Standing on the corner of Belgrade Street, Richmond School may seem like just another school, but it’s far from ordinary. This imposing brick building, built in the Late Gothic Revival style, boasts a crenellated parapet and a projecting stone entryway with a Tudor arch. In 1928, the school was designed by Irwin T. Catharine and built by Weiss Construction Co. for the School District of Philadelphia. But the real magic of Richmond School lies in its history and its heartwarming community.
The interior was designed with student needs in mind. There are classrooms with 20-30 students, an art room, a computer lab, a separate cafeteria with a full-service kitchen, and even an annex building titled the ‘portable’ that houses one of the kindergarten classes. Students are taught in separate classrooms for each grade, from kindergarten right up to 5th grade.
Over the years, Richmond School has witnessed the changing demographics of its neighborhood, the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. Today, 54% of the students are male and 46% are female. 56% are white or caucasian, 24% are Hispanic, and 20% are African American. But regardless of their background, all students at Richmond School share a common goal: to succeed. The walls of Richmond School, built in the late 1920s, have witnessed generations of children learning and growing, and the school continues to provide a solid foundation for their futures.