An Evolving History - Series Post #2

Situated just southwest of Germantown Avenue at 23 W. Penn Street, the Germantown Boys’ Club was originally designed in 1898 with an addition built in 1909.  Both the original 1898 block and the 1909 addition exemplify the Colonial Revival style, as applied to public and institutional buildings of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The 1909 addition of the Germantown Boys’ Club was designed by the eminent Philadelphia architect, Mantle Fielding, Jr., who influenced the architectural progression of Germantown.  In 1981 the Germantown Boys Club gave up its independence and was absorbed into the national Boys’ Club of America.  In 1990, to recognize universal youth needs, the organization’s name was changed to Boys & Girls Club of America.