Naval Square, Philadelphia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Naval Square
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Neighborhood of Philadelphia
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The Naval Square gated neighborhood behind wall on Grays Ferry Avenue
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 Naval Square
Location in Philadelphia
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| Country |  United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia County |
| City | Philadelphia |
| ZIP Code |
19146
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| Area code(s) | 215, 267 and 445 |
Naval Square is a special gated community in the Graduate Hospital area of Philadelphia. It used to be the very first United States Naval Academy from 1834 to 1845. After that, the main Naval Academy moved to Annapolis.
Naval Square then became a retirement home for sailors and marines. It was called the Naval Home until 1976. That's when the facility moved to Mississippi.
Today, Naval Square is a neighborhood that was officially created with help from the city of Philadelphia and a company called Toll Brothers. The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper said that this neighborhood, which has many condos, was very successful. People liked its location, how safe it felt, and that the homes were new. Homes here cost between $300,000 and $900,000. A total of 618 homes were built.
Naval Square is built on more than 20 acres (about 8 hectares) of land. It has three important buildings designed by a famous architect named William Strickland. These buildings are great examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States.
The main building is called Biddle Hall and was built in 1833. There is also a surgeon's residence and a governor's residence.
One cool thing about Naval Square is that it feels like a quiet suburban area, even though it's right in the middle of a big city. One person who lives there said they chose it because they wanted a home close to fun places, but not right in the middle of all the noise.
The New York Times newspaper mentioned that Naval Square is part of a trend where cities are being improved and updated. This is happening because of new tax rules. The neighborhood is surrounded by a brick wall. This wall is on Grays Ferry Avenue to the east, Bainbridge Street to the north, Schuylkill Avenue to the west, and Christian Street to the south.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia plans to build three new tall towers (26 stories high) right next to Naval Square. These towers will be in the Schuylkill neighborhood, just outside the gated community.
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U.S. Naval Home
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Naval Asylum Building
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| Location | Gray's Ferry Ave. at 24th St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Built | 1827 |
| Architect | William Strickland |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001173 |
| Added to NRHP | August 21, 1972 |
For seven years, from 1838 to 1845, the Naval Square campus was home to the Philadelphia Naval School. This school was an early version of the United States Naval Academy. Starting in 1838, young naval officers called midshipmen would study there for eight months before taking their promotion exams.
In 1842, William Chauvenet took charge of the school. He helped make the studies more organized. When the Naval Academy officially started in 1845, four of its seven teachers came from this Philadelphia school.
On July 1, 1889, the name of the facility was changed to Naval Home. In 1976, the Naval Home moved to Gulfport, Mississippi. This happened because it was decided that the Philadelphia building was too old and expensive to update. The historic part of the neighborhood was recognized as a special place in 1971. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1988, the property was sold to a company that builds homes, Toll Brothers. Sadly, the main building was damaged by fire in 2003. But it has since been fixed up and turned into fancy apartments. In 2004, Toll Brothers started building the first homes, which included 345 condos. By 2009, they had sold 220 condos and 74 townhomes.
