Girard Estate, also known as Girard Estates, is part of South Philadelphia. Its boundaries are Passyunk Avenue on the north to Oregon Avenue on the south, Broad Street on the east to 21st Street on the West. It is named after Stephen Girard whose South Philadelphia property was developed in the 1920's by the City of Philadelphia.
Steven Girard, lived on a plot of land he named he named Gentilhommiere in what was formerly called Passyunk Township of Philadelphia County. He was likely the richest man in the United States when he died in 1831, and most of his $6 million estate was left to the City of Philadelphia. Girard's will stated that the city must establish a college for poor white boys in his name, and that Gentilhommiere must not be sold. To meet the second stipulation, the Board of City Trusts, trustee of the Girard Estate, developed 481 rental homes which became the Girard Estate homes.
Most of the semi-detached homes were designed by architects John and James Windrim, and were built from 1906-16. The architectural styles included Bungalow, Prairie, Mission, Jacobean Revival and Colonial Revival. They are a marked difference from the typical South Philly row homes. In 1950, the city received permission to sell all 481 homes to private owners. All the homes were sold within two years.
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