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Castor Gardens Middle School

Coordinates: 40°03′09″N 75°04′08″W / 40.0525°N 75.0690°W / 40.0525; -75.0690
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Castor Gardens Middle School
The school in September 2010
Castor Gardens Middle School is located in Philadelphia
Castor Gardens Middle School
Castor Gardens Middle School is located in Pennsylvania
Castor Gardens Middle School
Castor Gardens Middle School is located in the United States
Castor Gardens Middle School
Location1800 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°03′09″N 75°04′08″W / 40.0525°N 75.0690°W / 40.0525; -75.0690
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1927–1928
ArchitectIrwin T. Catharine
Architectural styleClassical Revival
MPSPhiladelphia Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.86003347[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 4, 1986

Castor Gardens Middle School, previously known as Woodrow Wilson Middle School, is a historic, American middle school located in the Castor Gardens neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is apart of the School District of Philadelphia.

Castor Gardens Middle School has been a certified International Baccalaureate School since 2012, and offers algebra 1 alongside it.

History and notable features

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Castor Gardens Middle School, which was called Woodrow Wilson Junior High until 2022, in construction during 1927.

This building was designed by architect Irwin T. Catharine, who was also an architect of designing many other buildings alongside this school. It is a three-story, fifteen-bay, brick and limestone building that was created in the Classical Revival style. It features a projecting center entrance pavilion, four Doric order columns supporting an entablature, and a balustraded parapet.[2]

The school's original namesake was after the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, but in 2022, the School District of Philadelphia renamed the school to Castor Gardens Middle School, which reflects the name of the neighborhood the school was within, due to the president’s views on racism.[3]

This historic school building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1]

Present day

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On November 14, 2017, the school was placed on lockdown at 1:45 p.m. due to reports of a gun in the school. Police surrounded the school and moved from classroom to classroom to search for the reported gun and later that same afternoon to dismiss classes. The lockdown was officially declared over at 5:23 p.m. No one was harmed and no gun was found.

On March 15, 2019, the school was placed on lockdown again, this time for approximately two hours due to reports that a teenage boy had brought three live rounds of ammunition into the building, police took the alleged suspect into custody. No weapon was found inside the school and no one was harmed during the incident.

On November 19, 2024, the school was placed on lockdown for a third time for 1 hour and 15 minutes from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. after reports of a stabbing which occurred between an armed student and two employees. Philadelphia police took the suspect into custody and recovered the weapon.

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#86003347)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2012-06-28. Note: This includes B. Mintz (July 1986). "Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form: Woodrow Wilson Junior High School" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  3. ^ Waring, Tom (24 May 2022). "Wilson Middle School getting a new name". Northeast Times. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
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