New Century Guild (New Century Trust)

Address: 1501 Cherry St Suite 220 C, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Neighborhood: Washington Square West

Website: https://www.newcenturytrust.org/

Social Media

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/newcenturytrust/
• Instagram and Twitter - @newcenturytrust

Contact: 267-519-5360

Description: This building has served the New Century Guild from 1906 to the present. Founded in 1882, the Guild was one of the earliest, largest, and most successful organizations created to deal with issues that arose as more and more women entered the nation’s workforceat the end of the 19th century. The Guild’s goal was to address specific needs of “self-supporting women,” a bold step when many Americans believed that no self-respecting woman would work for pay outside her home. Among the innovative services the Guild offered its clients were a newspaper (founded in 1887 and still published), evening classes, a staffed library, a restaurant, guest rooms, and—definitely not least — a health insurance plan.

Resources for Researchers

• History
  • https://www.newcenturytrust.org/our-history
• Historical Records
  • https://discover.hsp.org/Record/ead-3097

Information for Visitors

• No admission, functioning property

Subthemes

• First in the nation – Philadelphia’s “firsts”
• Architecture and design – iconic, famous, or representative
• Celebrating diversity – African American, women, and minority stories
• Changemakers – social reform, racial justice, political movements

Link to NHL Nomination Form

• Nomination Number: 93001611
• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GJ9c61F4O0jd4NgscDKeN6bpjb8WT_jU