Answer: Central High School 

In the fall of 1839, Joseph Saxton, an employee of the United States Mint, took the first known daguerreotype in Philadelphia. Saxton reportedly took the photo, barely 2 inches square, from a window at the mint. The daguerreotype process was fairly new at the time, having been created and perfected by Louis Daguerre during the 1830s. The process was officially recognized in early 1839 and was first written about in Philadelphia in articles the U. S. Gazette and North American newspaper later that year.

The Philadelphia Central High School was founded in 1838 and was then the nation's second public high school. Its first building, and the one captured in the daguerreotype, was located at the corner of Juniper and Market streets. (The school was easily seen from the Mint, which was located nearby at Chestnut and Juniper streets.) For 145 years, the school was open only to boys. It began admitting female students in 1983.

Saxton's daguerreotype is available to view by appointment at HSP. HSP's collection of case photos (#3139), along with cased photos from many other collections, were cataloged and digitized. Images may be viewed online in HSP's Digital Library.