Vare-Washington School

Vare-Washington School (listed as: George Washington School)

George Washington School, April 2010
Location Fifth and Federal Sts., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°56′0″N 75°9′11″W / 39.93333°N 75.15306°W / 39.93333; -75.15306Coordinates: 39°56′0″N 75°9′11″W / 39.93333°N 75.15306°W / 39.93333; -75.15306
Area 2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built 1935-1937
Architect Catharine, Irwin T.
Architectural style Moderne, Art Deco
MPS Philadelphia Public Schools TR
NRHP Reference # 86003343[1]
Added to NRHP December 4, 1986
Abigail Vare School (former building)

Abigail Vare School, May 2010
Location Morris St. and Moyamensing Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°55′37″N 75°9′3″W / 39.92694°N 75.15083°W / 39.92694; -75.15083
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1903-1904
Built by Garley, Samuel,Jr.
Architect Gaw, James
Architectural style Classical Revival
MPS Philadelphia Public Schools TR
NRHP Reference # 86003339[1]
Added to NRHP December 4, 1986

Vare-Washington School, formerly Abigail Vare School, is a K-8 school in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. It occupies the former George Washington School building in the Dickinson Narrows neighborhood, in proximity to Southwark.[2]

The historic school building, designed by Irwin T. Catharine and built in 1935-1937. It is a three-story, brick and limestone building in the Art Deco / Moderne-style. It features ribbon windows, brick piers, and a projecting entrance with skyscraper-like details and rounded corners with decorative figures.[3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1]

Residents of the current Vare-Washington zone,[4] and residents of the former Abigail Vare School zone, are also zoned to Furness High School.[5]

The school was named after Abigail Vare, the mother of the three Vare Brothers (including William Scott Vare), who became politicians and contractors;[6] as well as George Washington.

History

Abigail Vare School previously occupied a 54,000-square-foot (5,000 m2) historic school building located in the Pennsport neighborhood, located across from Dickinson Square Park.[7] It was built in 1903-1904, and is a three-story, square stone building in the Classical Revival-style. It features a central projecting pediment with Ionic order columns and decorative Palladian window, an oversized molded cornice, and a hipped and gable roof with decorative brackets.[8] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1]

In December 2012 Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. presented a proposal that would close Washington and move Abigail Vare School into Washington's building. At the time Washington's building was in a better condition compared to Vare's, while the Vare school had an academic performance superior to that of Washington's.[9] In March 2013, the school district voted to close Washington.[2] Abigail Vare School moved from its previous building to the former Washington building,[10] and it is now known as Vare-Washington School.

After Washington-Vare moved to the former Washington school, the former Vare school remained vacant. The school district and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation listed the Vare building for $2.5 million. Concordia Group, a company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, acquired the Vare building, along with Germantown High School and three other schools, for $6.8 million.[7] The SRC voted on this sale in September 2014.[11]

In 2015 Concordia Group announced that it wished to construct six townhouses next to the former Vare building and also convert Vare itself into 45 apartment units.[7] The developer engaged in a community meeting with area residents, and it reduced the number of units to 41, in addition to reducing the amount of parking.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 Medina, Regina. "Philly union challenges teacher-dump decision." Philadelphia Inquirer. May 24, 2013. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ "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: George Washington School" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  4. ↑ "School Finder." School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Horace Furness High School Geographic Boundaries" (Archive). School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on October 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ Avery, Ron. "Nepotism's The Name Vips Had Dibs On Area Places." Philadelphia Inquirer. July 12, 1995. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Jennings, James. "Mt. Sinai Developer Plans Apartments, Townhomes at Shuttered Pennsport School." Philadelphia. June 10, 2015. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ "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: Abigail Vare School" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  9. ↑ Graham, Kristen A. "Philadelphia superintendent identifies schools he intends to close." Philadelphia Inquirer. December 15, 2012. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ Graham, Kristen. "SRC votes to spare four schools." Philadelphia Inquirer. Thursday October 17, 2013. Retrieved on November 30, 2015. "CLOSING:[...]George Washington Elementary School, 1198 S. 5th Street Abigail Vare Elementary School, 1621 E. Moyamensing Avenue (building only, moves into George Washington Elementary)"
  11. ↑ "SRC will vote on sale of 11 closed schools." The Notebook. September 18, 2014. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.
  12. ↑ Brey, Jared. "Maryland developers see opportunity in Philly's institutional shells." PlanPhilly at Philadelphia Inquirer. Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Retrieved on November 30, 2015.


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