On this episode, we explore an abandoned school in the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood of Hedgerow, constructed in 1926 through 1927 and added to the national register of historical places in 1988. The school finally closed in the 2013-2014 year. Follow us as we venture inside to see what remains.

Originally opened in 1927 as the George Wolf School, named for the 19th century Pennsylvania governor. In 1829 George Wolf was elected governor of Pennsylvania and won reelection in 1832. In 1834, the awaited Common School Law established the first statewide system of publicly financed education, a top priority for Governor Wolf. The Common School Act, provided basic education to all children of the state, regardless of wealth or social status. Today many schools within Pennsylvania are named after Governor Wolf, father of the free school system.

Noted Philadelphia schools architect Irwin T. Catharine, designed George Wolf School and construction was started in 1926. The building consisted of three stories, which are arranged in 9 bays with projecting end bays and above ground basement, built in the Late Gothic Revival-style; an arched main center entrance surrounded by stone, a two-story projecting stone bay window, and a crenelated parapet.

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Located next to George Pepper Middle School, which we visited a few weeks earlier video link in the description below, George Wolf School became part of the school district’s comprehensive high school region. The school was renamed Communications Academy once the school was made a part of the John Bartram High School, which still operates today. In 2005, the final name change occurred to Communications Technology High School. As of 2018, the city planned to convert the shuddered high school to a community center, while Pepper Middle School was slated to be raised. 

The decision to close the Communications Academy was made by the School Reform Commission two major factors weighed their decisions, lower enrollment and a major need to cut spending. In the early 2010s rapid growth of publicly funded charter schools in Philadelphia, the school district shuddered 23 schools also putting the end to the Eastwick Education Campus. Strict rules on admissions were also in place, however, a scandal also came to light as the former principal Barbra McCreery was charged with cheating on the PSSA exams. Reports that the city redevelopment authority was planning on turning the high school into a community center, however, as of early 2021 no work has been done on the property. We hope that something can be done soon before this amazing building is too vandalized to be saved. Until next time explorers, stay safe. 

1. https://www.govwolf.org/about-gov-george-wolf

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Technology_High_School