{"nrhp_refnum":"05000410","name":"Sperling Building","other_names":["Sperling Apartments","Mercantile Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1007-1013 Penn Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilkinsburg","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.44399515500004,"lon":-79.87882142199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story Late Victorian brick commercial building with three ground-floor storefronts and nine upper-story apartments at 1007-1013 Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It was built circa 1902 for John Sperling and his son Charles.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a well-preserved example of the brick-front commercial form with decorative features, with original wood storefronts and terra cotta and brick detailing largely intact. It is presented as representative of the turn-of-the-century masonry block that replaced frame homes on Penn Avenue as the borough grew.","narrative":"Built circa 1902 at 1007-1013 Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg, the four-story brick building has three ground-floor storefronts and nine apartments above, each set over a quoined brick pilaster. Its original wood storefronts, arched transom over the residential entrance, pressed metal lobby ceiling and terra cotta detailing have survived largely unaltered. John Sperling, a shoemaker, had the building erected on a lot he bought in 1871, and his shoe store occupied the ground floor until the early 1920s. The building is regarded as a strong example of the brick-front commercial type that replaced frame houses along Penn Avenue as Wilkinsburg grew into a commuter suburb of Pittsburgh. Its Late Victorian design, with a patterned cornice, segmental window arches and regular window bays, is cited as an outstanding example of the type. Few comparable buildings remain on the block, and the lack of later renovation is a central reason for its significance.","period_of_significance":"1902","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The upper-story apartments are described as recently vacant, and the ground-floor commercial spaces are occupied by neighborhood stores.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.333172-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/05000410.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000410/02121cb346-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000410/02121cb346-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sperling_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sperling_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998744","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperling_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7576360"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/sperling-building-05000410/"}