld GPS or a phone app
- Open all 11 stops in Google MapsSet the mode to walking once it opens
- Open the first stop in Apple MapsThe Apple Maps web link carries one destination, so this is stop 1 only
Other walks in Philadelphia
- Renaissance Revival architecture in Philadelphia10 stops · 2.5 milesRenaissance Revival draws on the Italian palazzo, with a rusticated ground floor, round arched windows and a strong horizontal cornice. The Philadelphia examples on this route went up between 1805 and 1904.
- Banks and business blocks in Philadelphia10 stops · 1.7 milesThe route links commercial buildings built between 1795 and 1893. Most were built to hold shops at street level and offices above.
- Houses and mansions in Philadelphia15 stops · 2.1 milesThe route links houses built between 1870 and 1928. Many are private homes and the stops are meant to be seen from the sidewalk.
- Industry and warehouses in Philadelphia10 stops · 2.5 milesThe route links industrial buildings built between 1882 and 1905. Many have been converted to other uses since they were listed.
- Philadelphia in the 1920s10 stops · 2.3 milesEvery stop carries a construction date in the 1920s. They are what Philadelphia holds on the register from that decade.
Local history books for Philadelphia
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Guidebooks to historic places in Pennsylvania
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.