The University City Historical Society

Welcome to UCHS

University City contains the nation's largest collection of intact Victorian housing stock, with three major National Register Historic Districts: Powelton Village, Garden Court, and the West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb.

Our Mission: The University City Historical Society promotes awareness of the history and architectural character of University City.

The University City Historical Society was founded in 1967.

Historical Maps

NEW: explore maps designed to reveal general patterns and the characteristics of individual blocks or houses.

Black Lives Matter

University City Historical Society condemns racism in all its forms.

• Black Lives Matter.
• Black History Matters.
• Black Stories Matter.

In the Newsletter

• UCHS Message Regarding Black Lives Matter
• Black Bottom: Gone but not Forgotten
• Pennsylvania Historical Markers in West Philadelphia: African-American History
• UCHS Virtual House Tour: Episodes 2, 3, and 4
• A Feast for the Eyes: photo essay of West Philadelphia by Paul Steinke (continued)
• The Case of the Stolen Fences
• Ask the Experts: Bathroom Tile Trouble

Preservation Toolkits

Penn Praxis publishes the Neighborhood Preservation Toolkit, which is a free workbook for guiding citizens through the nominating process and other actions for preservation.

The Preservation Toolkit by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia is a free, comprehensive set of online resources.

On the Local Register

UCHS works with our members and sister organizations to nominate properties for historic designation on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

Nominations are carefully prepared, filled with informative details, and available for viewing online.

On the National Register

Many districts and sites in University City and West Philadelphia have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

UCHS provides text of many older nominations, which are not yet available in digital format at the National Register.

Date Markers for Your Home

UCHS provides historic plaques found on homes in University City that identify dates of construction.

Contact UCHS about plaque purchase and installation.

Dates of Construction

When was your historic property built?

Construction dates for many historic properties can be found in lists of "street-by-street inventories", which were compiled from nominations to the National Register.