James Weldon Johnson Homes
Philadelphia Housing Authority Philadelphia, PA

Johnson Homes, built in 1939-40 as Glenwood Housing, is one of PHA's earliest public housing projects. The complex consists of 531 two- and three-story rowhouses and apartment units. In 1995 Johnson Homes, among other pre-1945 PHA public housing sites, was determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Twelve years later PHA enlisted Kelly/Maiello to provide an evaluation of the Johnson Homes site, the building exteriors and interiors, and to recommend historic rehabilitation strategies to meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for nomination. The project design, outlined by architect W. Pope Barney in Pen and Pencil, April 1941, demonstrates elements of successful affordable housing that endure today.