The school is located at Broad Street and Olney Avenue in the Logan section of Philadelphia.

In October 1876, a new school which "for convenience and comfort will probably have no superior" was constructed at Seventeenth and Spring Garden Streets.

In 1933, a new school was erected at Seventeenth and Spring Garden Streets to replace the one which had stood on the site since 1876.

In May 1976, Vice Principal Dr. Florence Snite sued Katherine Day for libel because she had organized a demonstration protesting the administration's policy which barred lesbian alumnae from attending the prom.

[2] In 1958, the school again outgrew its location and moved to its current site at Broad Street and Olney Avenue.

[3] Hafsah Abdur-Rahman, a Muslim student, was denied a diploma on stage by the school principal after performing the Griddy dance during the graduation ceremony on June 9, 2023.