{"nrhp_refnum":"02000806","name":"Broad Avenue Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly along Broad Ave., from 23rd to 31st Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Altoona","county":"Blair County","state":"PA","lat":40.501405251500046,"lon":-78.41301845840988,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-07-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic residential district of eight blocks along Broad Avenue in the southcentral section of Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania, containing 140 contributing buildings and 7 noncontributing buildings. The district is mostly residential and was largely built from the 1880s through the early 1900s.","why_significant":"The district is significant under Criterion C for architecture. It is described as the earliest streetcar-oriented development in Altoona and contains a wide range of turn-of-the-century styles, including many architect-designed homes by the Beezer Brothers. Its houses are regarded as some of the finest turn-of-the-century homes in the city.","narrative":"Eight blocks of Broad Avenue on the southeast side of Altoona form a mostly residential district of houses built mainly between 1880 and the early twentieth century. Streetcar service, begun in 1882, made the avenue a sought-after address for merchants, professionals and railroad executives. Its architecture is varied, with Colonial Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne houses predominating, along with Dutch Colonial, Richardsonian Romanesque and Late Gothic Revival examples. The Beezer Brothers, who opened an office in Altoona in 1892, designed many of the larger houses, including the paired mirror-image residences at 2500 and 2502 Broad Avenue. Attorney Edward H. Flick developed a stretch between 24th and 26th Streets with high-style townhouses. The district is valued for its concentration of well-preserved houses and churches that document the city's residential growth.","period_of_significance":"1880-1930","architect_builder":"Beezer Brothers","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival; Italianate; Queen Anne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied residential neighborhood with some mixed commercial and residential conversions; the document states a high level of building occupancy and historic integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.933606-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/02000806.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000806/99d1a48e2d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000806/99d1a48e2d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broad_Avenue_Historic_District_Apr12.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broad_Avenue_Historic_District_Apr12.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994497","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Avenue_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4971840"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/blair-county/broad-avenue-historic-district-02000806/"}