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Philadelphia Navy Yard |
| Philadelphia Naval Shipyard | |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
 Reserve Fleet in Philadelphia in 1955 |
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| Type | Shipyard |
| Built | 1917 (League Island Facility) |
| In use | 1801 — 1995 |
| Controlled by | United States Navy |
| Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Historic District | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Location: | S. Broad St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Built/Founded: | 1903 |
| Architect: | Robert E. Peary; Karcher & Smith |
| Architectural style(s): | Modern Movement, Late Victorian |
| Added to NRHP: | 22 December 1999 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 990015791 |
| Governing body: | DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY |
| Commandant's Quarters | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1874 |
| Architect: | US Department of the Navy |
| Architectural style(s): | Italian Villa |
| Added to NRHP: | 03 June 1976 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 760016611 |
| Governing body: | DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY |
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, formerly the Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on 1995-09-30. Soon after, the west end of the site became a commercial shipyard, currently called the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. As of 2008, Navy activities there include the Naval Surface Warfare Center Ship Systems Engineering Station and the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NIMSF), which stores decommissioned and mothballed ships.
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The yard has its origins in a shipyard on Philadelphia's Front Street on the Delaware River that was founded in 1776 and became an official United States Navy site in 1801. After the advent of ironclad warships made the site obsolete, new facilities were built on League Island at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.
The Naval Aircraft Factory was established at the League Island site in 1917. Just after World War I, a 350-ton capacity hammerhead crane was ordered for the yard; it was for many years the Navy's largest crane.
Its greatest period came in World War II, when the yard employed 40,000 people who built 53 ships and repaired 574. During this period, the yard built the famed USS New Jersey and its 45,000-ton sister ship, the USS Wisconsin.
After the war, the workforce dropped to 12,000, and in the 1960s, new ships began to be contracted out to private companies. The yard built its last new ship, the command ship USS Blue Ridge, in 1970.
The yard's closure was originally recommended in 1991 by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, as a result of foreign competition and reduced needs due to the end of the Cold War. Although local politicians tried to keep the Yard open, it finally closed in 1995 with a loss of 7,000 jobs. Senator Arlen Specter charged that the Department of Defense did not disclose the official report on the closing. This resulted in a controversy that led to further legal disputes to no avail. Since its transfer from the government, the West end of property has been leased to Aker Kværner, a tanker and commercial shipbuilding firm.
The memorial to the Four Chaplains currently resides on the grounds of the shipyard.
The Yard is home to several companies as the site continues to expand and develop. Clothing manufacterer Urban Outfitters consolidated its Philadelphia headquarters on the Yard.
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