ABOUT
University City Historical Society is pleased to sell date markers for your house to announce the approximate year it was constructed. West Philadelphia is the first streetcar suburb in our city and while it dates from the late nineteenth century, much of the area we call home continued to make its transformation from farmland and speculative parcels well into the twentieth century. Most of our date markers cover the height of the development period between 1870 and the 1930s, with a unique design depending on the period. While UCHS has an extensive database of properties for which we have the year of construction verified, there are still several properties for which we only have approximate dates of construction. To address this slight research gap, we print all date markers with circa in front of the year, i.e. c.1912.
It is lovely to see so many date markers on our neighborhood houses. They tell the story of the development of University City. It makes it easier to start identifying houses from the same developer or period and even to start associating design details with each build era. Allows us to learn from each other’s period restoration work, too.
HOW DO YOU GET A DATE MARKER FOR YOUR HOUSE?
DOWNLOAD an application form
Send us a check. UCHS members pay $35 and non-members pay $50. Pricing includes installation. Mail your check and the application form to:
UCHS
P.O. Box 31927
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Feel free to send us a note with your check or via email (info@uchs.net) if you have proof of the exact date of construction (for example, a copy of the original deed). However, no proof of construction year is necessary. Once UCHS receives your check and application, we will verify the date of construction based on your address with our database. After that confirmation, we will order the marker and once arrived (2-3 week turnaround), we will coordinate with you to come by to install it.
UCHS 