Philadelphia in the 1920s
Warren Harding took office in 1921, Calvin Coolidge succeeded him in 1923 and Herbert Hoover was elected in 1928. The census of 1920 was the first to count more Americans in towns and cities than on farms. Prohibition was in force and the automobile and the radio spread quickly. The stock market crashed in October 1929. The stops here are what Philadelphia has on the register from those years, built between 1925 and 1929.
Every stop carries a construction date in the 1920s. The route covers 10 of them and runs 2.3 miles end to end.
Distances are straight lines between the coordinates in the National Park Service Register data, so the walk on the street will be longer. Nobody has walked or checked this as a route, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. Stops last changed Sep 18, 2026.
All walking tours in Philadelphia → · Every listing in Philadelphia →
Map
Coordinates come from the National Park Service National Register spatial data, or from Wikidata where the spatial data has no point. The solid line joins the stops in walking order and is not a street route. Listings with a restricted address in the Register are never mapped and never become stops. Data refreshed November 02, 2026.
Walking order
- 1Edwin M. Stanton School1616--1644 Christian St.Building · built 1926 · listed 1988start
- 2Tindley Temple United Methodist Church750-762 S Broad StBuilding · built 1928 · listed 20110.3 mi from stop 1
- 3Wesley AME Zion Church1500 Lombard St.Building · built 1926 · listed 19780.1 mi from stop 2
- 4Waverly Garage414-422 S 16th St.Building · built 1926444 ft from stop 3
- 5Chateau Crillon Apartment House222 S. 19th St.Building · built 1928 · listed 19780.3 mi from stop 4
- 61900 Rittenhouse Square Apartments1900 S. Rittenhouse Sq.Building · built 1926 · listed 1982229 ft from stop 5
- 7Suburban Station Building1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd.Building · built 1929 · listed 19850.3 mi from stop 6
- 81616 Building1616 Walnut St.Building · built 1929 · listed 19830.4 mi from stop 7
- 9Equitable Trust Building1405 Locust St.Building · built 1925 · listed 19860.2 mi from stop 8
- 10Benjamin Franklin Hotel822-840 Chestnut St.Building · built 1925 · listed 19820.6 mi from stop 9
2.3 straight-line miles over 9 legs.
Taking it along
- Download the route as GPXFor a handheld GPS or a phone app
- Open all 10 stops in Google MapsSet the mode to walking once it opens
- Open the first stop in Apple MapsThe Apple Maps web link carries one destination, so this is stop 1 only
Other walks in Philadelphia
- Renaissance Revival architecture in Philadelphia10 stops · 2.5 milesRenaissance Revival draws on the Italian palazzo, with a rusticated ground floor, round arched windows and a strong horizontal cornice. The Philadelphia examples on this route went up between 1805 and 1904.
- Banks and business blocks in Philadelphia10 stops · 1.7 milesThe route links commercial buildings built between 1795 and 1893. Most were built to hold shops at street level and offices above.
- Houses and mansions in Philadelphia15 stops · 2.1 milesThe route links houses built between 1870 and 1928. Many are private homes and the stops are meant to be seen from the sidewalk.
- Schools and libraries in Philadelphia11 stops · 2.2 milesThe route links schools built between 1857 and 1987. Some are still in use for teaching and some have been converted to other work.
- Industry and warehouses in Philadelphia10 stops · 2.5 milesThe route links industrial buildings built between 1882 and 1905. Many have been converted to other uses since they were listed.
Local history books for Philadelphia
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Guidebooks to historic places in Pennsylvania
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.