For the park, see Washington Square (Philadelphia). Washington Square West is a neighborhood in downtown, or Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Electric Door Strike (image from bigasterisk.com) A better solution for door security hardware during a power outage is to use electric strikes. An electric strike is a mechanically operated strike that releases a door when the mechanical part is activated.
In this configuration, applying electric current to the strike will cause it to unlock. In this configuration, the strike would remain locked in a power failure, but typically the mechanical lock can still be used to open the door from the inside for egress from the secure side.