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Penn History

Penn’s Campus Growth, 1870-2015

Animated Map


Video: University of Pennsylvania Campus Growth, 1870-2015 [View on YouTube]

Expansion of Penn Real Estate Holdings, 1870-2015

The base map (which includes roads, highways, and railroads) is from 2015. The historical layers are added on top of this. Penn-owned property is shaded pink.

Expansion of Penn Real Estate Holdings, 1870-2015, Including Footprints of New Building Construction

The base map (which includes roads, highways, and railroads) is from 2015. The historical layers are added on top of this. Penn-owned property is shaded pink.

The buildings shown are only those that are still standing in 2015. This map does not include historical structures that have been demolished.

Sources

Land Purchases
Deed records at the Department of Records, City of Philadelphia and the original deed records in the University Real Estate Title Papers collection of the University Archives and Records Center. For information on sources for individual properties consult Mapping Penn.

Parcels
Modified and corrected GIS shapefile from Philadelphia Parcels, 2007, Philadelphia Department of Records, and a Historical Parcels shapefile, 2001, developed by the University Archives from deed records and deed registry plans.

Building Footprints
Modified and updated 2004 campus survey CAD data from the University of Pennsylvania Department of Facilities and Real Estate Services and the University of Pennsylvania Health System Office of Health System Architect.

Building Construction Data
Compiled from University of Pennsylvania Department of Facilities and Real Estate Services Building Inventory Data, 2011; George E. Thomas and David B. Brownlee, Building Americas First University: An Historical and Architectural Guide to the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 2000); Information Files from the University Relations Office Records at the University Archives.