Frankford High School - Philadelphia, PA
N 40° 01.297 W 075° 05.091
18T E 492759 N 4430159
A beautiful example of turn of the century architecture can be found at one of our high schools in the School District of Philadelphia, in the northeast section.
Waymark Code: WMBXDP
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2011
Views: 4
This school is more fortress or castle than public building. It was built in a time when friezes, elaborate limestone molding and various architectural extravaganzas were popular. Today such a building like this would bankrupt our district. Before being incorporated into Philadelphia, this town was called Frankford, hence the name of the school. Lately, the school has been struggling with a huge drop out percentage. The school also recently celebrated 100 years of existence, being established in 1910. This particular building was finished in 1914, according to the elaborate, incised date found over two entrances in the rear of the building.
One person wrote of the school It’s a wonderful old building, and it has a lot of character with all the medieval trappings,” he said. “It was set on a high point, so no matter what direction you come, you come up the hill and see it. As a consequence, Frankford High School dominates the landscape. SOURCE
Frankford began as a Northeast branch of Central, which opened in 1838 and is the second-oldest continually operating public high school in the United States and the oldest in Philadelphia. At that time, Frankford High School held its classes in a nearby mansion before moving to its current location at 5000 Oxford Ave. In January 1916. After the move, the school changed its name from Central High School North to Frankford High School and added the color blue to the original crimson and gold Central High School colors to differentiate itself.
Frankford High School started as all-white, all-male institution but began admitting women in February 1916. In 1959 there was total desegregation.
SOURCE