Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

The Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania
An aerial view of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1955
Type	Shipyard
Site information
Controlled by	United States Navy
Site history
Built	1871 (League Island Facility)
In use	1801–1995
Battles/wars
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	SouthBroad Street Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S.
Coordinates	39°53′28″N75°10′43″W
Area	1,200 acres (490 ha)
Built	1876
Architect	Robert E. Peary;Karcher & Smith
Architectural style	Modern Movement, Late Victorian
NRHP referenceNo.	99001579
Added to NRHP	22 December 1999
Commandant's Quarters
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Location	Philadelphia,Pennsylvania
Built	1874
Architect	US Department of the Navy
Architectural style	Italian Villa
NRHP referenceNo.	76001661
Added to NRHP	3 June 1976

ThePhiladelphia Naval Shipyardwas the firstUnited States Navyshipyardand was historically important for nearly two centuries.

Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during theAmerican Revolutionin 1776 atFrontand Federal Streets in what is now thePennsportsection of Philadelphia. In 1871, it was replaced by a new, much larger yard developed around facilities onLeague Island,at the confluence of theDelawareandSchuylkillrivers. The Navy Yard expansion stimulated the development over time of residences and businesses inSouth Philadelphia,where many shipyard workers lived. DuringWorld War II,some 40,000 workers operated on shifts around the clock to produce and repair ships at the yard for the war effort.

The U.S. Navy ended most of its activities at the shipyard in the 1990s, closing the base after recommendations by theBase Realignment and Closurecommission. In 2000, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, acquired it and began to redevelop the land. First calledPhiladelphia Naval Business Center,it is now known asThe Navy Yard.It is a large mixed-use campus where nearly 15,000 people are employed by more than 120 companies representing a mix of industries, including cell therapy production facilities, global fashion companies, and a commercial shipyard. The U.S. Navy still operates aNaval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facilityand a few engineering activities at the site.

History

18th and 19th centuries

A list of Philadelphia Naval Hospital staff at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 1 July 1835

An illustration of Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1874

The League Island Crane with the destroyerUSSLamsonin the foreground in May 1923

Guns from battleships being scrapped in Philadelphia Navy Yard and theUSSSouth Carolinabeing dismantled in the background in December 1923

The yard has its origins in a commercial shipyard founded in 1776 onPhiladelphia'sFront Streeton theDelaware River;it was designated an officialUnited States Navysite in 1801.

From 1812 until 1865, it was a large ship production center. The first ship launched to the water was theUSSFranklin.This event was watched by more than 50,000 spectators. The rapid development of other shipbuilding companies pledged Philadelphia to improve production processes. This was the first shipyard in the world to use floating dry docks in the building process to improve an operating time of the ships.

After the advent of ironclad warships made the site obsolete, new facilities were built in 1871 onLeague Islandat the confluence of theDelawareandSchuylkillrivers.

Beginning in the early 19th century, many Philadelphia workers agitated for a reduction in the arduous twelve-hour workday. Prior to 1835, the workday in the Philadelphia Navy Yard was sunrise to sunset, with time off for breakfast.In the summer of 1835 Philadelphia Navy Yard shipwrights, joiners and other workers led the effort to reduce the workday by combining the direct action of a strike, with political pressure to the executive branch. After first seeking workday reduction by a request to the Secretary of the Navy via shipyard Commandant Commodore James Barron, on 29 August 1835 they appealed directly to PresidentAndrew Jackson.Commodore Barron endorsed his workers' request with the following acknowledgment "I would respectfully observe – Seems to be inevitable, sooner or later, for as the working man are seconded by all the Master workmen, city councils etc. there is no probability they will secede from their demands."

Their petition was granted and on 31 August 1835 the president ordered the Secretary of the Navy to grant the ten-hour work day, effective 3 September 1835. However, the change was applicable only to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. On 29 August 1836, a committee of Philadelphia Navy Yard mechanics appealed to President Andrew Jackson to extend the law,

"The Committee are sure that if the example is set in Philadelphia it will be [illegible] required in other places and they will not attempt to disguise the pleasure it would give them as Citizens and as Workingmen to see a reformation taking place under the auspices of the Government."

It was five years before the ten-hour day was extended to all government employees engaged in manual labor; this was accomplished via an executive order by PresidentMartin Van Burenon 31 March 1840.

20th century

An aerial view ofMustin Fieldand the shipyard withPhiladelphia Municipal Stadiumvisible behind the runways in September 1948

TheNaval Aircraft Factorywas established at the League Island site in 1917. Just after of the endWorld War I,a 350-ton capacityhammerhead cranewas ordered for the yard. Manufactured in 1919 by theMcMyler-Interstate CompanyinBedford, Ohio,the crane was called theLeague Island Craneby its builder. Weighing 3,500 tons, the crane was shipped to the yard in sections. At the time, it was the world's largest crane.For many years, the "League Island Crane" was the Navy's largest crane.

Mustin Fieldopened at the Naval Aircraft Factory in 1926 and operated until 1963.

The shipyard's greatest period came inWorld War II,when the yard employed 40,000 people who built 53 ships and repaired 574. During this period, the yard built the famed battleshipNew Jerseyand its 45,000-ton sister ship,Wisconsin.In the Naval Laboratory,Philip Abelsondeveloped the liquid thermal diffusion technique for separatinguranium-235for theManhattan Project.

The memorial chapel to theFour Chaplainsis located on the grounds.

After World War II, the workforce dropped to 12,000, as the Navy stabilized its fleet. In the 1960s, the Navy began to contract with private companies to construct new ships. The yard built its last new ship, the command shipBlue Ridge,in 1970.

Because of foreign competition and reduced needs due to the end of theCold War,the defenseBase Realignment and ClosureCommission recommended closure of the yard in 1991. The city and state struggled to keep the facility operational, and the planned closing was unsuccessfully litigated to the US Supreme Court inDalton v. Specter.When the yard finally closed in 1995, it cost the region 7,000 jobs. This followed years in which the region had lost industrial jobs to restructuring and movement of manufacturing overseas. US SenatorArlen Spectercharged that theDepartment of Defensedid not disclose the official report on the closing. This resulted in a controversy that led to further legal disputes, but no actions.

Since its transfer from the government to the City of Philadelphia, the west end of property has been leased toAker Kværner,a tanker and commercial shipbuilding firm.

Dry docks and slipways

Dock No.	Material of which dock is constructed	Length	Width	Depth	Date Completed	Source
1	Concrete	442 feet (135 m)	94 feet 6 inches (28.80 m)	27 feet 7 inches (8.41 m)	1956 (reconstructed)
2	Concrete	744 feet 7 inches (226.95 m)	140 feet 3 inches (42.75 m)	30 feet (9.1 m)	1908
3	Concrete	1,011 feet 4 inches (308.25 m)	144 feet (44 m)	43 feet 5 inches (13.23 m)	1921
4	Concrete	1,092 feet (333 m)	150 feet (46 m)	40 feet (12 m)	1942
5	Concrete	1,092 feet 6 inches (332.99 m)	150 feet (46 m)	43 feet 6 inches (13.26 m)	1943

January 1, 1946
Shipbuilding ways	Width	Length	Source
1	104 feet (32 m)	436 feet (133 m)
2	130 feet (40 m)	928 feet (283 m)
3	130 feet (40 m)	928 feet (283 m)

Notable ships

• Franklin,a 74-gunship of the linelaunched in 1815, the first vessel laid down at the shipyard. It was started as part of the United States' massive construction program of ships for theWar of 1812,including twelve ships completed atSackets Harbor, New Yorkfor use on theGreat Lakes.
• New Jersey,anIowa-classbattleshipused inWorld War IIand later
• Wisconsin,the last keel laid for a completed battleship of theUnited States Navy,25 January 1941
• Blue Ridge,an amphibious command ship. This was the last vessel built at the shipyard. It now flies theFirst Navy Jackas the oldest actively deployed vessel in the Navy.
• Aircraft Carriers
  • 3 of 24Essex-class
    • Antietam
    • Princeton
    • Valley Forge
• Battleships
  • 1 of 2North Carolina-class
    • Washington
  • 2 of 4Iowa-class
    • New Jersey
    • Wisconsin
• Heavy cruisers
  • 1 of 7New Orleans-class
    • Minneapolis
  • Wichita
  • 2 of 14Baltimore-class
    • Los Angeles
    • Chicago
• Light cruisers
  • 1 of 9Brooklyn-class
    • Philadelphia
• Destroyers
  • 2 of 18Mahan-class
    • Cassin
    • Shaw
  • 1 of 10Benham-class
    • Rhind
  • 1 of 12Sims-class
    • Buck
  • 2 of 66Gleaves-class
    • Butler
    • Gherardi
• Destroyer escorts
  • 5 of 65Evarts-class
  • 1 of 32Evartsconverted toCaptain-classfrigates
    • HMSDrury(K316)
  • 10 of 148Buckley-class
  • 2 of 22Rudderow-class
  • 4 of 50Rudderow-class destroyer escorts completed asCrosley-classhigh speed transport
• APD conversionsBuckley-classdestroyer escort->Charles Lawrence-classhigh speed transport
  • Amesbury(DE-66)
  • Reeves(DE-156)
  • Hayter(DE-212)
  • Laning(DE-159)
  • Barber(DE-161)
  • Lloyd(DE-209)
  • Bowers(DE-637)
  • Weber(DE-675)

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphiaopened at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1946 to store the many surplus ships after World War II. As part of theUnited States Navy reserve fleets,the fleet "mothballed" ships and submarines. Many of the ships in the fleet were reactivated for theKorean Warand some for theVietnam War.The control of thereserve fleetwas later transferred to theNaval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility(NISMF). TheUSSChandeleur(AV-10)was used as abarracks shipfor the crew at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia.

League Island after the naval shipyard

The City of Philadelphia became the landlord and owner of the League Island site in March 2000, when the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID) took title to roughly 1,000 acres from the Navy. Today, the site is operated as a mixed-use industrial park under the name "The Navy Yard". The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) manages the planning, operation, and development of The Navy Yard on behalf of PAID and the City of Philadelphia; its offices are now located at The Navy Yard.

A comprehensive master plan was completed in 2004 to redeveloped the former industrial yard to a mixed-use campus.It proposed adaptive reuse of some Navy buildings as office space; maintenance of buildings and campus elements with strong historic interest, such as the Navy Yard Marine Parade Grounds; and construction of new buildings for offices and other purposes as needed for new tenants. This construction has been in the section called the Corporate Center.

As of 2010, US Navy activities includeNaval Support Activity Philadelphia,the Naval Surface Warfare Center Ship Systems Engineering Station, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic Public Works Department Pennsylvania (NAVFAC MIDLANT PWD PA), and theNaval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility(NISMF). This last stores decommissioned and mothballed warships and auxiliary naval vessels.

Navy Yard parade grounds in 2024

The Navy Yard is now the site of 120 companies with 10,000 employees. New businesses continue to be attracted to the campus, and existing ones expand. Clothing retailer and manufacturerUrban Outfittersconsolidated its Philadelphia headquarters on the site.Tasty Baking Company,makers ofTastykakes,has moved their bakery to the 26th Street side of The Yard. Other occupants include Rittenhouse Ventures, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard,Rhoads Industries Inc.in Navy Building 57,Energy Efficient Buildings Hub (EEB Hub),RevZilla,and Mark Group, Inc.

In January 2013, PIDC announced its intention to increase the number of apartments on site for employees (near 1,000) and additional infrastructure development. This is made possible by the public financing of shipyards and investments of private companies. According to the plan for 2013, the number of employees at the shipyard amount to around 30,000 people.

In March 2013, the Canadian Pacific – Bulkmatic Transport transload site on Langley Ave was closed.

TheAthletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphiahosts the annual Philadelphia Base Ball Fair & Exhibition at the Navy Yard Marine Parade Grounds.

See also

• League Island
• Commandant's Quarters (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Marine Barracks (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Port of Philadelphia,located immediately to the northeast along the Delaware River
• Philadelphia International Airport,located immediately to the southwest along the Delaware River

Bibliography

• Wright, Christopher C. (June 2021). "Question 1/58: Concerning Cement Backing for Armor onMontana(BB-67) Class Battleships ".Warship International.LVIII(2): 118–120.ISSN0043-0374.

External links

• Official website
• Historic American Engineering Record(HAER) No. PA-387, "Naval Base Philadelphia-Philadelphia Naval Shipyard"
• Yeoman, Barry (May–June 2001)."Subsidies at Sea".Mother Jones.