Spring Garden School

For the original public grade school in northern Philadelphia, see Spring Garden School No. 1.

Spring Garden School No. 2
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Spring Garden School No 2, August 2010
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Location	1146 Melon St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°57′54″N 75°9′24″W
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built	1930–1931
Architect	Irwin T. Catharine
Architectural style	Art Deco
MPS	Philadelphia Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.	86003333[1]
Added to NRHP	December 4, 1986

Spring Garden School is a public K-8 school in the Poplar neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of the School District of Philadelphia.

The historic school building originally housed Spring Garden School No. 2. It was designed by Irwin T. Catharine and built in 1930–1931. It is a three-story, 16 bay orange brick building in the Art Deco-style. It features corbelled brick pilasters with capitals adorned by floral motifs and a caged rooftop play area.^[2]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.^[1]

The Spring Garden attendance boundary includes a portion of the Center City District just north of the traditional boundary of Center City.^[3][4] Residents zoned to Spring Garden are zoned to Benjamin Franklin High School.^[4] As of 2016^[update] over 70% of students who graduate from Spring Garden instead go to special admission and magnet schools such as Bodine High School for International Affairs, Carver High School for Science and Engineering, Constitution High School, Parkway High School, and Philadelphia High School for Girls.^[5]

History

In 2015 a parent who participated in a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania stated that the school nurse at Spring Garden only appears once per week, and that the school had been forced to end its Spanish as a second language program.^[6]

The former school building, located between Parrish and Ogden Streets on 12th Avenue in Philadelphia, has been abandoned since 1986.^[7] The current Spring Garden School is located at 1146 Melon Street. As of the 2023-2024 school year, 81% of students live in the Catchment Area for Spring Garden School. ^[8]

In October 2017, efforts were made by Help USA (a nonprofit organization investing in supportive and housing services) to assist homeless Philadelphia veterals including 12 and an additional 37 housing units for low-income seniors.^[9]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes B. Mintz (July 1986). "Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form: Spring Garden School No. 2" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-06-16.
3. "Center City District" (Map). Center City District. Retrieved on November 11, 2016.
4. "Spring Garden Elementary School Geographic Boundaries." School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on November 11, 2016.
5. "Spring Garden School." Center City Schools. Retrieved on November 11, 2016.
6. Graham, Kristen A. (2015-03-12). "School-funding system 'broken,' Pa. judges hear". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
7. Christi (2015-11-23). "Stepping Inside This Pennsylvania Elementary School Is What Nightmares Are Made Of". OnlyInYourState. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
8. "School Profiles". schoolprofiles.philasd.org. School District of Philadelphia.
9. "Here's how you can help homeless veterans in need of housing". PhillyVoice. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2022-08-17.

External links

• Spring Garden School
• Spring Garden School at the Wayback Machine (archive index)